press/Testimonials

My heartfelt thanks to you, my clients and friends...

These past few years, my muse summoned me, and in pursuit of a design dream, I fueled my creative fires. Armed with my sewing machine, I stitched up a storm and created a fashion line of classic-yet-contemporary Caftans, Tunics and Handbags. Each a one-of-a-kind treasure lovingly handmade by me. 

Launched in summer of 2022, with a splash of soul and a dash of rare, I’m thrilled to showcase…

C≈2≈C Carole Charlin TM

The Limited-Edition Handmade Design Collection

DARE-TO-WEAR-IT

 … And excited to share the recent press accolades I’ve received.

Staging

When we decided to sell our 2500 sq ft penthouse in the Back Bay of Boston.  I hired Ms. Charlin to stage our penthouse.  We were thrilled with the overall care taken to preserve our comfort during the process.  Our satisfaction was confirmed when our place sold one month later.  

I have hired Ms. Charlin to work on home design and restoration projects and have been completely satisfied with her results. She is skilled, professional and personable in every aspect of her work. I enthusiastically refer Charlin Designs without reservation.  

David MacKenzie - MacKenzie Company

Moving & Organization

Carole helped our family on three or four different occasions. Each time we worked on many areas of "domestic management."  She has a great talent for seeing what's needed and then implementing the plan to move forward and execute. She has a full kit of tools and is great at repairing things, hanging pictures and a genius at assembling furniture.

We used her services for the final time when we moved from our apartment of 20 years into a single family home, which included emptying out and editing three large storage units. We could not have done it without her and I continue to have her voice in my brain as I tackle organization projects to this day!

She brings real talent, charm and a great sense of humor and intelligence to her work with clients and it was a pleasure to work with her. I recommend her highly.

Stephanie Pickman Monahan

Restoration

We enthusiastically refer Carole Charlin of Charlin Designs to anyone who requires the best of style, taste and imagination in home decoration and restoration

As owners of Four Seasons Home Care, we specialize in custom home care with the emphasis on personalized services for Mittersill Village, in Franconia, New Hampshire, the only authentic Austrian alpine village in the United States. We watched as Ms. Charlin expertly restored a 70 year-old alpine chalet and hired her to refresh our dining room chairs and re-upholster and restore an antique leather chair. We have a rugged outdoor lifestyle; not only are we professional contractors and landscapers, we hike and ski and have two large dogs. She anticipated our needs and exceeded them with timely turnaround and superb results. Using her craftsmanship and skill she achieved the aesthetics I wanted and the toughness my husband and our lifestyle demanded.

We have hired Carole to work on other personal design and restoration projects.

Ken & Diane King - Four Season's Home Care

NEW HAMPSHIRE "HANDYGIRL" HAS AN EYE FOR DESIGN

BY JOSHUA DAMASO

The Courier, Littleton NH - August 23, 2006

A quick look through a local phone book will show that the North Country has its share of "handymen," but until now, what the area may have been missing is a "handygirl."  Carole Charlin, a former Los Angeles, California, native now residing in the White Mountains, likes to consider herself exactly that. "You could call me a handygirl," she said. "I source fabric [and] design, cut, and sew it myself. I customize and personalize. What I don't know I learn. If it's broke, I fix it."  She has taken her "handy" interior decoration and design knowledge and turned it into her own business, "Charlin Designs."

After relocating from California, she renovated an Austrian-style chalet. Once she started to tackle restoration on the 70-year-old chalet, she realized that her ability to "put things together" and "take a fresh view" on interior design could help other people in the North Country and other parts of New England.  "I come from a family with a background [in design]. One grandmother was a designer the other a seamstress and my dad was an architect," she said. 'I've been involved in design since I was a child. I was immersed in lessons about design, textiles, and color when I modeled for my grandmothers."

Ms. Charlin's knack for simplicity and elegance shows throughout the chalet. Aside from the restored 1950's-style bar, Charlin has unique displays of old glass liquor bottles, a copper-topped fireplace, pine hardwood walls, handmade baskets, and her custom handmade pillows.  Ms. Charlin's handmade pillows have added significance for her, as some of her designs are on display and for sale at the New England Ski Museum. Each of her pillow designs features a different "Alpine style" scene and fabrics used to create the pillows were hand-selected by her in Europe.  "I found my materials in the Alps between Italy and Austria," she said. "I also designed small handbags made of Italian fabrics."  Some of Ms. Charlin's other renovations include a Martha's Vineyard beach cottage, a condominium at a century-old historic building in Boston, and a vintage Airstream camper in Easton.  Ms. Charlin also works as the exclusive in-house decorator for Four Seasons Homecare.

To further solidify her status as a "handygirl," Ms. Charlin has also become a member of the Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network (WREN) in Bethlehem.  Ms. Charlin hopes that area residents will take advantage of her eye for design, and she also hopes to keep learning more along the way.

"What I don't know I learn," she said, "I love what I do."