Quick Takes With: Phoebe Sung

Phoebe Sung describes her design style as jolie-laide, a French term that directly translates to “pretty-ugly” but really refers to unconventional beauty. This sensibility is imbedded in Cold Picnic, the New York-based textile company she cofounded with her husband Peter Buer, with rugs, blankets, and pillows that feature unlikely color combinations and quirky motifs and “draw inspiration from film, literature, and our childhoods,” Phoebe says.

When Phoebe and Peter aren’t creating an abstract pattern that evokes the Queens Zoo aviary or a floral snake design that honors the lunar calendar, they’re busy raising their two daughters between homes in Ridgewood and the Catskills. But Cold Picnic’s next move is always top of mind: “We are in the process of sampling some very fun things-that-look-like-other-things bathmats that we are very excited about,” she says. 

Today, Phoebe writes in with the house renovation she’s dreaming about, her latest sweet treat go-to, and the podcast that keeps her in high spirits…

You’re invited to dinner. What’s your go-to gift?

A nice bottle of wine, a food-shaped candle, homemade dips. I love making chili crisp, so if I have any on hand, I will bring a jar of that as well.

What’s on your bedside table?

Books, water, and usually a makeshift Calico Critter “house” made from an eyeglass case or a Tupperware (or anything a six-year-old can get her hands on).

What podcast or playlist do you put on when you need inspiration?

We listen to a lot of the How Did This Get Made? podcast to put us in a good mood for work. Last summer, we made a mix of songs we’ve been embarrassed to put on mixes throughout the years, so that is fun, too.

What’s a film or TV show whose aesthetic has stuck with you?

Over the years, The Passenger by Michelangelo Antonioni has inspired multiple phases and facets of my life—rugs, fashion school thesis, haircuts, travel. It’s been so cold this winter—and things have felt heavy, politically—so we’ve been going back to the beautiful seventh episode of the show Station Eleven. The layering in particular.

What has been your best house upgrade?

This is a near-future upgrade, but since we moved to the Catskills, it’s snowed every day for months. We are on the brink of adding a mud room for all our mucky boots and wet coats. I think about it every day, and when I mentioned it to my kid, she screamed with delight.

My favorite paint color for the bedroom is…

I love a warm, spacey green-tinged white for the bedroom.

My unpopular design opinion is…

Maybe I’m not reading the right blogs, but it seems like everything is embraced if done with love, enthusiasm, and a pinch of discernment.

Your design pet peeve?

I don’t love sleek and modern. I don’t love polish unless there’s some eccentricity nestled in there.

Three words that describe my design style:

Nostalgic, playful, jolie-laide.

First design love?

Shag carpets.

What item from your closet do you have on repeat?

Levi’s 505s in black. I have them in multiple sizes and levels of worn.

Favorite design shop to visit?

Coming Soon! In person, preferably, to see the owners, who are also our kids’ godmothers.

What is the last thing you purchased for your house?

Peter and I are suckers for things shaped like other things. We have been heatedly debating a potato-shaped tureen with matching potato-shaped bowls, but can’t decide if it’s a step too far. It’s in the cart though.

Something you’re coveting?

Vintage spring stools for the kitchen. Tubular ’70s everything.

I don’t leave the house without…

Recently, a See’s Candies cinnamon lollipop. It’s becoming a problem. My teeth have a pink, fuzzy tinge by the end of the day.

Thanks so much, Phoebe! Follow Cold Picnic’s work at @coldpicnic and www.coldpicnic.com.