Noted designer tells colorful tales

If pressed to describe his storied career, Carleton Varney would sum it up quite simply: "I sell memories."

Varney does that and more, much more. He is one of America's most noted interior designers. He is president and chief executive officer of Dorothy Draper and Co., the nation's oldest interior design firm. He has created designs for presidents, vice presidents, movie stars and royalty, as well as restored historic and renowned hotels worldwide. Additionally, he has penned numerous books, writes a syndicated newspaper column, established a graduate program in interior design and has a line of fabric and other home furnishings and accents.

But it's his designs, especially his residential work, that people remember. "Home is the most important place, and the more you care about it, the more important it is."

Varney, who addressed a group of design professionals gathered for this month's First Friday event at the Las Vegas Design Center, said his life charted its own course just by who he met and who he talked to.

"I never expected to have the life and career I've had," he said, while sharing stories about his life and career.

His early career was shaped by Dorothy Draper and actress Joan Crawford, who was his client for 21 years. He said when he first met Crawford, he asked her what she wanted and her reply was "I only want it to be me."

"The trick was figuring out who was me," he said.

By working with Crawford and helping her decorate many homes, he learned that the key to creating great style is to understand who you are designing for. She also was the one who wanted him to have a presence that people would identify with him, which prompted him to start wearing scarves in place of neck ties.

"Whenever I work on a project, I try to grasp the who -- what it is that makes them special," he said.

Draper had an innate sense of style, much of which was absorbed by Varney. She believed that if it looked right, it was right -- but that it had to look right to Dorothy Draper otherwise it was wrong, very wrong, he said.

Varney credits Draper with turning interior design into a business. Additionally, she was the first designer to put her name to products.

And like his mentor, Varney uses bright colors and rejects all that is impractical, uncomfortable and drab. He continues her tradition of imaginative uses of vibrant colors, floral patterns and bold contrasts.

Varney said Draper never would have tolerated the beige, neutral tones favored by many of today's designers. "She would say 'Show me nothing that looks like gravy.'"

He blames the invention of the color television for changing the way people decorate their homes. He said a room's color emanates from the television and the surroundings are intentionally made beige to put the focus on the TV.

He said that point became more evident during a recent visit to a hotel room. Tired when he arrived, he entered the room, which was decorated in earth tones, took a shower and said to himself when he emerged "I'm naked in a bowl of oatmeal."

Varney, who considers himself more of an artist than a designer or decorator, said ideas for his designs come to him when he is dreaming. "I dream my work, my rooms. That's how it all comes together."

After years of success, he is helping others learn the trade through a graduate interior design program at the at the University of Charleston in West Virginia.

Despite his busy schedule, he said he makes sure he addresses every incoming class, which consists of about 60 students, and asks them to write him an essay that describes the very first room they can remember. He asks them to include details about who was in the room along with the colors, views and furnishings.

"They look at me with eyes of wonderment. And then I ask them to draw me a picture of the room."

He said the drawings provide him with a sense of each person's motor skills, while the essay gives him insight into their taste.

"The very first room you remember is the foundation for your taste," he said. "I don't believe there is good taste or bad taste, only taste. I believe it's like fog. You can look at it and see it, but you can't really touch it."

After his presentation, Varney signed copies of his latest book, "Houses in My Heart," surrounded by furniture from the Dorothy Draper Collection by Kindel Furniture Co. in the Robert Allen/Beacon Hill showroom.