Peter Som
Photo by Yumi Matsuo
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Paris! An apartment in the 6th arrondissement would be lovely please—close to the Luxembourg Gardens would work, though I won’t turn down something on the Rue du Bac.
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? It went through many stages, though my most notable décor phase was when I faux frescoed the walls, had clear cylindrical vases with dried willow branches and a Perry Ellis zebra duvet (with that maroon grosgrain trim). I’m not totally sure what look I was going for (Georgia O’Keefe meets Diana Vreeland?) but all I know is that I was fully committed to it. And it matched the zebra walls I painted in my bathroom.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? My first major investment piece was a George Smith sofa—it was covered in grey Raoul wool flannel—I wanted something substantial that would anchor the room—and it did. It was so deep and cushy you could sit down and sink into it and take a very long deep nap (for which I did often).
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer, who would it be? Ange-Jacques Gabriel, who designed Le Petit Trianon, or David Hicks.
No room is complete without dimmers.
People think of me as outgoing, but I am really a homebody.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Excessive leaves
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Toss everything. Keep only pigs in a blanket.
A bar cabinet: Midori melon liquor—bad college experience which has scarred me for life.
A song for:
Dinner at home: Saint Germain des Pres Café playlist
Working at your desk: Mozart Overture to Marriage of Figaro or ‘Hamilton’ soundtrack
Going for a run: Dua Lipa “Break My Heart”
Biggest Vice? Potato chips and cheese puffs.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? Since this has happened before: Large quantites of skin care products.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? I usually prefer my clothes to be simple and minimal to let my work shine.
Who is your star crush? Amanda Gorman and Cary Grant
What is the one thing you would never decorate your home with, but don’t detest when you see others do it? I love a room that’s tented in a fabulous print or stripe. Well now that I’m saying I would never do it, maybe I should try it!
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? Well technically not a design book per se—by my first edition Cecil Beaton, Diaries books.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? To quote the old Barneys New York ad: Taste, luxury, humor.
Photo by Yumi Matsuo
A Few Favorites
Movie: ‘The Women’
Book: ‘Home at the End of the World’ by Michael Cunningham
Scent: Kiehl’s Musk
The fabric you always come back to: To wear - Solid black or white seersucker. For home - Grey Flannel
Dream project: Designing costumes and sets for some fabulous movie musical
Meal: Dim Sum!
Drink: Vodka Gimlet
Hotel: Il San Pietro
Travel Destination: Japan
Artist: Glenn Ligon
A cause near and dear to me: God’s Love We Deliver
Thing to collect obsessively: Dishes—plates, bowls, platters…you name it!
Era in the history of design: 1920’s Paris
Museum: Can I pick two? The Met and the Picasso Museum in Paris
Paint Color that always looks great: Nimbus by Benjamin Moore
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: My boyfriend @tbrownstudios
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Dogs
