Charles Riley began his design career in New York in 1979 working as the assistant to Arthur Smith, an interior designer who had been partners with Billy Baldwin. After assisting Mr. Smith, Charles worked for David Salomon and the photographer, Peter Vitale, before joining West Point Pepperell as the in-house photo stylist and Director of Editorial Projects. From there Charles went on to become Associate Decorating Editor at Home Magazine, and Decorating Editor at House Beautiful. Charles opened his design business in 1991, and his antiques business in 1999. His design work has been featured in House and Garden, House Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, HOME Magazine, Women’s Day specials, Better Homes & Gardens specials, House Beautiful specials, Parenting, Country Home, Colonial Home, Traditional Home, Brides, McCall’s, Family Circle, Redbook, American Dream Home, and American Home Style. His corporate clients include: Hearst Corporation, Spiegel, Departures, Eisenhardt Wallcovering, Rosenthal, Perfect Fit Industries, Wilsonart, Florida Tile, Hewlett Packard, Loral Skynet, Neutrogena, Karastan and Event Quest.

Charles has also appeared in segments on the House & Garden network in Rooms Across America and Awesome Interiors.