Romance and Rhododendrons

Romance and Rhododendrons
Author: Carleton Varney
Publisher:
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2020-10-31
Genre:
ISBN: 9780985225674

* This book is the first title to reveal the interior spaces as well as other buildings on the grounds of the famous Greenbrier Hotel* Never-seen-before sketches and vintage color photographs from Dorothy Draper's archive of the redesign of the hotel, with behind the scenes anecdotes from international designer Carleton Varney, who has made his own mark on the hotel, and new photography by Michel ArnaudIn 1946 (after a stint as a World War II military hospital), quintessential American decorator Dorothy Draper was brought in to restore the Greenbrier hotel. She created a signature look - described at the time as 'Romance and Rhododendrons' - that has influenced and delighted not only designers and decorators but also travelers, weary of the gray and beige color schemes that permeate most hospitality properties even now. Draper transformed the interiors with bold colors, classical influences and modern touches.When Carleton Varney arrived in Mrs. Draper's office in 1961 to work as an assistant in the design department, one of his first tasks was to accompany the design icon by train to one of her most well-known and publicised projects. Since that time, he has been involved with every aspect of the hotel's design, maintaining and continuing the look that Draper designed, as well as modernizing, upgrading and putting his own stamp on it. Working with his experienced and innovative team, Varney has turned the historic hotel into a resort for the 21st century.

Mr. Color

Mr. Color
Author: Carleton Varney
Publisher: Shannongrove Press, Incorporated
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Color in interior decoration
ISBN: 9780615450902

Designer Carleton Varney has gathered his latest and most colorful decorating projects to define once and for all his brand of color magic.

Congratulations, Rhododendrons

Congratulations, Rhododendrons
Author: Mary Germaine
Publisher: House of Anansi
Total Pages: 97
Release: 2021-04-06
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 1487008694

In her debut collection, Congratulations, Rhododendrons, award-winning poet Mary Germaine offers love poems to an insistently unlovely world. Through poems that speak to plastic bags and drones as much as they admire roses and the moon, Germaine surfs the confluence of artificial and natural environments, technology, and our small but consequential feelings about them. At turns devotional and suspicious, these poems toe the boundaries of intimacy, responsibility, and reason. In anxious times, anything can be taken as a sign; a crow, a talking coin, and a news report are all sources of information whose truth (or “fake-ness”) demand investigation. Germaine’s poems scroll from a shrine in Lourdes to an augmented-reality sandbox, from a mall filled with loitering ex–love interests to a fairy-tale ending where all the men turn out to be chairs. Funny, provocative, sly, and melancholic, Congratulations, Rhododendrons makes a case for the hope that every apparent disaster of social investment might in the end be redeemed as meaningful, genuine, or at least in some way helpful.

Entertaining Is Fun!

Entertaining Is Fun!
Author: Dorothy Draper
Publisher: Antique Collector's Club
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-06-30
Genre: Entertaining
ISBN: 9780985225636

"Originally published in 1941, Dorothy Draper extends her decorating philosophy to hosting and proves that living well never goes out of fashion. This is a book on making living fun. On having your friends to the house and on how to give them a good time. With her wit and can-do flair, Draper guides aspiring hosts and hostesses on how to excel at dinner parties, holiday meals, weekend guests, weddings, and more. And indeed, Draper's secret is simple: If a hostess has fun, her guests will too!" --

Tomcat in Love

Tomcat in Love
Author: Tim O'Brien
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 366
Release: 1999-09-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0767902041

A CLASSIC FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THINGS THEY CARRIED In this wildly funny, brilliantly inventive novel, Tim O'Brien has created the ultimate character for our times. Thomas Chippering, a 6'6" professor of linguistics, is a man torn between two obsessions: the desperate need to win back his former wife, the faithless Lorna Sue, and a craving to test his erotic charms on every woman he meets. But there are complications, including Lorna Sue's brother, Herbie, with whom she has an all-too-close relationship, and the considerable charms of Chippering's new love, the attractive, and of course already married, Mrs. Robert Kooshof, who may at last satisfy Chippering's longing for intimacy. In Tomcat in Love, Tim O'Brien takes on the battle of the sexes with astonishing results. By turns hilarious, outrageous, romantic, and deeply moving, this is one of the most talked about novels in years: a novel for this and every age.

An Accomplished Woman

An Accomplished Woman
Author: Jude Morgan
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2009-04-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780312539665

A sparkling tale of wit and romance, "An Accomplished Woman" is a delightful comedy of manners written by a latter-day Jane Austen.

In the Pink

In the Pink
Author: Carleton Varney
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre: Decorative arts
ISBN: 9780972766180

From the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia and Quitandinha in Brazil to her important fabrics for F. Schumacher & Co. and her automobile and airplane interiors of the 1950s, Draper continues to influence designers today.

Rooms to Remember

Rooms to Remember
Author: Carleton Varney
Publisher: Shannongrove Press, Incorporated
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2019-08-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9780985225667

-This book is the perfect visual guide for anyone ready to explore the beauty and history the hotel has to offer, and a takeaway memento for those who've visited this special place Located in the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, Mackinac Island is a magical place, accessible only by ferry, private boat, or small plane. In 1887, Grand Hotel was built on the island to accommodate a new leisure class. Today, horse-drawn carriages (no motorized vehicles are allowed) still bring guests to the 660-foot-long porch to catch the breezes off the Great Lakes. When the Musser family - the owners of the hotel - brought in designer Carleton Varney, a 40-year relationship began, as did an ongoing mission to renovate, update, and create the guest rooms, public spaces, and outer buildings of Grand Hotel. That project continues today. ("The job of decorating is never done," says the designer.) Varney has developed a vision that brings visitors back year after year to their choice of the 397 rooms - no two of which are alike. In Rooms to Remember, Varney - in his usual colorful and anecdote-filled style - walks the reader through over 200 lavish photographs of the 43 Named Rooms and Suites, providing decorating details, history, and insights. This book is the perfect visual guide for anyone ready to explore the beauty and history the hotel has to offer, and a takeaway memento for those who've visited this special place. Come along and join this glorious tour of an iconic American hotel!