Latest news with #KenFulk
New York Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
What Won't This Decorator Do?
'I'm going to trip!' Ken Fulk yelled as he barreled down the stairs of the Flemish Revival building in Lower Manhattan where his design company has a New York office. Mr. Fulk, who was rushing to catch a helicopter, had a Louis Vuitton monogram duffle bag in one hand and an Away suitcase in the other. He stuffed them into a car idling outside before climbing in and being whisked away to a helipad on the Hudson River. From there, Mr. Fulk, 60, flew to the Hamptons to meet with the owner of a home he is decorating there. Later that Wednesday in early April, he had another flight to catch — this one to Verbier, in the Swiss Alps, where he had a meeting about another project. Mr. Fulk, who lives primarily in San Francisco, started his interior design business there in the 1990s. In recent years, he has been exporting his taste to places across the country and the world. Along with decorating the homes of fashion designers, technology executives and diplomats, he has given his touch to private clubs like the 'Quin House in Boston and restaurants like Carbone. After designing its locations in Las Vegas and Miami, he is now working on its outpost in London, which is expected to open this summer. The globe-trotting and creativity his career has demanded is 'what I was built to do,' said Mr. Fulk, who recently opened namesake stores selling Ken Fulk-branded home goods in San Francisco and in West Hollywood, Calif. He is planning to open a third in New York later this year. The West Hollywood store is not far from the site of another project, the Beverly Hills Hotel. Inside, Mr. Fulk is designing a spate of new spaces, including what he described as a 'palm-lined, Copacabana supper club' and a lobby bar. 'We are not touching the Polo Lounge,' Mr. Fulk said of the hotel's marquee establishment, a famously clubby hangout for Hollywood titans. 'There would be rioting out front.' He was joking. But Mr. Fulk's aesthetic, which can evoke descriptors like 'maximalist' or 'more-is-more,' is somewhat the opposite of quiet luxury. Wendy Goodman, the design editor of New York Magazine, characterized it as 'unabashedly unapologetic luxury.' 'It isn't for everybody,' Ms. Goodman said. 'But on the other hand, in design, you see a lot of things that are very safe because people don't know how to express themselves. Ken knows what he wants. He's all about the comfort of luxury, which is very seductive. He has a sense of how people want to sit and talk together.' His client list includes various San Francisco elites. Mr. Fulk has worked with former Vice President Kamala Harris, a former district attorney there, and with Trevor and Alexis Traina, a wealthy and well-connected couple who live in the city. They had him redecorate the U.S. Ambassador to Austria's residence in Vienna after Mr. Traina was appointed to the position during the first Trump administration. In one room of the home, Mr. Fulk mixed disparate pieces from the Trainas' art collection, including an abstract Rudolf Bauer painting and a large Tina Barney photograph, with Josef Hoffmann furniture upholstered in powdery pink velvet. Earlier in his career, Mr. Fulk was the go-to decorator for Silicon Valley figures like Kevin Systrom, a founder of Instagram, and Sean Parker, the creator of Napster and the first president of Facebook. Mr. Fulk also orchestrated Mr. Parker's 2013 wedding, a medieval fantasia set among the redwoods of the Big Sur region in California, at which custom outfits by a 'Lord of The Rings' costume designer were provided to each guest. 'Ken is an imagineer,' said the fashion designer Zac Posen, another client. Mr. Fulk decorated his rental home in San Francisco after Mr. Posen moved to the city in 2023 to take the creative reins at Gap Inc. The residence was built in the 1850s by a ship captain, a history Mr. Fulk nodded to with furnishings like old boat lights and anchor chains. 'It has the feeling of being in a ship, very aquatic,' said Mr. Posen, who has known Mr. Fulk since the early 2000s, and who tapped him as the creative director for a recent campaign for Banana Republic, a brand under Mr. Posen's umbrella. 'Ken understands the theater and fantasy of life.' Mr. Fulk said that, in a word, his aesthetic could be called optimistic. 'There is a theatrical nature to it, but nothing is there just by happenstance,' he added, explaining that he has fashioned himself less after the decorators Dorothy Draper and Tony Duquette, whose exuberant interiors are detectable in Mr. Fulk's work, and more after Busby Berkeley, the director known for his fantastical and elaborate film sequences. ('Ken Fulk: The Movie in My Mind' was the title of a hefty coffee table book about Mr. Fulk released by Assouline in 2022.) At his company, Ken Fulk Inc., which now has about 100 employees, design projects often begin in the same way that films do. 'We write a script,' Mr. Fulk said. For the Carbone restaurant he designed in Miami, he described the narrative as 'Maria Callas waking up next to Frank Sinatra in the Gritti Palace.' 'I think it's because I was never trained,' Mr. Fulk added about his approach. 'I can't draw a circle.' He studied history and English at Mary Washington College, now the University of Mary Washington, in Fredericksburg, Va., and moved to San Francisco after briefly living in Washington, D.C., and Boston. After working in restaurants and starting some unsuccessful businesses — a company that sold shower curtains and pajamas, another that sold and licensed children's books — Mr. Fulk got his first decorating gig when a friend in San Francisco asked him to put together his apartment. After that, he worked as a house stager and landed more interior design jobs by word of mouth. 'I was always the friend with taste,' said Mr. Fulk, a fastidious dresser whose exuberance is reflected by his preferences for bow ties, boyish Thom Browne suits and wearing his hair in a tidy 'Leave It To Beaver' coif. 'I've done all my own shopping since I was 6,' he added. Mr. Fulk and his older sister grew up in Harrisonburg, Va., a small town in the Shenandoah Valley. Their parents owned bars and restaurants in the area. He described his life back then as comfortable, if not as grand as his aspirations. 'When I was 4 years old, I said I wanted to live in a penthouse in Manhattan, even though I had never left my hometown,' he said. He has yet to get that penthouse — lately, when in New York, he has been staying at a hotel near his office. In San Francisco, he and his husband, Kurt Wootton, 59, have a home in the Clarendon Heights neighborhood. The couple, who met in Boston in 1991, have three golden retrievers (Duncan, Ciro and Sal) and also own a ranch in Napa Valley, along with an oceanfront house in Provincetown, Mass. Mr. Wootton, who formerly worked in retail at companies like Neiman Marcus and Williams Sonoma, said that Mr. Fulk 'is very much the conductor of this thing called life.' He added that, when his husband isn't working, they are often cooking together (they like Indian and Italian cuisine) or relaxing with their dogs. Mr. Fulk also owns the Mary Heaton Vorse house in Provincetown, an 18th-century home across the street from his residence, which he runs as an arts center that hosts events, offers temporary residencies to working artists and occasionally serves as a guesthouse for friends like the actress Jennifer Coolidge, who crashed there last summer when Mr. Fulk's home was full. (He established a similar operation in San Francisco, called Saint Joseph Arts Society.) Mr. Fulk bought the Vorse house in 2018 for $1.17 million — a price with as many digits as his fee for decorating homes, which he said now starts 'in the low seven figures.' He travels between his residences as he and his staff work on dozens of projects at once. 'My superpower is saying yes to stuff,' Mr. Fulk said, explaining that his voracious appetite for new opportunities partly resulted from living through the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. He came away from that time with a mentality of 'do everything right now,' he said. Jobs Mr. Fulk is currently devoted to include a new boutique hotel in Barcelona and his namesake retail business, where people can buy Ken Fulk candles ($125) and caviar sets ($365) along with décor and jewelry and from other makers. He opened the stores with the help of Dave DeMattei, a former chief financial officer at Gap Inc., whom Mr. Fulk hired in the same capacity at Ken Fulk Inc. in 2023. The thinking behind the retail expansion, Mr. DeMattei said, was that 'not everyone can afford the houses Ken does, but they can go in now and buy a little piece of it.' Mr. Fulk, he added, 'is 24-hours-a-day, workaholic, never says no.' Another thing that Mr. DeMattei has encouraged Mr. Fulk to do: television. Last year, he signed with Creative Artists Agency. But Mr. Fulk isn't sure if the small screen is for him. 'TV is great, and I know it's popular, but it isn't me,' he said. Instead, he hopes his work could be the subject of, yes, a film (specifically a documentary). 'I would like to preserve some pieces of it that way,' he said. 'It's all so terribly cinematic.'
Wall Street Journal
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
House of the Week: A Pair of Historic Homes in New Orleans
Ken Fulk is a New Orleans habitué, who has been inspired by the city's music, culture and architecture. In 2021, the designer, who splits his time between San Francisco, New York and Provincetown, Mass., jumped at the chance to buy and restore two homes built in the 1800s in the city's French Quarter. Fulk, 60, paid $2.45 million for the main house and $1.58 million for the guest house, both previously owned by hoteliers Frances and Rodney Smith. The Smiths also owned the nearby Soniat House Hotel, where Fulk was a regular during his trips to New the Smiths listed the Soniat for sale, Fulk bought the hotel and several nearby buildings, including the two homes.' It was a kismet moment,' he says. 'It was almost like, 'How could we not do this?''
Business Journals
28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Interior designer Ken Fulk revives 'Magic Factory' studio in San Francisco with new events
An enduring love for San Francisco shows in how the global star is revitalizing a space that's been central to his creative journey. Remember interior designer Ken Fulk? Despite what some people may have said, he's never left the city. "People would say to me, 'I didn't know you still lived in San Francisco,'" says Fulk, who's been here for three decades. "It's been my chosen hometown and I'm still just as smitten with it as the day that I arrived." That's what happens when you're a world-famous AD100 interior designer who's in demand and constantly on the go — people just assume you've gone somewhere else. But from atop his perch under Sutro Tower in the city's Clarendon Heights where he and his husband, Kurt Wootton, have been for the past 15 years, the renowned interior designer and creative director known for his theatrical and eclectic style is now planning his next chapter in the city. Most recently, the founder of Ken Fulk Inc., which focuses mainly on high-end interior design, event planning and architectural design, says he has been busy redesigning the Beverly Hills Hotel — construction is set to finish in the next year — and opening a new studio at 555 Norwich Dr. at Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. But while LA has the been the center of his attention, his eyes have now turned back to S.F. Fulk says he is now planning on infusing his "Magic Factory" in San Francisco with renewed energy. Located at 310 7th St., the design studio has long been his centerpiece in San Francisco, and he is now starting up new programming at the site, which began a couple of weeks ago with an Architectural Digest event and close to 200 guests, he said. But it wasn't always like this over the past few years. Three years ago during the pandemic, Fulk put his Magic Factory studio on the market for $8.9 million, noting that everybody was working remotely and that they really weren't using the space like they had in the past. But then something changed. expand Ken Fulk's studio space at 310 7th St. in San Francisco was for sale for $8.9 million. Now, Fulk wants it back and has some new ideas. Douglas Friedman "That building has become such a part of my identity and has so many memories, and I was trying to find the right steward and had the epiphany that maybe I am the right steward," he said. "I feel like our city is buzzing and always looking for the best version of itself, and I feel it's time for this place to be ap art of this new conversation too." Fulk said he's now added a new retail component and all of his private collections are there on the ground floor of the 100-year-old brick building. "It used to be an S&M leather manufacturing and leather shop for 30 years before we got it," he said. "And it always sort of had this wink toward San Francisco's slightly naughty side combined with the highbrow work that we do." Fulk said he's planning to host some seasonal events similar to how a fashion house releases new designs and new concepts in order to tease new products. "You'll get to come and be front row at a fun event with all the tenants we've added over the years. We've thrown many a great occasion there," he said. "Certainly, our city has had problems, but right now it's filled with people who want to be here." And in terms of the "it" style for the city this year, Fulk says it has a lot to do with people in shared spaces. "I think there is an inclination for us in 2025 — especially in San Francisco — it goes back to that idea of literally putting people in places together," he said. "It's not like red is the color of the year. But what's happening is that people want to be together and we live in such a hyperdigital world ... I think as a counterbalance to that we want to be truly connected. We are starved for that old-fashioned analog nature of literally being side by side in spaces that inspire us. "It's certainly for me one of the reasons I'm inviting the world back into the Magic Factory," Fulk said. Fulk grew up near Charlottesville, Va,. and also lived in Boston for about a five-year stretch after college, falling in love with Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod. But nothing, he says, can compare to San Francisco, the place he and his partner came out to in their 20s to start their life together. His career eventually led him to open a design studio in New York City about a decade ago, which now has about 30 people who work there in Tribeca. He said his studio also did work all over the world but oddly, hadn't done much work in Southern California. "And then suddenly I found myself reimagining a swath of the Beverly Hills Hotel, which is the first time that legendary hotel would have been changed in a meaningful change from 70 years ago when Paul Revere Williams painted in pink and made it what we think of it today," he said. Fulk also purchased the Paramour Estate in Los Angeles and restored that. His studio, which features fabric collections, rug collections and lighting collections — among other proprietary design elements — also incudes a lot of Fulk's idiosyncratic pickups over the years: "I shop for a living, and I've been collecting for 30 years." This also helped him adorn his new studio in Los Angeles, he said. But for now, he says he's just excited to bring the energy back to his San Francisco space. "We are going to have cool events and programing and welcoming people back into the space that I think has a vibration — it's like that building has a soul," he said. The largest interior design firms in the Bay Area 2024 Bay Area interior design revenue Rank Prior Rank Business name/Prior rank 1 2 SmithGroup Companies Inc. 2 1 M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates Inc. dba Gensler 3 3 Stantec Consulting Services Inc. View this list
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Seasons Greetings
Anyone who has ever had the privilege of staying at five-star hotels knows what to expect from a Four Seasons. Though they may differ based on local flavor and the lens of a particular owner, there's always an expectation of top-notch service and accommodations—and, usually, a bit of formality. In the best way, the Four Seasons Hotel Boston breaks that mold. While maintaining that elevated level of care, luxury and attentiveness associated with the brand, the property is also infused with a kind of warmth and whimsy. A playful spirit abounds. I headed to Beantown recently while on book tour for my new novel Pick-Up. If I'm honest, I hadn't been to the city since I was in seventh grade on a school trip. I know, I know. That's insane, especially since I grew up in New York City. But I spent college and my twenties in California and, well, I guess I was traveling to places like Palm Springs and San Francisco instead. Anyway, that's all to say that I didn't know anything about where to stay in the city, only that the Four Seasons Boston wasn't far from my event at Cambridge's new all-romance bookstore, Lovestruck (also not to be missed—seriously, run don't walk! There's a full bar and a billion cute accessories!). What I discovered was delightful. And—much like the bookshop too—the magic was in the details from the get-go. Not to be confused with the sleek Four Seasons One Dalton, which sits only a mile away, but might as well be in another hemisphere for how much the vibes vary, this property overlooks the Public Garden, established in 1837 as the first public botanical garden in the U.S. Next door is Boston Commons, created in 1634 as this country's first public park. So, right away, you're immersed in some serious history—not to mention beautiful views. But, at the same time, the hotel is just steps from Newbury Street, one of the city's most beloved shopping stretches. So—a win-win for all types! Inside the hotel, the lobby—which was dramatically reimagined by designer Ken Fulk in 2023—is awash in rich jewel tones. The walls are an unapologetic green, accented by rich amber and rust-hued furniture upholstered in lush fabrics with textured stitching and fringe. Black and white checkered tile contrasts with patterned rugs, ornate wallpaper and myriad plants, creating an Art-Deco-meets-modernist vibe that feels more like a grand parlor in Clue than like the requisite cold white marble alternative. The object was to mimic but also update the intimate grandeur of the Back Bay and Beacon Hill area's upscale historic homes, as if guests here have been invited into a stately private living room. Mission accomplished. The welcoming space manages to feel at once of another era and entirely now. Behind the front desk is a mural of the Garden just outside, but also a secret door that it would be easy to miss (if, in my case, the concierge hadn't pointed it out). This is just the first in a series of thoughtful and joyful surprises peppered throughout the property. The Mystery Closet is a destination for kids, who are surreptitiously handed an oversized key for entry (though it's hard not to get sucked in by the magic as an adult too). Inside the small room is a child's fantasy, the opportunity not only to choose a toy, but also to begin the process of a hotel-wide scavenger hunt—to enchant throughout the stay. Standing inside, marveling at that special space, I could only imagine the elation on my children's faces had they been there for the experience! To one side of the front desk is Coterie, a chic and cheerful brasserie with a similar design as the lobby and a menu inspired by New England. (Don't miss the cocktails or seafood—I had amazing oysters!) On the other side of the ground floor is Sottovento, an onsite espresso shop where all the beverages are complimentary for guests. I don't know why that feels so luxurious when a coffee costs very little compared with what visitors are paying to stay, but…it does. They even have a coffee concierge, who will have guests' drinks brought up to their rooms. And they make a mean matcha latte with oat milk (my drink). I wish I had one right now. The rooms are lovely and pristine, as one would expect—with an aesthetic that's more sedate than the lobby, but with large windows that let in nice light and of course that plush white bedding we all look forward to in hotels. All the specialty suites have also been revamped, including the Royal, which is often a home-away-from-home for celebrities and features a full bar, dining room, screening room and a Wyoming king-sized bed which truly does seem to be the size of Wyoming. Upstairs, off the fitness center, is a sleek indoor pool and hot tub, with saunas and steam rooms in the locker area. There's also an open-air atrium called The Sanctuary, where guests are invited to convene in nicer weather and even order food to eat using a London-style red telephone box. But perhaps most exciting to children and adults alike are the Vaults on each floor, which exist in place of minibars. Designed with cheeky themes and playful details like Benjamin Franklin blowing pink bubbles, these onetime ice closets are now stocked with complimentary snacks like popcorn, chips and candy, in addition to a seltzer machine where guests can select flavors and even fizz level. I mean…what could be more fun? In short, when it comes to the Four Seasons Hotel Boston, just like the characters in my book, I have fallen in love.
Forbes
25-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Inside The Newly Redesigned Royal Suite At Four Seasons Hotel Boston
The cinema room. Four Seasons Hotel Boston first opened in June 1985 in the city's Back Bay and has since been a staple in Boston's luxury hotel scene. There have been many renovations over the years, including a 2023 refresh of the lobby, Coterie lounge and restaurant, and lobby-level amenities by AD100 designer Ken Fulk. More than a year later, the hotel's crown jewel accommodation, the Royal Suite, was extensively redesigned to match these elegant additions and renovations. Situated on the sixth floor, the 2,590-square-foot Royal Suite overlooks the Boston Public Garden and has an entrance foyer, one bedroom, one bathroom, a powder room, service kitchen, a private balcony, dining room, a living room, and a private cinema room. The suite was transformed by Boston-based Niemitz Design Group, a firm that specializes in restaurant, hotel, and entertainment design, who hoped to create a residential-inspired suite with bold colors and classic architectural details. It was meant to recreate the feeling of a classic Boston brownstone seen in the Back Bay neighborhood. The private bar. The lovely living room has a fireplace and a private marble-topped bar with seating for four—perfect for private events. It connects to a small balcony with seating that overlooks the skyline and public gardens. Together, there's room for up to 25 guests in total. The bar is stocked with a martini set-up starring Coterie gin, which was created exclusively for the hotel by Short Path Distillery in Everett, Massachusetts. The nearby dining room can seat up to 12 guests and has grasscloth walls, blue moulding, and a gold-veined ceiling. The dining room. 'The gold pattern on the ceiling was selected because it's interesting both day and night,' says Peter Niemitz, founder of Niemitz Design Group. 'When you have candlelight or low lighting at night, it becomes a very striking room. With the colors and patterns, the goal was to make it look dramatic without being over the top.' It's the striking use of color and thoughtful details (like the curated library and decor) that make this suite feel like a private home. Niemitz says that all of the carpets were custom designed and made exclusively for each room. The group also custom designed the furniture and had it exclusively made for each space. Perhaps one of the most well-dressed (and most fun) rooms within the suite is the private cinema room, which has royal blue walls, a tufted velvet chaise, patterned carpet, and built-in blue cabinets and media stand. Oversized windows looking out onto the gardens add natural light to the space. The bedroom. The cinema room has tiered seating with a custom-designed multi-room Bang and Olufsen sound system and Apple TV. There's even popcorn and theater treats similar to the Vaults, which are the hotel's fully stocked snack pantries located on each floor. The pantry kitchen just outside the theater also has sweet treats from a local confectioner and is stocked with an array of beverages. The Royal Suite's rates are $14,000 and up per night and it's available for both short-term and long-term stays, as well as private events.
