Kenfulk’s Edwardian suits, bow ties, and other accessories may make him appear like a throwback from another era. But appearances can be deceiving. San Francisco decorator and event coordinator Ken Fulk is a man who has adapted to his times. He keeps up a jet-setting schedule to cater to high-profile clients – a mix of Pacific Heights blue-bloods and tech billionaires. He is a lavish entertainer who drives his black Maserati in the city and to his Napa, California ranch at weekends. He says, “I live a lucky life full of charm and craziness.”
The 19th-century scroll arm sofa was upholstered in Ralph Lauren Home plaid. The antique sea captain’s trunk came from Brimfield Antique Show. The original maple floor is topped with an antique Khotan carpet, while the walls are painted Farrow & Ball Setting Plaster.
Fulk, however, is always eager to escape his lavish California lifestyle in favor of a simpler life on the other coast. He says that he “daydreams about coming here,” referring to the old Victorian cottage he and Kurt Wootton have lovingly renovated in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with respect for history and a sense of restraint. Fulk is drawn to the seaside resort on the Cape Cod peninsula. The town is known as a bohemian haven, attracting generations of writers and artists, from Eugene O’Neill to Mark Rothko. Fulk, a Virginia native, says a friend brought him here after moving to Boston. “This funny little fishing town enchanted me.”
Ken Fulk: “I dream of coming here.”
He and Wootton continued to visit Provincetown each summer, even after they moved to California. They eventually purchased a home there. Fulk saw a house with a great view of the harbor several years back. The place was tough to miss. The once elegant structure, which had a wraparound front porch, antique rope and chain pulley windows, and a straight cornice, among other features, was in serious disrepair. George D. Bryant was its occupant, a local historian who had received MIT training and was an architect. He suffered from a hoarding disorder. Fulk recalls, “It was like the Grey Gardens of Provincetown.” Everyone would gasp as they walked by. “But I would walk past and say, Look at that place!”
The 19th-century English campaign chest, found at the Battersea Park Fair, hangs over a ladderback chair purchased at Brimfield. An 18th-century painting is suspended above the ladderback chair. Larry R. Collins painted his portrait.
Douglas Friedman
He tried to buy the home from the Bryants for four years. When they finally got the keys, he and Wootton hired Deborah Paine as a contractor. She had previously helped their friend and designer, John Derian renovate a 1789 sea captain’s house that was nearby. Fulk says that Deborah Paine, a New Englander with much energy, understood his desire to keep the house. “I wanted the old plaster walls and the crooked, imperfect floors to stay.” Every day, we would discuss what to keep and fix. “I felt that I could go forward but never back.”
Paine and his team updated the cottage from the late 19th century, so it looked like it had always stayed the same. A photo box showing the house’s former appearance was a gift from an old owner, who stopped by to visit it on her 100th Birthday. It was a plus that the house had not been touched for many decades. It was a challenging task. Paine recalls that when they started, the waterside part of the house was hanging on two sticks in the air.
Take a peek at Ken Fuk’s charming cottage on the water
Paine replaced all the plumbing, electrical wiring, and foundation while preserving antique windows and polishing old plank flooring. The new owners decided to keep the plaster walls intact when she found them behind peeling wallpaper. They were in rich colors such as shell pink and seafoam. Fulk describes the walls as looking like frescoes. Fulk filled the gaps using salvaged materials, including vintage chain toilets he found for the bathrooms while removing their 1950s-era renovations, an antique Wedgewood stove, and a sitz bath he converted into a kitchen sink.
The house in Provincetown, Massachusetts, is not a quiet retreat. Each summer, the couple and their golden retrievers, Hubbell, Delilah, and Duncan, travel from San Francisco to Provincetown. The dogs love to jump off the porch into the ocean during high tide. Six tiny bedrooms are constantly crowded with guests. Fulk explains that you can find someone curled up in a chair on the back porch or the living room, as well as on the glider in the library. “And we have 12 old bikes.”
The primary bedroom features a custom-made bed draped in a Rose Tarlow Melrose House Fabric. The bedding is by John Derian, and John Dowd painted the painting.
Fulk’s schedule is more hectic than ever. His New York City office will open soon, and his home furnishings collection named after him at Pottery Barn will launch in the fall. He keeps his priorities in order. He says that if he had only two weeks left to live, he would sit on the porch watching the water, hoping to see his friends. “My heart and soul are here.”
