Faudree, who died in November 2013, was legendary for his charming American take on French country style. His was a wonderfully warm and pattern-rich look that celebrated all the accoutrements of a French estate without the pretentiousness. “We loved everything he did,” says Linda, who, with her husband, Darwin, first worked with Faudree several years ago on their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the designer also lived. A few years after the Tulsa project, Faudree invited Linda and Darwin (now friends as much as clients) to see a designer showhouse he was decorating in Cashiers, North Carolina. The 5,200-square-foot mountain home was constructed from two log cabins that dated to the turn of the 19th century. The structures were moved in the 1960s from Tennessee by a previous landowner and reconstructed on a 43-acre lot by Reflections Lake. “Charles loved the property and was trying his best to get us to buy it,” Linda says. “He knew our style at that point, and he was such a pied piper that he could talk us into anything,” she adds with a laugh. He shrewdly invited them to visit Cashiers in August when it was 75 degrees there and 110 degrees in Oklahoma. “The more we looked, the more we realized the house was a great choice for us,” Linda says. “Charles wanted to decorate it so badly that, honestly, we purchased it in part because he loved it so much.” Faudree was enamored with the house’s history and inherent character, Darwin adds. Soon after the Jameses bought the property, Faudree launched into choosing fabrics for upholstery and draperies, laying the groundwork for the home’s cozy and lushly layered looks. In classic Faudree fashion, he mixed an array of patterns, choosing those that shared common colors and changing up the scale of motifs to ensure all happily played together. He picked menswear plaid on a wing chair with nailhead trim, big vine botanicals on windows and chairs, ticking-inspired blue-and-green stripes on draperies, and animal prints jazzing up accent chairs and throw pillows. “There is plenty of fringe, trim, and gimp, too—the things that set Charles’s work apart,” Linda says. Armchairs covered in “Wheatflower” from Bennison Fabrics and a new Oushak rug proved irresistible to photographer Jenifer Jordan’s two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, the same breed of dog owned by designer Charles Faudree. Taking cues from the wooded lake setting, Faudree chose warm rust tones, woodsy greens, autumn golds, and his famously favorite French blues. His scheme started with large-scale nature-inspired patterns that showcase the colors, which are then repeated in various iterations (and with some slight shifts in hues) in stripes and plaids. Trims pick up the beat as well, with exuberant fringe on pillows and clusters of rust-and-lime-green tassels bouncing along the edges of the draperies. Drawing on the Jameses’ collections of antique furnishings and bringing in some of his own finds, including a pair of painted corner cabinets for the dining room, Faudree filled the rooms with a thoughtful balance of painted and stained tables, chests, and cabinets. Custom antler chandeliers are a nod to the woodsy setting, while corner cupboards speak to a formal European aesthetic. “I bought that butcher’s table at a shop in Dallas because I loved it. I wasn’t even sure where I was going to put it,” Linda admits. She and Faudree made space for it next to the range, and a simple shelf above displays antique serving pieces and Linda’s collection of copper saucepans. Near the butcher’s table, vintage armoire doors were retrofitted to serve as kitchen pantry doors. Faudree frequently repurposed antiques or architectural salvage into furnishings to create the feeling of a country French farmhouse kitchen. Those signature touches and flourishes (elements of surprise, humor, personality, and soul) were what made Faudree’s designs so endearing. And enduring. That penchant played perfectly to this house, and Faudree asked his artisan brother-in-law, Dale Gilman, to make antler chandeliers for the dining room and an outdoor sitting room. Even a simple wall bracket is embellished with a pair of antlers. “They were perfect in this rustic European-style house,” Linda says. An outdoor living area added by a previous owner has laurel branch railings and a stone fireplace. Faudree furnished the covered porch room with wicker and rustic wood chairs and tables and an antler chandelier.
