As for what inspired Carleton to write another book—he’s penned 26 to date, from tomes on Draper to decor how-tos—he says, “I needed to set the record straight,” and then goes for a laugh. “One of the first things everybody wants to know is, Did I push Dorothy down the elevator shaft to become president of the company?” he deadpans. “I did not.” A mix of public and private moments, Houses in My Heart chronicles Carleton’s own numerous households in all their dramatic design glory, as well as hotels and other residences. There are social shots (Carleton with Prince Charles) and candid family images featuring his then wife Suzanne, from whom he’s now divorced, and sons Nicholas, Sebastian and Seamus. (Seamus, who has Down syndrome, lives in Florida.) The book, however, hardly represents an end to Carleton’s projects. He’s also writing a screenplay of Draper’s life and is working on an Errol Flynn furniture collection with the actor’s widow, Patrice Wymore. (Though Flynn was known for activities far afield from furniture design, he and Wymore met Carleton in 1957 during his study abroad, and they became friends.)
Nicholas, it so happens, is working on a book of his own, as removed from Draperville as possible. It’s a collection of gritty photographs he’s taken on trips to Ireland. And the window on the country he hopes to show? “Modern day,” he says. “One generation is acclimating to the next, and they don’t even understand each other.”
Which, for all their differences, does not seem to be the state of affairs between Nicholas and Carleton. Certainly not now. The jeweler reflects on his marriage of baubles and childhood memories: “In the
equine world, you have something called hybrid vigor, where you put two things that aren’t the same together and it gets better as a result. That’s the feeling I have about this.”
