The World of Interior Designer Charles Faudree, Pro at French Flair

All Things French

Interior designer Charles Faudree, long a favorite of Traditional Home readers, was known for his fondness for all things French. He was based in Tulsa, where he had an interior design studio and shop. The multitasking and highly versatile designer, who enjoyed an international following, wrote popular books on design, led design tours of his beloved French countryside, and designed wallpaper and fabric. He designed both quaint cottages and lavish formal homes. "I'm a big believer in the mix," he said. "A single object on a tabletop or a single work of art on the wall can be nice, but for me, mixing collections provides the most excitement."

Here Faudree is shown with his beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Frilly and Feminine

Our readers were hopelessly smitten by this frothy, French, and highly feminine dressing suite Faudree designed for a Tulsa home.

Statement Mirrors

Octagonal mirrors flank the transition area between milady's bedroom to the bath.

Classic Foyer

In a more toned-down example of his work, Faudree makes a classic first impression in this foyer with a gilt-framed mirror, warm wood flooring and furniture, and a tole bucket filled with flowers.

Formal Welcome

Here Faudree shows his informal side. Color and pattern suffuse this cottage's entryway, making for a warm welcome. Collections are an integral element of every Faudree home; note the walking sticks by the door.

Surprisingly Cozy

Here an antique bergére and wing chair pair up in a soft and sophisticated living room. Despite the formality of a dazzling crystal chandelier, the living room furniture is scaled and cushioned for comfort.

Swedish Influence

In contrast to the previous image, this living room has a country look, with a Swedish influence seen in blue-and-white checks and stripes paired with antique painted wood.

Stylish Prints

Gilt mirrors flank this living room's fireplace, while two linen-covered French bergéres are pulled close for warmth. Plaids and florals live stylishly together. The living room has a French country flair, which is perfect for Francophile homeowners.

Flea Market Floral

When decorating the living room of his Oklahoma cabin, Faudree began with a favorite fabric—a vintage floral—found at a flea market in France. The room beautifully blends fine fabrics and furniture with knotty pine paneling and an exposed-beam ceiling.

Lavish Holiday Decor

Even when living in an interim house while building his dream home in Tulsa, Faudree found time to decorate lavishly for Christmas. "A friend encouraged me to haul out my ornaments, and the result was one of the nicest Christmas seasons I've ever had," Faudree said. The 7-foot blue spruce is trimmed with gold French ribbon, gold braid and tassels, freeze-dried hydrangea blossoms, pink roses, and pinecones frosted with gold.

Pop of Red

Faudree used a peanut color to warm up the family room in this Bartlesville, Oklahoma, house. He decorated the room around a floral sofa from the homeowner's previous home. "Fortunately, red is the homeowner's favorite color, and it's also mine," Faudree said. "To give the family room energy, we pulled the red from the sofas and made it pop on the two big club chairs." See the exterior of the home in the next image.

Colorful Landscaping

Red is used in the landscaping of the home's exterior, forecasting the palette to come.

Cohesive Color Scheme

The peanut color used in the family room (shown on a previous slide) continues on the cabinets in the connecting kitchen.

Soaring Ceiling

A family room with a vaulted ceiling in the back of this house proved the ideal place for Faudree's 12-foot Christmas tree. This photo graced the cover of our Holiday 2002 issue.

Bold Design

This exuberant room from one of Faudree's own homes lit up our April 1991 cover.

Tail-Wagging Sunroom

In this happy sunroom, the designer's love of dogs is abundantly evident in the needle pointed spaniel pillows and porcelain bulldog. What looks like a tile floor is actually concrete, scored, and stained a rich terra-cotta.

Beachy and Relaxed

A custom shell chandelier tones down the formality of this sunroom, where Faudree was able to keep the room's original wallpaper, patterned with palm trees.

Cocooned in Color

Deep red walls cocoon a library where a cheetah-patterned rug brings a smile. See the next image for a different view of the library.

Open Space

A sofa from the homeowner's previous home finds refuge here, while a bull's-eye mirror above it opens up the room.

Perfect Porch

On this screened-in porch of one of Faudree's own homes, comfy wicker furniture invites relaxation.

Ideal for Naps

"I love my bedroom," says Faudree, "but my favorite place to sleep is on the porch." (We love the vintage phone.)

Warming Up

Formerly a bedroom, this cozy sitting area welcomes and warms in the winter with its new fireplace.

Dreamy Cabin

In his cabin getaway, Charles Faudree replaced a stone fireplace with a Louis XVI mantelpiece and matching side cupboards. The new fireplace gives an architectural frame to upholstered walls.

Colors That Delight

Pink and green striped chairs add pleasing color to this dining area. Note the symmetry of the mantel vignette. See the next image for the transitional space between the dining and living areas.

Pulled Together with Prints

Plaid draperies in the same colors as the striped dining chairs also pick up the color of the sofa upholstery, inking the dining and living areas.

Elegant Charm

In the dining room of this Tulsa home, the original plasterwork sets an elegant tone. Painted panels above the doors add French country charm that is enhanced by the bespoke gilded cornices on the window treatments.

Antique Flair

Presided over by an imposing buffet, the dining room has an antique French farm table and candlelit chandelier. One of Charles' first acquisitions—an antique tole footbath—has a place of honor beneath the French Empire convex mirror.

Rustic Kitchen

Wallpaper made to mimic barn siding is the perfect rustic complement to the antique blue painted chairs and buffet in this kitchen. See more of the same kitchen in the next slide.

Unique Collection

Collections of blue-and-white dishes and chickens enhance the kitchen's warmth.

French Farmhouse Kitchen

This kitchen is from one of Faudree's own homes. It gets its French farmhouse ambiance from a collection of chickens, some of which nest in the antique "thing" hanging over the island. (Charles doesn't know what the thing is; he just knows he likes it.)

Country Touches

The Staffordshire chicken and the horse's head on the range hood (originally a shop sign), add a country feeling to the kitchen. The backsplash is an antique fireback found at the Paris flea market.

Lovely Prints

In the breakfast room, a banquette utilizes the area near the windows. An antique tole chandelier illuminates the space while garden prints decorate the walls.

Just-Right Decor Tips

Before a trip to England, the owner of this home asked Faudree what she should buy for the house. "I told her blue plates and that was what she came back with," the designer said. Her collection now adorns the walls of the guest bedroom.

Beautiful Together

The blue-and-white toile on the chairs and ottoman is a beautiful complement to the blue-grey walls and the gingham draperies.

Mixed Materials

White leather wing chairs look stately in the primary bedroom. Striped silk pillows that match the window treatments soften the look. Faudree often adds timeless grace to a room with blooming plants or cut flowers.

Favorite Florals

The marriage of florals and stripes in this primary bedroom creates one of Faudree's favorite looks.

Extravagant Style

Faudree placed his signature touch on the house with the toile in this bedroom. Here, the fabric drapes extravagantly from a Louis XVI-style bed.

Gifted Guest Bedroom

The highlight of the small guest bedroom is the lit clos (enclosed bed) that is wrapped like a gift box in red toile. Curtains draw to create a cozy little nook.

Charming in Green

Walls in the primary bedroom are painted green to play up the country feeling, while an antique light fixture adds wholesome charm.

Cold Weather Oasis

Dark and cozy, the primary bedroom's grand Edwardian bed is ideal for deep winter slumber.

Fancy Fireplace

In the primary bedroom, an oversized wing chair in blue toile is pulled up next to the fireplace.

Bedroom Inspiration

An Empire settee, upholstered in Stroheim's pink-and-white "Surfeit," became the inspiration for the remainder of this bedroom.

All in the Details

The fringe on the lampshade and the monogramming on the chest of drawers are among this bedroom's pretty details. Faudree says, "The mix in the girl's bedroom shown here is more about pattern than collectibles. Pink toile on the little chair and bed curtains mixes with stripes on the wall, a hand-painted floral design on the commode, and florals on the lamp and lampshade. Start with a pivotal fabric, then mix other patterns of different scales from the same color family."

Old-Time Flair

An old-time tub and the portraits hung above it give this bath a hint of frontier flair. See the next slide for another view.

Unexpected Furniture

Furniture not usually found in a bathroom works well in this sunny and relaxing space.

Soft and Glowing

A marble-topped sink glows in soft light from sconces.

Rustic Exterior

Shingles, a lantern, and a weathervane give this cottage—one of Faudree's early homes—rustic appeal.

Furry Friends

Faudree's beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniels perch on pillows made from his fabric collection for Vervain. See next slide for more detail.

Detailed Fabrics

The breed of dogs Faudree is besotted with—Cavalier King Charles Spaniels—are featured in his Cavalier Toile Red on Ecru fabric for Vervain.