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When DeVincent clocked the mural behind the bar at Greydon House, a nearby bed-and-breakfast, he got the idea. It turned out Fulk actually knew the muralist—Dean Barger, based in Maine—so they invited him down to create an artwork of their own, depicting the view from the back of the house, over the course of a few days. These storied heirlooms mix in with midcentury classics, and a range of nautical-themed works, many of them by Provincetown artists sourced from Bakker Gallery in Provincetown. Fulk suggests, “The extremely curated art program is an integral part of this big building.” And it’s quite clear upon walking through the stately entrance, where guests are greeted with Rodin’s Penseur, Petit Modèle.
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When it’s time to go home, though, the style maestro retreats to a perch above it all. "Welcome to my tree house!" he announces at the entrance gate to his hilltop residence in Clarendon Heights. It’s an appropriate description for the dwelling, considering it’s constructed largely of old-growth redwood and located in San Francisco’s highest neighborhood. Wearing a bow tie and a bespoke suit, Fulk leads a tour through his Zen-inspired garden and into the house, a 1950s design by prominent Bay Area modernist Warren Callister. The structure is composed of two perpendicular volumes topped by boatlike arched roofs.
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Fashioned of chrome and as shiny as disco balls, the mythical creatures ringing the chandelier in the front entrance set the stage for a home whose spellbinding eccentricity only intensifies upon further exploration. Stocked with a to-die-for modern art collection and auction-worthy pieces created by a who’s who of the furniture-design world, the house is a cabinet of curiosities. It’s also proof that the pushing of boundaries and the primacy of comfort can, in fact, live in equal balance. “As we begin with every project, I create these movies in my head,” explains Fulk. “So for this project, I imagined a Howard Hughes–type character who had fallen in love with someone and built [for them] this hacienda-style retreat from another era.” And with the charming timeworn feel, inside and out, it’s very easy to forget the home is actually an entirely new creation.
House Tours
“I do strive hard not to have a signature look, but there is an obvious DNA to the things that we create that makes the spaces easily identifiable.” His most recent endeavor that serves as a shining example of his design philosophy? The ’Quin House, a members-only social club that opened this summer in Boston’s famous Back Bay neighborhood. Founders Sandy and Paul Edgerley brought on Fulk as the creative director, handing him the reins for every formative element of the coveted spot on Commonwealth Avenue, from the logo to the paint colors, and of course, the magical, transcendent interiors. In other words, they don’t seem to feel like they just suddenly appeared; they look as if they’ve subtly adapted to a more contemporary landscape without losing its historical roots,” Fulk notes. The Virginia-born designer has spent the last 20 years developing a business from turning his clients’ dreams into reality. Fulk has become the curator of lifestyles, not only designing homes, restaurants and hotels but also choreographing unforgettable weddings, parties and family getaways.
I’ve known these clients for a long time, having first developed a friendship rooted in a shared understanding that life is short and how you live it really matters. When we undertook this project, we had already collaborated on one home and had shared a host of adventures that often led to dancing on tables into the wee hours. As a result, we had developed a shorthand that helped inform not only the look but also the feeling of this house.
The Goodtime Hotel, a collaborative endeavor between David Grutman of Groot Hospitality and Pharrell Williams, is set to become a neighborhood-defining destination. Aptly named Smoketree—for its lone surviving deciduous flowering tree with clustering smokelike plumes—the property is once again a gathering spot for the Hamel’s growing family. And with another grandchild on the way, new memories are already being made—thanks to the cinematic vision of a true design auteur. As the 2017 Northern California wildfires swept through its picturesque wine country, vintners Pam and George Hamel valiantly battled to save their namesake Sonoma winery. While their 124-acre ranch was saved, they discovered after the flames finished racing through the foothills, their nearby home was ultimately reduced to ashes. Determined to rebuild, the Hamels turned to longtime friend Ken Fulk to reimagine the decimated property where they’d made so many wonderful memories since starting Hamel Family Wines several years earlier.
While the work that Fulk does requires a highly trained eye, his is not the product of a classical design education. Founded in 1997, Ken Fulk Inc. was what could be called a happy accident. It was designed by Callister for Duncan’s patients to use when they saw him at the house, and Evans gifted it to Fulk. "But now, of course, it sports a leopard-print mattress and bolsters," he notes. The lobby, which is set off from the street by a soaring breezeway, feels like the secret entrance to a private club. Miami Beach is home to plenty of examples of hospitality done right, but a newcomer, towards the Southern end of Washington Avenue, brings something particularly fresh to the mix.
Inside Designer Ken Fulk’s Magical, Imaginative World
Inside, design mastermind Ken Fulk dreamed up a series of equally inspiring vistas. “It’s a new structure, but we wanted the surfaces to feel soulful, like a human had touched them,” says Fulk of the house’s unvarnished finishes, from hand-plastered walls to the leather-like honed marble kitchen island. A close-knit family with a busy lifestyle, they wanted a home that could accommodate groups of all sizes. A place to escape, a place for family and friends to gather, a place where they could cut loose and celebrate.
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Though Fulk is hardly a stranger to the stylish panache of the world’s most decadent social clubs (he also designed the interiors of The Battery San Francisco back in 2013), there’s something special and almost pure about the ’Quin House because it’s infused with so much historical authenticity. “Fear is the enemy of good design.” That’s the motto emblazoned in Latin across interior designer Ken Fulk’s upcoming book, and perhaps the best summary of his unbridled approach to decorating. “I seldom follow any traditional rules of interior design,” says the San Francisco–based talent, who’s behind some of today’s most inventive residential and commercial spaces. “I can’t imagine us ever doing a purely modern space without at least one old, crusty piece of furniture thrown in for good measure,” says Fulk.
I went into business with a friend, and we made shower curtains and pillows that I designed. Then, I started another company that was bed linens and pajamas for kids. They hired me to decorate their new apartment without any constraints. I sanded the floors, I painted the walls, I sewed the drapes, and delivered a turnkey apartment.
This Iconic Boston Hotel Debuts a New Look Today, With a Chic Bar and Design Inspired by the City's Public Gardens - Travel + Leisure
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His bicoastal firm is juggles a multitude of projects, among them a terrace for Gigi Hadid, private jets and sailing yachts, plus wallpaper, rugs, and fabrics for Pierre Frey. Ken Fulk’s clients (rapper Pharrell Williams, entrepreneur/philanthropist Sean Parker, fashion designer Veronica Beard) are as jazzy as he is. Given that Ken Fulk is an undisputed design world impresario, is it any wonder that the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant in the 1969 movie Hello, Dolly!
