News
Don’t just make your bed, make it look beautiful
Posted on May 12 2017
...Bed dressing actually starts with the bed skirt — but more about that in a moment. Instead, let’s begin with the mattress cover. Think of this as the bed’s undergarments, hidden to the eye but so important.
Designer Regine Traulsen showcases Moroccan style in Palm Beach
Posted on May 05 2017
A fashion designer nearly always is a decorator as well, and the Diamonds’ Palm Beach residence has reflected Regine’s artistic passion, creating a showcase for the best of Moroccan style. From the tiles, lighting fixtures and rugs, to the candelabra and banquette seating, the look would be perfectly appropriate in a Moroccan palace.
Broadway’s ‘War Paint’ is in the pink
Posted on April 28 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News I like to think pink now and again. Yes, I love pink rooms — whether they feature pale carnation or a deeper rose. And after seeing the newly opened musical War Paint at the Nederlander Theatre on New York...
Maps are decorations in the right direction
Posted on April 21 2017
Maps remain a big decorating plus, even in an era when digital GPS mapping systems often have relegated paper versions to gather dust in the car’s glove box.
But as I travel around the world these days, I find that maps — where they chart land or sea — are finding their way onto fabrics, wallpapers and ceilings, as well as coffee tables and end tables.
TCM host as memorable as the building he lived in
Posted on April 17 2017
TCM brings me laughter, sadness, joy — and above all, magic. In the past years, the magic often was introduced by the late TCM host Robert Osborne, who left our world at 84 a few weeks back. Robert was also a star, as much as the screen idols were, although he was not an actor on the A-list. He played in some films early in his youth and later became known as a TV personality. But he was always a writer first.
‘Cagney’ show stirs up fond memories of neighbor
Posted on April 07 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News Give me the simple life! Hollywood legend Jimmy Cagney certainly embraced that sentiment, as I discovered firsthand many years back. I was reminded of Jimmy recently when I was lucky enough to see Cagney, which is now on Broadway...
All Brand Vacuums in Palm Beach has latest for spring cleaning
Posted on March 31 2017
If you have never heard of All Brand Vacuums, you probably haven’t strolled the sidewalk between The Church Mouse and C. Orrico. Tucked among the trendy and bejeweled boutiques, this tiny shop at 350 S. County Road, No. 104, is filled with all the good things that keep your home bright and sparkling.
Northwood in West Palm Beach boasts unique boutique and more
Posted on March 24 2017
If you tend to be color-inspired, as I am, stop into Diane’s Boutique at 515½ Northwood Road, where’s there is always a welcome sign on the door and a welcoming smile indoors, too. The smile belongs to Diane McKinnie, who owns the shop and who has converted her front-window flower box into her front-window cushioned sofa. The window-box seating is comfortable, and it was there on the sofa that I spoke with Diane.
Ibis Isle has colorful history and a name inspired by the bird
Posted on March 17 2017
Ibis Isle is named, of course, for the familiar bird. Just across the street from Phipps Ocean Park, the small island is home to a number of Palm Beach’s friendly faces, who live in its charming mix of private homes and condominiums. Betsy Berkshire, for instance, is a historian and archivist well familiar with the residential and commercial properties of Palm Beach. She is a genius when it comes to fielding questions about the when, the where and the how of the properties here.
Book provides colorful look at cottages in Lake Worth
Posted on March 10 2017
Within the book’s pages, you’ll find pictures of cozy porches that would be perfect spots to sip a cup of tea. You’ll also find houses painted lavender and aquamarine — the town is filled with color, color, color! A pot of paint, it seems, is all you need to decorate a Florida cottage. I love painting a shingled house hot pink, and in the book, there is even a cottage nicknamed the Crayola House.
Design from the 1940s comes to roost in Truman’s Little White House
Posted on March 03 2017
If you visit President Harry Truman’s Little White House at Key West, you’ll find that Truman immortalized the rooster when he placed a pair of the white fowl with their bright red snoods on his living-room mantle. Truman — a Democrat, of course — certainly knew the history of the bird.
Purple perfect for jewels and design
Posted on February 24 2017
All shades of purple — from the lightest lavender to the deepest violet — are popular decorating colors these days. For the classic traditionalist, I might suggest dark-and-deep aubergine walls with white-white woodwork trim and a ceiling painted sky blue. Deep-purple walls are an ideal background for gold-leaf mirrors, antique mahogany furnishings and fine art paintings duly framed in ornate wood and gold leaf...
India Hicks trunk show on tap at Pioneer Linens in West Palm Beach
Posted on February 17 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News Many Palm Beachers know India Hicks as a style icon in the fashion arena — she’s a former model — and the home-furnishings field. You might also know that India is a cousin of Prince Charles on her mom’s...
Vases aren’t just for Valentine’s Day
Posted on February 10 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News I have learned a lot about style from my clients over the years. The words of the late Pauline de Rothschild, a trendsetter and icon, were of particular value to me, and I’m passing them on to you: “You...
Something for the home this Valentine’s Day?
Posted on February 03 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News Arriving every Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year. I recall happy days when I was a boy at school in Massachusetts. My classmates always had a big box — one of mother’s...
Norman Rockwell’s American spirit still inspires
Posted on January 27 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News From days gone by, some of you may recall the charm of the original Saturday Evening Post covers by the great Norman Rockwell. They featured scenes that captured the spirit of America in the 1940s and ’50s. Today, Rockwell’s original...
New eatery Cholo Soy Cocina full of taste and color
Posted on January 20 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News A new wave is always coming ashore on Antique Row. The shops across the bridge on South Dixie Highway always seem to be in flux, don’t they? One season, a location might find its spaces and walls filled with Hawaiian...
Try a little Greenery for a fresh look
Posted on January 13 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Daily News With 2017 just getting under way, it’s a great time to celebrate the latest Color of the Year, according to the Pantone Color Institute, which is in charge of such things. That organization has selected a color named “Greenery” (Pantone 15-0343) as...
Debbie Reynolds spread joy to us all
Posted on January 06 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Daily News The breeze from the bayou will always sing Tammy’s in love to me, and darling Debbie Reynolds will always remain in my heart as the lovely star who sang those lyrics in the film Tammy and the Bachelor. She spread so...
Remove clutter in your home, from your life in 2017
Posted on January 06 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Daily News The most popular word for the New Year, I think, should be “unsubscribe.” I am lost each day in a plethora of emails from people I do not know referencing places I have never heard of and subjects, and products I...
Red and green rooms not just for Christmas
Posted on January 06 2017
By Carleton Varney - Special to the Daily News It is Christmastime across the world, and what a joyous time it is for those of us who celebrate the holiday. Wooden shoes will be filled with sweets in the Netherlands, while in Spain the Turrón squares will find their way...
Trim your tree with touches of past, present
Posted on December 09 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News At Christmastime, I think it’s fun to decorate the tree with memories. I’m speaking, of course, about the charm of hanging ornaments collected over many years. Whether the decorations are 100 years old or purchased last year, they all have a place...
Silver is this year’s color of the season
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News With December upon us, it’s likely to be a silvery Christmas, I think, for those who celebrate the holiday — judging by what I’ve seen so far on the decorations scene. Some of that “silver” isn’t silver at all, of course. The...
Skillet cooking never goes out of style
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Black cast-iron skillets have gone chic, very much in style for today’s party planners and gourmet cooks. To prove this point, Charlotte Druckman has written one of the best skillet cookbooks I’ve ever seen. The book — Stir, Sizzle, Bake: Recipes...
Tassels trendy and fun for home fashion
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Have you noticed that tassels are among the stars of today’s decorating and apparel world? If you are keeping up with fashion, you’ll see tassels making big-time appearances on the runways of New York, Milan and Paris. A little farther down the...
Will Donald Trump bring over-the-top, gilt design to White House?
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Now that my Palm Beach neighbor Donald Trump has won the presidency, we might try to forecast what may become the Trump style in Washington. Each of us has a style of our very own, and as I have always told my...
Cookie jars offer taste of nostalgia
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Milk and cookies — what a treat for afternoon or evening. This classic duo seems to evoke of-the-moment pleasure and happy memories in almost everyone. Some of the airlines even serve the specialty on planes, much to the delight of travelers. There...
Jack-o’-lanterns star in artful Halloween decor
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News With Halloween flying in on its broomstick on Monday, is it any wonder I’m in the mood for pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns? I’ve been so intrigued over the past decade with the amazing art that appears each October in the form of carved...
Vintage signs don’t go out of style
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News I love a good road trip. On a recent trek to Millbrook, N.Y., I encountered on the highway something that’s truly a sign of the times: Everyone knows what a rest stop is, but now we have the text stop. That’s a...
Embrace autumn colors in design
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News October is the time to celebrate the harvest and borrow a few decorating colors. Take a cue from pumpkins, falling leaves, apples of all colors and flavors, cranberries, sunflowers and the rich hues of the chrysanthemum. I’ve been lucky enough to provide...
Hanging pictures correctly lets your walls do the talking
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News As a decorator, it seems I am always pounding picture nails into walls Picture hanging is an art in itself, to say nothing about the art of framing and the selection of mats, frames and fillers. Palm Beachers are lucky indeed...
Pine hutch provides a touch of Ireland
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News As many of you may know, I often spend a bit of the summer in Ireland, as I did recently during the waning of the tourist season. Of all the places in the world that offer impossibly green fields, meandering cows and...
Salad days for design: Think celery, carrot and beet colors for rooms
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Everywhere I look – in village after town after city, and even in airport terminals — I see salad eateries. One’s called “Chop’t,” another is “Fresh and Co.” and even across the bridge in West Palm Beach we have “Field of Greens.”...
Carleton Varney: In fashion and interior design, seersucker celebrates summer
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News The hallmarks of summer are all around us — flowers, sailing boats, beaches, dripping ice-cream cones. And in decorating, the season turns the spotlight on a special fabric, one of my favorites: seersucker. Travel about the country’s seaside spots, and you’ll find...
How to give the right gifts, like Eleanor Roosevelt
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Among her many notable characteristics, Eleanor Roosevelt was an around-the-year buyer of birthday and Christmas gifts, although she didn’t necessarily shop for any one person in particular. The late first lady had in her home a cupboard divided by a panel of...
White just right for Palm Beach seaside decor, but add some color
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News The white house is calling, and I’m not talking about the one on Pennsylvania Avenue. I’m talking about all these houses — and apartments — in Palm Beach, Jupiter, Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Miami that have gone with white in their...
Solving the case of an outdated object
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Going through my closet last week, I discovered — on a shelf way in the back — a collection of briefcases, all covered in rich leather with handsome buckles and brasses. I must own at least six of them, one or two...
Decorating scheme is very cherry
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News This summer has seen a terrific cherry season, with street vendors and supermarkets selling those delicious gourmet delights in a choice of colors, from the rich, deep red nearly bordering on deep burgundy to the the soft white/pink variety. Whatever cherry variety...
Carleton Varney: Towels can be funtional, fun
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Recently, while visiting a Palm Beach home for a quick swim, I noticed that the host and hostess had a straw basket of beautiful towels awaiting poolside for guests to use as chaise covers or for drying off. The towels sported two...
Recalling James Nederlander, 'an illustrious gentleman'
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News My friend Jimmy Nederlander left us July 25 at age 94. He was an illustrious gentleman with whom I worked, partied and enjoyed delightful conversations for many years. Not only was I his decorator, for eight of his residences, but I considered...
Summer means Newport’s on my mind
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Newport is on my mind, just as it is, I’m sure, on the minds of lots of Palm Beachers during these warm days. Now, we all know that Palm Beach folk travel to summer destinations all around the world. Some like Nantucket,...
Carleton Varney: High tech is still on the design scene
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Remember “high-tech”? A few decades years ago, a picture book with those words as its title was a popular read, focusing attention on the sleek, industrial look that was then all the rage in interior design. Metal lockers that once had homes...
Books always deserve a place in today’s home
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News It’s a decorator truism: The type of books one has at home reveals the interests of those who live there. I can always tell a client’s likes and interests simply by scanning the titles found on his or her book jackets. The...
Summer means all things bright, beautiful and cerise
Posted on December 02 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Summertime brings out the brights in all directions. Cool-as-a-cucumber salads are served garnished with edible nasturtiums, which provide visual pops of both color (orange) and shape (round, plus the leaf). Fashionistas are bringing out of their closets oranges, too, mixed with limes,...
Pale pink, blue are red hot
Posted on November 30 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News One of the hottest annual news stories about the decorating market is Pantone’s announcement of its Color of the Year. Last season Pantone, owned by Washington D.C.’s Danaher Corp., told us we would all be dressed or decorating with 2015’s top color,...
Recalling a true gentleman of style: David Bowie
Posted on November 30 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News “Some people got it,” goes the song from the Broadway musical Gypsy. Those lyrics came to my mind this week, when I learned that the world had lost one of the legends in the music, style and fashion. A gentleman of the...
Drapery issues? Simple is better
Posted on November 30 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News Oscar Wilde’s reported last words stir empathy among decorators all over the world. I’m sure you will understand why: “Either those curtains go or I do.” That remark is often quoted, although I’ve seen another version involving a different decorating issue: “The...
Carleton Varney: Is your head in the clouds?
Posted on November 30 2016
This Sky Umbrella, with its lining of clouds, is one of Carleton Varney’s favorite items in the gift store at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Designed by Tibor Kalman and Emanuela Frattini Magnusson, it’s available for $40 at the museum’s website, MOMA.org. Photo courtesy of MOMA.org. By Carleton...
Carleton Varney: Red can add dazzle to your rooms
Posted on November 30 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News For those who observe Christmas, December always offers a chance to paint the town red. It’s the traditional color of Santa’s suit, of course, and the red poinsettia has always been the flower of the season. Yes, I know there poinsettias in...
Think vintage when holiday shopping
Posted on November 30 2016
By Carleton Varney Special to the Daily News When I was a child, my sister, Vivian, and I looked forward to writing out our Christmas lists, with the gifts we hoped Santa would bring us. Those items, in retrospect, seem simple, compared with the wishes of many young children today....