diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index f7ea461..b9e5d69 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -159,11 +159,18 @@ func Load(path string) (*Config, error) {
 }
 
 // FindAndLoad searches standard paths for a config file and loads it, or returns defaults.
+// It checks in order: repo-level .charter.toml, repo-level charter.toml,
+// then user-level ~/.charter/.charter.toml.
 func FindAndLoad(repoRoot string) (*Config, error) {
 	paths := []string{
 		filepath.Join(repoRoot, ".charter.toml"),
 		filepath.Join(repoRoot, "charter.toml"),
 	}
+
+	if home, err := os.UserHomeDir(); err == nil {
+		paths = append(paths, filepath.Join(home, ".charter", ".charter.toml"))
+	}
+
 	for _, p := range paths {
 		if _, err := os.Stat(p); err == nil {
 			return Load(p)
diff --git a/internal/config/config_test.go b/internal/config/config_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3dcdfe1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/config/config_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+package config
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestFindAndLoad_repoLevelCharterToml(t *testing.T) {
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+
+	// Create repo-level .charter.toml with a custom value
+	repoCfg := filepath.Join(tmp, ".charter.toml")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(repoCfg, []byte(`
+[storage]
+charters_dir = "repo-charters"
+`), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("writing repo config: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	cfg, err := FindAndLoad(tmp)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("FindAndLoad error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Storage.ChartersDir != "repo-charters" {
+		t.Errorf("expected charters_dir = repo-charters, got %q", cfg.Storage.ChartersDir)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFindAndLoad_repoLevelFallbackCharterToml(t *testing.T) {
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+
+	// Create repo-level charter.toml (without the dot)
+	repoCfg := filepath.Join(tmp, "charter.toml")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(repoCfg, []byte(`
+[storage]
+charters_dir = "fallback-charters"
+`), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("writing repo config: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	cfg, err := FindAndLoad(tmp)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("FindAndLoad error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Storage.ChartersDir != "fallback-charters" {
+		t.Errorf("expected charters_dir = fallback-charters, got %q", cfg.Storage.ChartersDir)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFindAndLoad_userLevelCharterToml(t *testing.T) {
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+
+	// Create a fake home directory with ~/.charter/.charter.toml
+	charterDir := filepath.Join(tmp, ".charter")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(charterDir, 0750); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("creating .charter dir: %v", err)
+	}
+	userCfg := filepath.Join(charterDir, ".charter.toml")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(userCfg, []byte(`
+[storage]
+charters_dir = "user-charters"
+`), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("writing user config: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Override HOME so os.UserHomeDir() returns our temp directory
+	t.Setenv("HOME", tmp)
+
+	cfg, err := FindAndLoad(tmp)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("FindAndLoad error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Storage.ChartersDir != "user-charters" {
+		t.Errorf("expected charters_dir = user-charters, got %q", cfg.Storage.ChartersDir)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFindAndLoad_defaultsWhenMissing(t *testing.T) {
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+
+	// Override HOME to an empty temp dir so no user-level config exists
+	t.Setenv("HOME", tmp)
+
+	cfg, err := FindAndLoad(tmp)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("FindAndLoad error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Storage.ChartersDir != ".charters" {
+		t.Errorf("expected default charters_dir = .charters, got %q", cfg.Storage.ChartersDir)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFindAndLoad_repoOverridesUser(t *testing.T) {
+	repoTmp := t.TempDir()
+	userTmp := t.TempDir()
+
+	// Create repo-level config
+	repoCfg := filepath.Join(repoTmp, ".charter.toml")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(repoCfg, []byte(`
+[storage]
+charters_dir = "repo-charters"
+`), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("writing repo config: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Create user-level config with different value
+	charterDir := filepath.Join(userTmp, ".charter")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(charterDir, 0750); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("creating .charter dir: %v", err)
+	}
+	userCfg := filepath.Join(charterDir, ".charter.toml")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(userCfg, []byte(`
+[storage]
+charters_dir = "user-charters"
+`), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("writing user config: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Override HOME so user-level config is visible
+	t.Setenv("HOME", userTmp)
+
+	cfg, err := FindAndLoad(repoTmp)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("FindAndLoad error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Storage.ChartersDir != "repo-charters" {
+		t.Errorf("expected repo config to override user config: want charters_dir = repo-charters, got %q", cfg.Storage.ChartersDir)
+	}
+}