Since 2004 Sebastian Varney has been the owner and president of Carleton V Ltd., the textile design firm that specializes in the development of original printed and woven fabrics.  After Carleton Varney’s passing in 2022, Sebastian along with his brother Nicholas became co-owners of Dorothy Draper & Company, Inc., one of the oldest continually operating interior design firms. He leads Dorothy Draper  & Company on the day-to-day business operations and manages the legacy, heralded by his father, with Nicholas consulting on the creative side. 

The success of Carleton V’s design studio is that color, scale, and texture are thought of as equal parts of the design spectrum.  Sebastian oversees the fabric line to ensure it is constantly evolving in order to merge the best designs from the past with the design concepts of tomorrow.

Carleton V was founded in 1973 by Carleton Varney,  who was the President of Dorothy Draper & Company, and established Carleton V Ltd. as a textile and wallcovering design studio to provide creative products for Dorothy Draper’s high-end residential and hospitality projects. Under the direction of Sebastian, the design studio has expanded its product offerings to include collections that range from traditional floral prints to abstract and contemporary wovens that use color and scale to appeal to a broad range of tastes.  Today, Carleton V works with designers on projects all over the world. 

Having grown up shadowing his father in his decorating and design business, visiting textile mills in Europe, meeting with clients for hospitality and residential projects internationally, and accompanying Carleton at  auctions, it was a natural evolution for Sebastian to take a position at the company, nearly 30 years ago.  He headed up the antiques business traveling for auctions and purchasing important works for Dorothy Draper’s clients.  His first major purchase was all the furniture from the original Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco at a Christie’s auction.  This furniture became the basis for the Dorothy Draper & Company Collection produced by Kindel.

Under Sebastian, many of Dorothy Draper & Company’s established partnerships continue including maintaining the historic spaces and updating the almost-400 guest rooms at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and at The Greenbrier, the 710 guest rooms resort located in White Sulphur Springs, WV as well as working with private clients with residences at The Greenbrier Sporting Club. In addition the company is designing residences in Alabama, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.