Carleton Varney, President of , is an American decorator, designer, lecturer, and author. Born in 1937 as Carleton Bates Varney in Lynn, Massachusetts, he spent his childhood in Nahant, Massachusetts. Varney and former wife Suzanne are parents of three boys- Nicholas, designer of fine jewelry, Seamus, and Sebastian, president of Carleton V Ltd. He has one grandson, Bowie. Varney now resides in Palm Beach, Florida. He earned his bachelor's degree in Spanish and Fine Arts from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1958 and a master's degree in Fine Arts Education in 1969 from New York University. In 1987 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Charleston in West Virginia Also known as Mr. Color, his work is based on his use of bright, vivid, multicolors and patterns. His design philosophy "stresses the use of bright colors and the rejection of all that is impractical, uncomfortable and drab.”
Career
Varney began his career by teaching Spanish, French, and history at New York's New Rochelle Academy, joined Dorothy Draper & Co. in 1960, and bought the firm in 1964. Dorothy Draper Co., Inc. has offices located in New York, Palm Beach, White Sulphur Springs, and London. Varney's design work includes private homes of celebrities and world leaders, hotels around the world, castles in Ireland, yachts, ships, private, and public buildings. His work includes two historic hotels- The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia and The Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan. Society Expeditions’ World Discoverer ships had public and private spaces decorated and refurbished by Varney. His public work includes the West Virginia Governor's Mansion, the Vice President's Washington residence, and the U.S. Ambassador's Tokyo, Japan residence. His celebrity client list includes Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, Van Johnson, Fay Wray, and many other Hollywood icons. Varney's product design includes textiles, wallcoverings, furniture,dinnerware, stained glass windows, and scarves. He is also founder of Carleton V Ltd, Carleton Varney By the Yard, and Dorothy Draper Fabric & Wallcoverings.
Authorship
Some of Varney’s work is featured in the authorship of 30 plus books and syndicated columns on decorating and design. His writing career began in high school and continues into his professional career. His first book in 1962, You and Your Apartment was followed in 1969 by The Family Decorates A Home, thus the name for his newspaper column. He modeled his mentor's column, "Ask Dorothy Draper" with his syndicated newspaper column, "Your Family Decorator." Varney continues to write a weekly column for the Palm Beach Daily News also known as “The Shiny Sheet.” In addition to his books on decorating, he has authored two novels, two biographies on the life and style of Dorothy Draper, titled The Draper Touch and In the Pink, and pictorial books of his work such as Houses in his Heart, Mr. Color, and Decorating in the Grand Manor. His latest works include Decorating on the Waterfront, Rooms to Remember, and Romance & Rhododendrons. He lectures on decorating and design and holds classes on the Dorothy Draper style throughout the country.
Charitable Consultations
In 2008 he designed Architectural Digest’s Green Room for the 80th Academy Awards ceremony. Along with Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, he has co-chaired the Rita Hayworth Luncheon to benefit Alzheimer’s Association. In 2016 he was the design consultant for An Evening with Joe Namath, benefiting the Joe Namath Neurological Research Center at Jupiter Medical Center.
Throughout his career Varney has partnered with many different vendors to create design collections and product lines. Such collaborations include: Kindel Furniture, Dr. Livingstone, I Presume, Fine Paints of Europe, Frontgate, and HSN.
Awards and Accolades
In 1990, Varney was inducted into "Interior Design" Magazine's Hall of Fame and in 1990 selected to be in “AD 100 An Exclusive Guide To The World’s Finest Interior Designers”. In 1991 he was listed in “Interior Designers of The United States of America” and in 2005 was named by "Architectural Digest" as one of 30 Deans of American Design. In 2008 Judith Gura included him as one of New York’s inventors of tradition. In 2015, he was awarded the 2015 Design Icon Award at the Las Vegas Market.
