Designer Carleton Young grew up in Greenville, Alabama, in the same well-decorated, circa-1800s home in which her father grew up. Creativity and a good eye run in Young’s family; her mother and grandmother both designed wedding florals.
“Growing up in an environment of, one, strong-driven women, and two, being surrounded by beautiful environments, whether it be my mom creating beautiful weddings or our home, resonated with me,” says Young.
Young met her husband, Louisiana native Brooks Young, at the University of Alabama, while earning her degree in interior design. In 2010, after college, the couple moved to New Orleans. Soon, Young began working at Moss Antiques and Keil’s Antiques on Royal Street, where she honed her knowledge of antiques.
Approximately a year later, eager to move into her design career, Young started working for Curtis Herring Interior Design, where she would stay for about six years before branching out on her own. Young’s first significant project was a family friend’s condo in the St. Elizabeth building on Napoleon Street in Uptown.
“I loved that she took a leap of faith on me,” says Young, who lives Uptown with her husband and two daughters, ages 4 and 6, not far from that first project. “I was just getting started. So, she fully trusted me. And it was honestly kind of a dream first project because they bought this condo and were starting from scratch.”
Inspired by everything from childhood travels to Europe and the work of iconic designers such as Bunny Williams, to a love of midcentury modern design and daring pattern play, Young injects her projects with a sense of breezy, yet sophisticated, timelessness. While her designs lean toward classic, over the years Young has become more adventurous with both pattern and color.
“I want spaces to feel full of energy and warmth,” she says. “[To] give people a sense of calm, but also feel alive.”
carletonyoung.com; @carletonmyoung
