Remembering Carleton Varney and the Joyful Legacy “Mr. Color” Leaves Behind
Last week, the industry was saddened to learn the news that Carleton Varney had passed away on July 14 at the age of 85. The prolific Palm Beach (by way of Lynn, Massachusetts, then New York City) interior decorator and author fondly known by the moniker “Mr. Color” was indeed propelled by a passion for pattern and unabashed hues throughout his 60-plus-year career—just like his mentor, Dorothy Draper. Varney started working for the strong-willed pioneering Draper as a draftsman in 1958. By 1966, the Oberlin College and New York University graduate, not yet 30 years old, had become the president of Dorothy Draper & Company, a post he held until his death.
Varney infused hotels and residences around the world with a signature joyful aesthetic, from Palm Beach classic The Breakers to the Jimmy Carter–era White House to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia—arguably his most famous project. A self-confessed type A personality, Varney also designed collections for Royal Copenhagen China, Kindle Grand Rapids, and Frontgate, among others; cofounded textile house Carleton V Ltd.; penned a syndicated decorating column for more than four decades and wrote nearly 40 books. His most recent, The Draper Touch: The High Life and High Style of Dorothy Draper, has already attracted quite a bit of fanfare since its release earlier this month.
Varney’s interiors were no stranger to the pages of AD, including the 1963-featured Dromoland Castle Hotel in County Clare, Ireland, the former ancestral home of the O’Brien family, Barons of Inchiquin, that he adorned with florals, clubby leather chairs of his own design, and a lush drawing room carpet precisely matching blades of grass. Later, there were glimpses inside the late Broadway star Ethel Merman’s Manhattan apartment, which welcomed guests with a year-round tinsel tree, as well as an Aspen retreat that Varney decked out with a palette of turquoise, red carnelian, and jasper, drawing from Native American beadwork.
A deeper dive into the archive reveals not only Varney’s vast range but his wit and graciousness. Here are some of the designs, advice, and candid musings that the icon has generously shared with AD on myriad occasions.
