LIMERICK, Ireland — Carleton Varney’s first glimpse of Shannongrove was a party.
The 20-year-old designer was very impressed with what was then the home of a German baron.
“John Huston was here and Burl Ives and Elizabeth Arden. It was a fascinating experience, never thinking I would own it one day,” he said.
It’s been 35 years since Mr. Varney purchased the Irish manor done in what he calls Queen Anne Dutch Palladian style. Among the places he resides, the 15-bedroom estate is his favorite sanctuary, with 120 acres of flower and rose gardens and pasture rolling down to the Shannon River. Sheep, horses and cows share the property with him. He has an arrangement with the local agricultural college to tend the land.
For Mr. Varney, Shannongrove is a place to relax and entertain. He celebrated the year 2000 with 200 of this closest friends at the house. He just completed converting the old stables into a 1,200-square-foot kitchen with room for lots more friends and family.
If good decorating ultimately reflects the interests of the homeowner, then Shannongrove is a masterpiece. It’s a mirror for all of Mr. Varney’s many passions, including old movies, board games, gardening and collectibles.
Carleton Varney sitting in the entrance hall to Shannongrove, his 18th century Irish estate. Patricia Sheridan/Post-Gazette
He themes many of his bedrooms. He calls one the French room, another the Chinese room and his own bedroom features a headboard made from an old temple door.
One cherished object is a real Oscar statuette given to him by his friend, Joan Crawford, who was a client. A portrait of the actress by Margaret Keane that once hung in her Manhattan apartment now hangs in his library. Other stars whom Mr. Varney counts among his friends are Errol Flynn’s wife, Patrice Wymore, and Broadway’s Christine Ebersole. Both have stayed at Shannongrove,
In addition to its main staircase, the three-story house has back stairs so servants could come and go without disturbing the residents. The tiny original kitchen is a cozy room with white plaster walls and wood beams. It sits under the main staircase near Flo the housekeeper’s room. In the basement is a re-creation of an Irish pub — yet another place to entertain.
One wing of the building, the former granary, has a cathedral ceiling and has become a family room filled with art and movie posters, board games and tartan carpeting. There is even some original furniture from his mentor, Dorothy Draper, that came from the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Mr. Varney’s son saved it from the dust heap.
“I sent Sebastian over to buy it all when they were wrecking it,” he said.
Patricia Sheridan: psheridan@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2613, Twitter: @pasheridan.
First Published: February 28, 2017, 10:46 p.m.
