Varney Contracting & Design

Over the top – High Fashion table tops!

Featuring a grand debut of newly designed table tops "Equestrian Safari" & "Royal Ascot" Varney Contracting & Design and Michael C. Fina of Fifth Avenue NY!

Esteemed designer Marna Varney of Varney Contracting & Design has set up shop at Michael C. Fina! Marna's table from the 2009 Hamptons Classic (featuring tableware from Michael C. Fina) is on display at the Fifth Avenue store. Marna will also be demonstrating her eye for design with another rustic-themed table later this week. Make sure to stop by Michael C. Fina to check out the tables! Or, come to the champagne reception with Marna on October 22nd from 6-8 pm. You must RSVP to attend, so see the invitation attached for details. Product Designer, Marna Lea Varney of Varney Contracting & Design along with her husband, Frederick Varney, are launching two, made to order, linen lines. As the Varney's own and adore two fine steeds of their own they were easily inspired with a subtle influence of equestrian flair. The colorful Safari theme lights up any room it graces and the second line, Royal Ascot is perfectly suited for a gentlemen's luncheon. Both lines have been created using customized & luxurious fabric innovations, that can be accompanied by complimenting dishware, flatware, stemware and accessories imported from France for an inviting and visually compelling setting for eventeurs, models, moguls, dilettantes and horse loving celebs who like to take in multifaceted and exhilarating surrroundings…

The Varney's have a very personalized partnership with their home team that they work very closely with hence the turn around time for these customized ensembles can be completed in as little as 4-6 weeks. Further what ensues is total commitment to client service and satisfaction.

She and her husband Frederick have worked with and have been influenced by noted designers such as Jamie Drake and Lars Bollander. Marna Lea Varney designs various living spaces for clients on Long Island and in Manhattan. She worked with noted shoe designer, Anthony Marinelli of A. Marinelli Shoes and Accessories for twelve years. She has been retained to create show case displays in high end retail stores such as Michael C. Fina and Bertolucci. In addition she designed, launched, and distributed Spray Ban (TM) by Via Opus and previously sold nationwide.

In addition, Fred and his wife Marna buy, renovate, and sell casually elegant turn key properties in choice locations, often as desirable second homes.

At every great event, there is ONE thing that sets the tone apart from all others, aside from ALL else, something that defines the event, sets the stage and creates a mood… and that is…Event or Special Occasion Décor and Design. Event styling is far beyond the ordinary, resonates a message, and it's unusually dramatic application utterly transforms the space that they grace with unique visual perspectives, lush palettes, luxe materials and unreservedly haute designs that amaze and inspire. Basically these tables of art are in short a little theatrical production among the likes of a festive Hollywood world premier event. It is the glamour that transforms a setting with style and evokes an anticipation of what is to come…From simple in design and decoration to complex and intricate with a mixture and balance of richness and simplicity. The allure of a well-dressed and luxurious table is timeless with an inherent generosity and promise of good things to come. Modern minimalist, luxurious eclecticism, eclectic balance of the old and the new, with diverse interesting and beautiful objects all infuse a distinct table personality. And, there are as many ways to design a table as your imagination will allow. "It's sort of an unspoken competition of whose table is getting the most buzz" said Christopher Robbins, the Classic's caterer for 20 years The Varney's attend numerous national trade and industry shows as well as home decor exhibits on a regular basis. They are also inspired by their travels to the French West Indies, and Europe.

Michael C. Fina - Fifth Avenue Store displays over 200 brand names, featuring the world's most respected tabletop manufacturers and kitchenware designers and also have one of the largest selections of estate and antique silverware in New York City.

The Pursuit of Happiness

In the hands of Kevin Carrigan and Tim Furzer, a Long Island Cape Cod gets a thoughtful renovation that combines a guest-ready floor plan and poetic good looks
By Mitchell Owens

The 1920s Cape Cod cottage where Kevin Carrigan and his partner, Tim Furzer, spend their weekends offers everything the couple has ever wanted. There is a gracious garden, which previous owners had lovingly tended for decades. The weathered cedar shingles are straight out of a picture postcard. Even more attractive is the spirit of the place. "You just knew people had been happy here," says Carrigan, recalling his first visit to the property three years ago. "I love that feeling."

The two discerning British transplants—Carrigan is the creative director of CK Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein White Label, and Furzer is an architect—had been fairly content at their previous house on Fire Island, but the trek from Manhattan (which includes a lively ferry ride) had begun to pall. A bolt-hole on the Long Island side of Great South Bay but still close enough to friends in the area was enthusiastically discussed, and eventually the men ended up house hunting in nearby Bellport, a pretty fishing village where William Glackens, the Ashcan School artist, once painted and fashionistas now summer. Located on a former carriage road lined with sycamores, the Cape Cod was the second property that Carrigan and Furzer saw and soon it was theirs. The couple had no intention of changing the place much, but "we really had to make it function for us," says Furzer, who adds that the division of domestic labor has always been straightforward: "Kevin handles the decorating side, while spatial issues are my angle." Both are passionate about collecting art, however, which here means linear ink drawings and lithographs by Joseph Beuys and Kiki Smith. "It's a simple house, so there is no need for bells and whistles," Carrigan explains.

At the top of Furzer's punch list was a desire to relax the tight floor plan to accommodate a seemingly constant flow of guests. Whether the pair's respective mothers or pals from the Hamptons or elsewhere, visitors get the run of an upstairs suite composed of two bedrooms with a common sitting room and furnished with objects whose intriguing textures make up for their spare presentation: an old metal optometrist's table graced with spots of rust and flaking paint, a pair of vintage safari chairs with button-tufted leather seat cushions. The couple's perfectly placed curiosities—which range from a stuffed spider monkey that a friend's four-year-old child has dubbed Suzanne to a magical assortment of framed butterflies—are not precisely what one expects to find behind the house's traditional façade. But their individual whimsy and collective lack of pretense are a perfect fit. "This had to feel like a beach house—it's just two minutes from the water," Furzer explains. "But not nautical or predictable," Carrigan interjects. "It's more about simplicity, good design, and beautiful objects. Basically, it's an exercise in lightness."

One stylistic inspiration for the pair's crisp, lyrical interiors is a photograph of the fashion designer Bill Blass's home in New Preston, Connecticut. "He had an old house but it had a modern sensibility," says Carrigan. Dark wood furniture staged against pale floors was a major part of Blass's country vocabulary. That effect is reflected here in new oak floors that underwent weeks of bleaching ("Even the contractor, who's a pretty burly guy, was crying from the smell," Carrigan says) and then careful applications of white pigment to get just the right pallor and clear epoxy to protect it. "The color couldn't be a pink-white or a yellow-white," says Furzer, who eventually hit upon a formula that allows the oak grain to show through the milky finish. Wood—honest, forthright, earthy—is a leitmotif throughout the rooms, whether it is unfinished (Hans J. Wegner Wishbone chairs in the dining room), deeply distressed (a painted teak folding screen that the couple brought back from a vacation to Thailand) or lovingly polished for at least a century (a Victorian oak display case cradling the mounted skeleton of a carrier pigeon).

On the first floor, the master suite opens to the inviting pool and its broad mahogany deck, a destination that is one of Carrigan's particular delights: "I'm very much one for taking late-night dips." His partner also thoughtfully lined up the suite's doors; now Carrigan can stretch out in the bath and see the crackling fireplace in the bedroom beyond. "It's my little haven to unwind," the designer says of the skylighted chamber.

Not that he has much chance of that, at least if a glimpse at his calendar is any indication. Friends and family have staked out weekends, and a few people on their list have an open invitation to use the pool, which explains the splashing that Carrigan and Furzer often hear when they climb out of their MG convertible after the 90-minute drive from New York City. On the menu are a hallmark stew—a 1962 recipe from the architect's mother—and top-secret mini burgers, all washed down with margaritas prepared in an ice-cream machine, with mucho tequila and a soupçon of lime juice. "This place is designed to have lots of people around," Furzer says. Seems like the happiness is guaranteed for another generation.

Read this article at Elle Decor.

Space for Playtime

Who: Mimi and Richard Somerby, both 47, owners of an interior design business, and their sons, Rufus, 9, and Henry, 7
What: 3-bedroom house
Where: Bellport, NY

Mimi: Anyone who has young children knows the challenges of travel. So, at first, we were attracted to Bellport because of its proximity to the city. Rufus was only about two when we first started coming and we were thrilled that there was a place to go sailing only an hour and 10 minutes from our home in Brooklyn.

But as the boys got older, we began to realize what a wonderful place this was for kids. Bellport has an amazing summer day camp, an outstanding sailing program for children, a playground by the water and two beaches. One beach is on Fire Island and you have to take the ferry, which only adds to the fun. Once there, a boardwalk stretches its way toward the waves. I can't think of a more tranquil place.

The town itself, with its white picket fences, ice cream store and little main street, recalls a more innocent time. Rufus and Henry play intramural soccer on the weekends and, as a result, have their "soccer friends." And because there's a big field across from our house, they can get together with a group of friends for a game of baseball.

Here, as in Brooklyn, there is a strong sense of community. And I think that knowing the crossing guards, other parents and shop owners by name provides Henry and Rufus with an invaluable sense of well-being.

As told to BETHANY LYTTLE
Published: January 25, 2008
Read this article at NY Times





Press Contact:
Marna Lea Varney, Industry Partner ASID
Varney Contracting & Design
P.O. Box 176
Bellport, NY 11713

Mobile #: 631.681.7106
Office: 631.286.7007
Fax: 631.286.7006

Varcon@optonline.net
www.varneycontracting.com