EVENTS | HAPPENINGS | WORLD OF CABANA

Night on Nob Hill

Cabana’s US Editor Kate Berry joined Ken Fulk at the newly reimagined Huntington Hotel, bringing together friends from San Francisco’s design, art and culinary worlds to celebrate his latest collection with Perennials and Sutherland.

 

BY KATE BERRY | HAPPENINGS | 2 SEPTEMBER 2026


Ken Fulk has a gift for creating worlds that feel larger than life, where history, fantasy, and a little theatricality come together in wonderful ways. Any excuse to return to San Francisco, a city I once called home, is welcome. But to join Ken in celebrating his new collection with Perennials and Sutherland, surrounded by some of the city's most creative characters, was especially wonderful. And what better setting than the newly renovated Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill, reimagined by Ken and his team?

The evening began with cocktails at Arabella's, the hotel's jewel box of a bar named for Arabella Huntington, the fabulously wealthy Gilded Age socialite whose life was as colorful as fiction. Hand-painted murals chronicle her extraordinary story, creating a room both glamorous and mischievous. The sort of place where one could easily lose track of time over a martini.

 

 

From there, we moved into The Big Four, the hotel's storied restaurant, where Ken has brought new life to a San Francisco institution. Over a classic California menu, we gathered friends from the city's design, art, and culinary worlds. The tables were dressed with placemats fashioned from Ken's new collection with Perennials and Sutherland, two design institutions celebrated for their innovative textiles and beautifully crafted furnishings. Inspired by Hollywood's Golden Age, the collection brings Ken's theatrical imagination to fabrics, wallcoverings, rugs, and furniture, with rich colors and patterns that felt right at home in the room.

Ken found himself flanked by iconic designers Suzanne Tucker and Pamela Babey, women who have created extraordinary worlds of their own, alongside Perennials cofounder Ann Sutherland and new CEO Rob Perri. At another table were cofounder David Sutherland, legendary designer Paul Wiseman, and a lively mix of art advisors and stylists. I had the pleasure of sitting with Lindsay Tusk, whose Quince restaurant group has helped shape San Francisco's dining scene, Sarah Wendell Sherrill, cofounder and contributor to The Cable Car Courier, and designer Charles de Lisle. A room full of creative originals and no shortage of good stories.

Just before dessert, Ken rose to give a toast, heartfelt, generous, and wonderfully funny. A consummate showman, he knows how to command a room, but more importantly, how to make everyone feel part of the story. Between the martinis, laughter, and colorful company, Arabella Huntington herself would surely have approved.

 


 

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