This Loft Is Home to New York’s Best Parties
Just take one look at Ken Fulk’s cobalt croc-upholstered bar stools, and you’ll get it.
15 June, 2018
InteriorsAlec Kugler
10 November, 2021
Ken Fulk is the kind of person who loves all the things we love (i.e., beautiful things); he’s just way better at putting them together and making them into something truly fantastical. It’s why the interior designer is a favorited contact of everyone from Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom to Sean Parker—he’s the creative eye that pretty much every tech titan goes to when they make it big with a ~unicorn~. And it’s also why we were so excited when we found out that, after 20 years in business, Fulk had finally opened a studio in New York (he’s based in San Francisco, of course) that also happened to double as his own pied-à-terre.
The Tribeca loft, however, is hardly what one would consider a traditional pied-à-terre. “Sprawling” or “grand” or “vast” are a little bit more apt real-estate descriptors. Also: “extravagant” and, if we’re going there, “OTT.” Fulk considers fearlessness to be the most important trait of good interior design—and the man walks the walk when it comes to his own space. See the cobalt croc-upholstered bar stools set at the bar of his truly massive kitchen, the ’60s-era bar cart complete with its own ice bucket, the emerald-green sofa big enough to host its own sleepover. All of it is evidence that not only is Fulk fearless when it comes to mixing eccentric and beautiful pieces (he considers thematic decorating truly horrible), but he also happens to throw a good party—and will probably invite Mario Carbone, of the iconic New York restaurant (that Fulk designed, bien sûr), to cook for his guests. And that’s saying nothing of his closet (to our delight, he was just as detail-oriented in that department). This is Ken Fulk living his truth.
Click through the gallery to find out how old he was when he started having “little blue blazers” custom-made for himself (hint: really, really young), his secret to throwing a good party (tequila is involved), and what he shares with Bruce Weber (besides a love for golden retrievers).
The Tribeca loft, however, is hardly what one would consider a traditional pied-à-terre. “Sprawling” or “grand” or “vast” are a little bit more apt real-estate descriptors. Also: “extravagant” and, if we’re going there, “OTT.” Fulk considers fearlessness to be the most important trait of good interior design—and the man walks the walk when it comes to his own space. See the cobalt croc-upholstered bar stools set at the bar of his truly massive kitchen, the ’60s-era bar cart complete with its own ice bucket, the emerald-green sofa big enough to host its own sleepover. All of it is evidence that not only is Fulk fearless when it comes to mixing eccentric and beautiful pieces (he considers thematic decorating truly horrible), but he also happens to throw a good party—and will probably invite Mario Carbone, of the iconic New York restaurant (that Fulk designed, bien sûr), to cook for his guests. And that’s saying nothing of his closet (to our delight, he was just as detail-oriented in that department). This is Ken Fulk living his truth.
Click through the gallery to find out how old he was when he started having “little blue blazers” custom-made for himself (hint: really, really young), his secret to throwing a good party (tequila is involved), and what he shares with Bruce Weber (besides a love for golden retrievers).
12/26
“I grew up in Virginia in the South, and a family tradition was always to have Sunday supper. Even then, when I was a little kid, it always mattered to me what the table looked like, the progression of the meal and the experience of it. So I’ve carried on the Sunday supper tradition, and the very first thing we had here was a Sunday supper. My friend Mario Carbone, who has the restaurant Carbone, came and cooked. We had ZZ’s Clam Bar and made crazy cocktails at what is sometimes my desk, sometimes a DJ booth—that night it turned into the bar. We have a good friend, Cole, who’s like if Marvin Gaye and Harry Connick Jr. had a baby, and is a great jazz piano player with a soul voice and comes with a stand-up bass. It’s a party. When everybody walked in here, they weren’t sure where they were going, but it was a good mix of uptown friends and San Franciscans who were in town.”