Ken Fulk’s highly sophisticated interiors—often swathed in colorful hand-painted wallpaper and decorated with a mix of centuries-old antiques and custom contemporary pieces—are almost instantly recognizable to anyone with an appreciation for design. “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.
And for this six-story Gilded Age masterpiece, which spans four restaurants, six lounges, three bars, eight guest quarters, a roof deck, a fitness and wellness center, and a series of private event spaces, Fulk’s driving force behind the design was more of a feeling than it was a specific aesthetic. “For me, it’s more about spaces that have evolved. 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.
Though few interiors experts can master the delicate harmony between vintage, antique, and contemporary pieces as well and as effortlessly as Fulk does, he had good historical details—an impressive art collection, ceilings with elaborate plaster crowns, and extravagant alabaster columns—that came with the late 19th-century building on his side. “It’s great to have that tension between the original elements and the contemporary ones we added. It was a big responsibility to create something that feels aesthetically relevant at its core,” Fulk explains.