A Boston Bachelor Pad

The wool flannel drapery panel on the right obscures a window, enabling the bed to be positioned on the center of the wall. “I like a bedroom to be symmetrical,” designer Trevor Fulmer says. Black-and-white photos by Sharon Green reflect the client’s interest in sailing. He splurged on the Lumina pendant.

Fulmer purposefully used different materials and shapes in the living area. “I didn’t want things to match,” he says.

The low profile of the Matthew Hilton sofa keeps sightlines clear, but articulating pop-up headrests offer optimal comfort when in use. A Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams bar with a black marble top fills the back niche.

Fulmer swapped distracting pendants for sleek cylindrical ones in the kitchen, then went big with a sprawling branch chandelier over the dining table.

The shower in the primary bath boasts large-format tile with an offset horizontal-vein patterning.

A Phillip Jeffries wallcovering was the starting point in the guest bedroom; low-hanging pendants are a funky touch on either side of the bed, which is dressed in Frette linens.

After hiring Trevor Fulmer to design his Cape Cod medical office, the owner of a condo in Boston’s SoWa neighborhood was comfortable giving the designer a lot of latitude. But when Fulmer proposed painting a wall in the main bedroom black, the homeowner, an oral surgeon, balked. Reasoning and a rendering allayed the concern that the color might make the space seem small. With an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and a pair of full-length mirrors opposite, Fulmer wasn’t worried. “There was no way that room was going to look anything but light and bright,” he says.

Fulmer’s strategy was to provoke interest through opposition. He kept the spaces spare—his bachelor client didn’t want clutter—yet stylish. Throughout the 1,250-square-foot home, which is used primarily on weekends for kicking back and entertaining (in an interesting role reversal, the homeowner stays on the Cape during the week), contrasts make every moment compelling. Pale, matte-wood floors set the stage for reflective surfaces. An accent wall in the main room painted Benjamin Moore Molten Metallic shimmers; a liberal mix of metals, from the polished nickel Platner side table to the polished stainless-steel bases of the Thayer Coggin sling chairs, sparkle; and the sleek lacquered-metal dining table gleams. “If the Batmobile were a piece of furniture, it would be this table,” Fulmer says, asserting its sexy, masculine
attributes.

Comfort was also key. Along with displaying edge, the owner wanted the condo to feel welcoming. A cloud-like sofa anchors the living area atop a silky Dynamic Rugs carpet, and an undulating velvet pouf infuses whimsy. In the dining area, rounded, cashmere-upholstered chairs and a branch chandelier with glass globes alleviate the effect of the sharp-edged table. Fulmer counters the black wall in the bedroom with classic camel drapery, organic rugs, and walnut wood tones, while he outfits the guest room with a dusky-blue textured-wallpaper accent wall and punchy marigold-colored accessories.

The result is an enveloping scheme with undercurrents of artistic tension. “I may have broken some design rules by using so many different finishes and materials in a relatively small space,” Fulmer says. “But I love it when everything you see looks new and exciting.”

Interior design: Trevor Fulmer, Trevor Fulmer Design