The Essential List 28. Kate Greer’s Picks for a Perfect Night In
The Cheerie Lane cofounder shares the pants she wears on repeat, a throwback game she loves, a glittery popcorn topping, and how she’s learned to make space for creativity, conversation, and mess.
Kate Greer believes the best nights in are joyful and a little chaotic, totally inclusive, and ideally involve a popcorn toppings bar. She’s the co-founder of Cheerie Lane, a small-batch popcorn brand she started with her cousin to celebrate the simple joy of coming together with the people you love over a warm bowl of popcorn, (and as a popcorn obsessive, I’m fully on board with this mission — especially after trying the jalapeño flavor).
An artist, strategist, and host extraordinaire, Kate shares her essentials for all-ages evenings at home. Then, we talk about how her style has evolved, the joy of making things by hand, and why life feels richer when it becomes one big craft project.
Gregory Parkinson Blanket Pillows I drag these sturdy cushions around everywhere — outside, by the fireplace, under the coffee table.
La Ligne NYC Colby Pant If I’m being honest, since I gave birth to my daughters, it hasn’t really been my pleasure to put on a non-elastic pant so this La Ligne satin pant is my life line. They can be paired with a soft, band tee and a sneaker, or a heel and blouse. Sure, it’s probably a little Hugh Hefner, but worth it for how good they feel.
Fellow Clyde Electric Kettle I’m a big fan of Fellow and we love this lovely, easy-to-use kettle for tea and other concoctions.
Big Night Crunchy, Roasty Glitter Crunchy, roasty seed mix with glitter! All ages can appreciate this top-everything brainchild of my favorite NYC neighborhood store, Big Night. Perfect on popcorn!
Pictionary First Edition Pictionary is my favorite game to play with friends, but I'm partial to the 80s and 90s versions, which certainly inspire nostalgia. The 1st edition makes a pretty great gift!
MARCH Blue Splatterware Bowl Great popcorn deserves a great bowl, and ideally one as timeless as popping popcorn! I absolutely love these splatter bowls from March for a movie night or to set out when I'm entertaining. Cheerie Lane has a perfectly on-theme butter yellow bowl in our Butter Lover's Set that I never tire of, either.
Kate has moved fluidly between tech, media, and art — starting in early digital journalism, co-founding a short-lived sports social network, and later building a career in international brand strategy. Alongside that, she’s maintained a lifelong creative practice, painting and making pottery from her space in Big Sur.
Describe your perfect night in right now — set the scene for us.
My perfect night in right now is very inclusive — not age-discriminatory, as I like to say. Now that the kids are a little older, I really love having the full range of people over, from age two to my mom or my mother-in-law, who's 83. I'm a big fan of finding things we can all do together — where everyone’s entertained and we still get to have meaningful conversations.
So, in line with that, I usually have paints out on the low coffee table and just let it get messy. If we can get the fireplace going, even better — that's the dream. My husband has been learning the mandolin, and he loves to play a little while everyone does their own creative thing.
I always keep a list of what I think are the most universally interesting questions, and if I feel like the conversation isn’t deep enough, I’ll pull one out. I love Pictionary — as you saw on my list — and anything involving drawing is so fun. We’ll get out Jenga, and I love Uno. It’s such a fantastic, all-ages game. We also do a lot of puzzles.
Obviously there will be popcorn — what else is usually part of the spread?
We have a little garden, so we often try to grab whatever’s fresh — right now we still have a few lemons, so we’ll make different kinds of lemonade. Sometimes we’ll turn those into adult versions, depending on what’s happening in the garden.
Popcorn is a staple, and I love doing a toppings bar. It works great for ice cream too, but there’s something fun about letting people get creative — everyone becomes their own little chef, and they’re guaranteed to like what they make. We’ll put everything on a silver tray, from high to low: Trader Joe’s favorites, Tajín, and then something fancy like the Big Night popcorn seasoning.
There’s usually red wine, and we always have a lot of cheese at the house. I felt very fancy recently when my daughter recently asked for Mimolette in her lunchbox. I also like to drink sake with friends. In the studio, I make a lot of little shot glasses as glaze tests — sometimes I make little faces on them. Then when people come over, it’s fun to let everyone choose their own little sake cup.
One of my close friends, Andre, is the kind of person who can just look in your fridge and whip up the best lunch, or glance at your garden and come up with a perfect cocktail. For my birthday, I made these cocktails with him — they were so fun.
Cocktail recipes from Kate's good friend Andrey Ayrapetov of East B Co.
How has your style shifted since having kids? You describe the La Ligne Colby pants as your “lifeline” — what else do you reach for again and again?
One of my close friends gave me a men’s button-up shirt when I was super pregnant with my first, and I remember thinking, Why have I never worn this before? It was oversized, really chic, and obviously comfortable. Since then, I’ve started gifting vintage button-ups to pregnant friends, and I wear them constantly myself — usually under a sweater or a vest.
Material-wise, I’ve shifted toward pieces with more stretch — less suede, less delicate white silk, and more washable, wearable fabrics. And I’ve definitely retired the boots that take five minutes to lace up. It’s all slip-ons now. I can’t waste those extra minutes.
I used to layer a lot when I lived in New York, but since moving to the Bay Area, I rely more on a great base layer. A button-down under a short sleeve or a little cashmere vest just works — I’ve been loving J.Crew’s brushed cashmere lately.
I go through phases with secondhand, but sometimes I’ll search for specific brands — like Charvet. They make great men’s half button-front sweaters and the best scarves. I also love vintage Dior — their men’s shirts and women’s nightgowns are amazing, and you can often find them at really good prices.
Is there something you once considered an “essential” that no longer is?
I had a pretty deep collection of tight, high-waisted jeans — and I’m definitely not pulling those off the shelf anymore. I’m also 5'4", so back in my New York days, I loved a huge heel. I still really like how they look, but they just don’t get worn much now.
If I had to be on my feet all day, these are the shoes I’d want to be wearing.
They’re heaven.
These shoes are so expensive, so I kind of hate recommending them — but I’ve been really into a brand called Norda. I actually do trail runs and races in them, and the second I put them on, I thought, Oh, I want to live in these shoes. I’m not in our Cheerie Lane production environment much anymore, but back when we were in the commercial kitchen making everything by hand, if I had to be on my feet all day, these are the shoes I’d want to be wearing. They’re heaven.
Do you think being a creative changes the way you choose the things you live with? What makes something worth keeping — or bringing into your home?
Definitely. As a creator, knowing how something was made — and being able to feel the hand of the person who made it — makes it so much more appealing. I’m much more likely to buy something handmade now, and I’ve become kind of annoying about insisting on having handmade touches everywhere.
So your whole life kind of turns into a craft project. It can be messy and inefficient, but it feels good.
I just made tiles for a project in Wyoming — I’d never made tiles before — and it was stressful and complicated, but so much fun. My kids helped, my friends helped, and we used all this flora from the property. I didn’t realize you needed tile overages — they were like, “You need 20% extra,” and I’m out there in the snow, picking up bugs and pressing them into clay. Your whole life kind of turns into a craft project. It can be messy and inefficient, but it feels good.
Are there any small brands you love and think more people should know about?
I have so many things around my house from small brands and artists I love:
India Mahdavi Her clever woven chairs consistently surprise and delight — because pulling up more chairs is my kind of superpower.
Kamperett Their pieces make you feel like a sculpture in the best way. They’re timeless (which helps with the price), exceptionally well made, and make for some genius layering options.
JB Blunk The late artist created these vessels of unique shapes, which his daughter has made into beautiful replicas — each shape seems to suit a particular guest, and they work for wine and tea alike.
State Bags One of the few things we can all agree on in our household — when you have opinionated kids, that’s saying something. They’re well made, cute, and mission-driven.
Gohar World Their candy dishes are such a fun way to display popcorn toppings and let friends express their inner popcorn chef with their creations!
Blank Supply The founder, Willa Blank (such a great name), is a dear friend, but I’m not doing her a favor by recommending her work. I cannot tell you how many people stop me when my kids are wearing her quilted coats to ask where I got them. If anything, I’m worried it will make it harder for me to get my hands on it!
Dana Arbib Her creations are somehow both astonishing and just a really beautiful form of everyday objects — a vase, a champagne flute, a light. But to see them up close and hold them... makes the regular versions pale in comparison. Made in the Muranese style with the best artisans, I anxiously await to see what she’s come up with upon every return from Venice.
Aaron Sober I am a person that likes to do things the hard way, as frustrating as that can be, and a picture doesn't do it justice — when you hold Aaron's work in your hands, you can see and feel the many layers of artistry that went into one soup bowl. I've been collecting them at about the same rate that he puts these rare works out.
What’s the last thing you bought that you feel really good about — and how did you find out about it?
For Father’s Day — and I haven’t given it to him yet, but he probably won’t see this — I made a coffee table book of projects my husband and I have worked on together. We’re both pretty hands-on, and over the years we’ve built and restored a bunch of things — furniture, homes, even a car we recently sold.
I wanted a way to hold on to those memories, especially as things get sold or we move from place to place. The idea is to keep making volumes over the years. It’s simple, but it felt really meaningful to put together.
Thank you, Kate! I loved this peek into your cozy, creative world — and I’m already plotting my own popcorn bar moment.
Follow @kategreer and @cheerielane on Instagram for more from Kate.
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kate's my muse—reading immediately!
Such a fun feature! Learning about a lot of greats new brands!