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Category: Designers

Spend the weekend on Mackinac Island with Carleton Varney, the Grand Hotel's colorful interior designer

If you've ever traipsed through the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, you couldn't miss the vibrant colors and bold florals on everything from the pillows and draperies to the wall-coverings.

Those memorable design elements are the signature of Carleton Varney, internationally-known designer and president of Dorothy Draper & Company in Manhattan, the nation's oldest established interior design firm. Its namesake, Dorothy Draper, was considered the grande dame of design from the 1920's to 1960's.

As her protege, Varney has left his mark on everything from celebrity residences (including that of Joan Crawford) to the official Vice President's Residence in Washington D.C., and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

He also glammed up numerous resorts and hotels, most recently the penthouse suite at the Stoneleigh Hotel in Dallas, but also, years ago, Dromoland and Ashford Castles in Ireland; the Greenbrier in West Virginia, the Waldorf Towers in New York and The Breakers in Palm Beach.

I had the pleasure of meeting Varney several years ago during a conference at the Grand Hotel, and he is as flamboyant a character as his trademark designs. He wore a striking white suit accented with a bright turquoise tie and had a penchant for quick, sometimes outrageous, quips.

Well, Varney is due back at the Grand Hotel next month, Sept. 18-22, for the 20th annual "Carleton Varney's Antique and Design Fall Festival." He'll share his expertise on decorating and, no doubt, sign copies of his recent book, "Houses in My Heart: An International Decorator's Colorful Journey." He even may bring samples of his own line of fabric design, Carleton Varney by the yard.

Also featured at the weekend event will be antique dealers from across the U.S., who will answer questions and display their wares.

For more information and rates, check the hotel Web site here