By Beth Dotolo & Carolina V. Gentry
Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities begins with a split geography. So does Pulp Design Studios. Beth Dotolo works from Seattle; Carolina V. Gentry is based in Dallas; and the firm’s projects extend well beyond Washington State and Texas. In Fearless Design, that distance is not merely logistical. It is part of the book’s energy.
Their portfolio ranges from polished New York residences to vacation houses with the intimacy of jewel boxes, from luxury new construction to retreats that feel deliberately removed from daily life. The settings change, as do the stylistic references: transitional rooms give way to clean-lined contemporary spaces and Mediterranean-inflected interiors. The cohesiveness comes from a willingness to take visual risks—especially with color, pattern, contrast, and scale—that holds the projects together.
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Gentry’s hospitality background is evident in the sense of occasion. Before founding Pulp, she led projects for Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt Regency, Hilton, and Marriott, taking her from New York to Asia. Dotolo brings complementary experience in luxury residential, commercial, and retail design. Together, they create rooms that are polished without becoming precious and theatrical without losing warmth.
The designers describe their approach succinctly: “We don’t have a signature look; we have a vibe.” It is an easy claim to make, but Fearless Design gives it substance. The rooms are recognizably theirs not because they repeat a formula, but because they share an appetite for liveliness. Pattern is allowed to be pattern; color is not treated as a risk to be apologized for; and the spaces remain welcoming rather than merely photogenic.
Fearless Design is not a signature style, but a signature sensibility: bold, polished, hospitable, and ready to live out loud.
FEARLESS DESIGN: INTERIORS FROM PULP DESIGN STUDIOS
From Gibbs Smith. Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the Rizzoli Bookstore, and IndieBound.