Carelton Varney’s insight into Decorating in the Grand Mannor

by Rose Rushe

“The more you give in life, the happier you are” – Carleton Varney

“I FIRST did Dromoland Castle 50 years ago in 1964, and did it again in the 1970s after [owner] Bernard McDonagh died. The thing about Dromoland is that it really reinvented interior design in Ireland at the time, no question about it”.
World class designer, merchandiser, writer, friend to stars and presidents, bon viveur Carleton Varney was in town to promote his 30th book, the beautifully produced ‘Decorating in the Grand Manor’. He is true to the title and true to expectations of this immensely talented and friendly man.
Rhinestones twinkle at his gingham cuffs as he holds court.
“I became a sort of instant celebrated person,” he recalls of the glory days, his 20-something self on unlimited budget from Mr McDonagh and swamped with attention by air hostesses and magazines. The Irish Man’s Diary noted him twice. Carleton even met the The Beatles at Dromoland Castle, “young lads like myself,” he grins. “They were just starting out then, 1967”.
A Bostonian, he was still working with the iconic Dorothy Draper company in the US when contracted to do numerous venues here – The Clare Inn, Limerick Inn, Shannon International Hotel, Adare Manor among his portfolio familiar to the local public.
Carleton’s book-signing with OMahony’s Booksellers at Loft Venue, Locke Bar strummed along with Spanish melody and long standing friends: Lady Geraldine Dunraven, antique dealers Ann Sullivan and Pauline Fenton, George and designer Michelina Stacpoole, architect Cáit O’Ceallacháin, Paul and Siobhan Dyar from Dromoland estate, archivist Patricia Haselbeck Flynn, Limerick Post’s Gerry O’Malley and Kieran O’Donohue of Connemara Carpets, with Jacqueline, Richard and Anna Costello being his accommodating hosts for the party.
To give a measure of his status, Leisure page noted the book’s forewood by Desmond Guinness and an epilogue by Gloria Vanderbilt advising “To expand the imagination, open this book… a magical world created by Carleton Varney”.

Pallaskenry’s Shannongrove House is his second home and features in the colour-rich pages as exemplar, alongside photos of him with clients Mary Tyler Moore, Hilary Clinton, Joan Crawford. This is the man who ‘did’ The White House for Jimmy Carter, vice president Dan Quayle’s home and the American Embassy in Dublin for (ex) Ambassador Egan.
“The world of glamour is over,” he laments. “Hotels today basically have a manufactured glamour and although it has a certain patina, none has history to it. This is not an age when people have libraries or a music room and they often have to live in a small space.
“Yet there still are the requirements to have a place to sleep, to work, dine, rest and entertain. You have to be able to put that into limited space and I tell what you can do with limited usage”.
Whence his big, bold, elegant vision?
He laughs. “I used to spend a lot of time in Parliament Theatre. I’ve done movie sets and all sorts of theatre sets. The trouble is,” he pauses, “I know too much and when you know too much, you are never satisfied”.
Carleton Varney values his School of Design post at the University of Charleston and interaction with every generation.
He recalls ‘King Kong’ star Fay Wray at 94 appealing for a complete refit of her gorgeous apartment, addressing a need for dynamic and creativity. Pen in hand to sign his book for the queue at Locke Bar, his parting words are: “The more you give in life, the happier you are.
“You can’t stop until it’s all over”.