Decorating

Pat Kuleto

Public Places, Private Spaces : Episode PPS-109 -- More Projects »

Explore an underwater fantasy of a restaurant where caviar stairs lead you to gigantic jellyfish lights and meet the interior designer whose imagination knows no bounds. Then learn how you can add a bit of his pizzazz to your own home:

Wonderful restaurants where tables are reserved months in advance serve fabulous food, but the best culinary experiences also have great design. And that's something that inventive restaurant designer Pat Kuleto knows all about. His designs mix fantasy with a feeling of home.
With an astounding 160 restaurants to his credit, Kuleto is one of America's most prolific restaurant designers. He specializes in creating dining experiences that transport patrons to other worlds--be it a rustic wine retreat, a fifties diner or a sleek and sophisticated supper club.
A few steps off popular Union Square in San Francisco is his most imaginative work to date--the seafood restaurant Farallon. At Farallon, patrons are plunged into an underwater fantasy from the moment they step onto the decorative concrete floor that resembles a sandy ocean bottom. Natural materials, texture and comfort are all things you will find when you walk into a Pat Kuleto restaurant.

Figure A

The aptly named jelly bar is a jellyfish-themed watering hole with ten custom-made jellyfish lights that seem to float gently overhead, belying their actual 350-pound weight (figure A).

Figure B

Kuleto is passionate about authenticity and feels that using handcrafted materials like copper and wrought iron add texture to an experience. At Farallon, texture is what the "caviar" staircase is all about (figure B). You can't pass by without grazing your hand against the 50,000 deep indigo marbles that mimic the look and feel of the fish egg delicacy.

Figure C

The far wall of the jelly bar is lined with portholes painted with fanciful underwater scenes. The bar itself has octopus barstools plus an enormous stone scallop shell held up by large, seventeen-foot-high columns of coral-colored resin, which are embossed with gigantic sea kelp and lit from within (figure C).

Figure D

The aquatic theme continues in the elegant main dining room. Lush burgundy velvet seats are swirled to resemble a shell and lighting ranges from blue squid task lighting in the kitchen to specially made sea urchin chandeliers, which weigh thousands of pounds each (figure D). Even though it is a large space, Kuleto made sure that the actual seating areas felt intimate and he often uses curves to heighten the comfort level of his designs.

Kuleto liked the curved painted mosaic ceiling in the dining so much that he decided to restore rather than replace it. The mosaic dates back to 1924 when the space was the poolroom for the Elks Club (figure D).

Although we're not all going to put massive jellyfish lights in our homes, Kuleto does suggest putting blue lights in kitchens as he says it makes food look its most appetizing.

Kuleto has sometimes been called "Mr. Food," so it seems fitting that he named his own home Villa Cucina, which is Italian for kitchen house. In this rambling, rustic home, Kuleto has created a space big enough for his personality.

Figure E

Though Kuleto designs big, he is adamant about the need for intimate spaces. The first floor of his home is large and open, with one room flowing into the next, but there are plenty of spots that feel small and cozy. The living room itself can accommodate thirty people but he made sure that it was also a comfortable place for just three to curl up in front of the huge walk-in fireplace (figure E).

Figure F

The room that gets the most use and dominates the entire first floor of the home is the kitchen (figure F). Kuleto is not one of those designers who believes kitchens should look like no one ever uses them so pots, utensils and spices are all on display and within easy reach of this enthusiastic chef.

Kuleto revels in natural materials crafted by artisans and this is seen throughout the kitchen from his collection of copper pots to the wrought iron and copper hood that spans the commercial range. There is wood everywhere--in fact, most of the kitchen is one big chopping block.

Figure G

The use of wood continues in the dining room with a rubbed walnut table that seats twelve--the maximum number, according to the designer, for an intimate dinner party (figure G). In the dining room and throughout the house, Kuleto loves to display his many collections like the flow blue dinnerware that he spent years gathering.

He chose deep rich colors for the master bedroom because they remind him of an Italian villa. He believes people should pick colors that they just love for their homes because you're not doing things for other people.

Take a tip from Kuleto and display your collections--even common items like corkscrews become art when placed creatively on a wall.

Resources
Farallon Restaurant
Farallon
450 Post St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 415-956-6969
Fax: 415-834-1234
E-mail: pdr@farallonrestaurant.com
Website: www.farallon.com
Guests
Pat Kuleto, Designer/Owner
Pat Kuleto Restaurant Development & Management Co.
900 North Point, Suite A201
San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: 417-474-9669
Fax: 415-474-9159
E-mail: info@kuleto.com
Website: www.kuleto.com
Also in this Episode

Public Places, Private Spaces : Episode PPS-109
•	Pat Kuleto
•	Dining Room Makeover: From Staid to Stunning

Decorating

Pat Kuleto

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