Decorator Carleton Varney has Watched Many Trends Come, Depart and Return

Decorator Carleton Varney has Watched Many Trends Come, Depart and Return

By Carleton Varney- Special to the Palm Beach Daily News

Fads and trends come and go, whether in hair and nail salons, interior design studios, furniture stores or apparel stores. What’s here today may not be here tomorrow. And sometimes that’s a good thing.

If you observe female news anchors and reporters on cable television, for instance, you will see they have lately been growing their hair longer and longer, sometimes with ponytails braided like Heidi’s of storybook fame. Don’t look for hairstyles that might have been worn by the likes of Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly. Nor are you likely to find a hairstyle like that of ''Rosemary’s Baby'' star Mia Farrow on any channel.

I recall when the Nehru suit was the “it” style of the moment, with its boxy tunic jacket and Mandarin-style collar. I even wore one back in the 1970s when I spoke at a forum sponsored by the Chicago Furniture Market. I even think I wore love beads with it. Can you imagine?

3 comments

  • Erik Wagner on

    A “minimalist room”. I don’t understand it.

    There is a wonderful, comforting feeling to sit in a room alone and be surrounded by objects of art and beauty and exquisite craftsmanship, each with a story of it’s own. Each evoking feelings and memories, and thoughts of the moments in time that it has passed through. Whether it be a centuries old piece of vertu, or something made by a family member decades ago, I think of the hands it has passed through and the stories it could tell. Minimalist—I think it equates to sensory deprivation. but perhaps there’s a place for that also.
  • Lynn Taylor on

    Thank you Carlton for supporting ALL of our design preferences and especially yours for color in our lives!

  • Pamela Taylor on

    Great article and great advice!!!

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