“I don’t think I’ve petted my dog in a month-and-a-half. I still have a number of commissions going on and the writing of the book,” said Carter, who has a new collection debuting at Thomasville Furniture this week, and a coffee table book, “The New Traditional,” to be released later this year. 

The self-taught interior designer to politicos, heads of finance, dealers of fine art and others has been in the design business for about 10 years. He just signed an agreement with an architectural hardware company, and has created collections for retailer Neiman Marcus, home outfitter Frontgate and lighting specialist Urban Electric. Oh, and he has appeared on the HGTV series “Dream House” and other home shows. 

Good luck trying to get Carter to define his “new traditional” approach or to narrow the new collection into a style category. He doesn’t want that. 

“Many collections tend to date their trendiness,” he said. 

His approach mixes modern styles and antique looks, classic shapes and modern finishes, with attention to balance, scale and palette. No one piece dominates a room, but all aim at a calming balance, not meant to be overwhelming, he says. 

“There are so many collections that are very formulaic and that limits options,” said Carter. “If we are individuals, why would we all want to arrive in the same environments?” 

He said he believes in creating fresh environments with classic forms, items that can move from the living room to another room in the home and interact. He can find design elements in whatever he sees — the random lobby of a building, a museum, or a film. 

“I’m very prone to notice everything around me. I’m constantly absorbing,” Carter said. “I have an affection for so many different aspects and periods of design and feel they can live cohesively together.” 

The short version of Carter’s life runs as follows. He grew up in Bethesda, Md., and is a Georgetown law school grad that later bought and fixed up properties in the Washington metro area. One of his places had the good fortune of landing on the cover of Metropolitan Home in 1997 under the auspices of a “New Traditional” approach to interior design. 

Carter points out that before he went to college, he was accepted to the Rhode Island School of Design, but his parents persuaded him to get a liberal arts education. He said he doesn’t regret following that path. 

“An analytical foundation is critical to what I do,” Carter said. 

His work has been featured in shelter magazines such as House Beautiful, Traditional Home and Southern Accents, O at Home, Metropolitan Home and Elle Décor. 

To get a sense of the lifestyle his design clients want, he often asks them to bring him photos of designs they like, since pictures speak volumes. 

“I don’t impose my will on clients. I help them express their wants. There’s more to it than may meet the eye. Children, textiles, what you wear? Lifestyle is a dictate. There is a tendency to have a lifestyle that is thought, versus a lifestyle that is lived, that’s the psychology of the design. It’s about relationships,” Carter said. 

For him, a certain discernable sense evolves in viewing his clients’ desires from a distance. 

“They will always be disparate, but there will always be a common denominator,” he said. “You like things more elaborate, carved, or like the spare, the modern. 

“And that’s how I get a sense of their lifestyle. That’s how it begins.” 

Translate that into design and make the home a respite — a place to refresh, reinvigorate and feel isolated from unpleasantness, he said. 

Darryl Carter for Thomasville is the company’s biggest introduction for galleries and stores this market and includes about 40 wood SKUs in bedroom, dining room and occasional and 10 upholstery frames.

   

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