Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie LeRoy.
Debbie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Some people know exactly what they are meant to do from the time they are very young. I was one of those people — I just didn’t know it at the time.
Some of my earliest and most precious memories are those of Saturday mornings spent with my maternal grandmother. From the time I was about four years old, she would take me with her to garage sales, estate sales, antique stores, and antique shows. To anyone watching, it was probably an unremarkable sight — a grandmother and her little granddaughter moving slowly through rooms full of old things. But what was happening in those rooms changed the entire direction of my life.
My grandmother taught me how to look. She showed me how to examine a piece of furniture for the telltale signs of age and authenticity, how to ask about a piece’s history and provenance, how to negotiate with confidence, and how to recognize fine craftsmanship — the kind made by people who understood that a well-made thing could outlast a century. She gave me an appreciation for patina, for one-of-a-kind objects, for the quiet story every antique carries. Those lessons left a mark on me so deep that I didn’t fully understand their weight until decades later.
When it came time for college, I followed a completely different path. I enrolled at UCLA as a science major, earned a degree in Kinesiology, and had my sights set on medical school. I even interned with a female physician to get a real look at what that life would be. What I saw convinced me, without any doubt, that medicine was not my calling. I was grateful for the clarity — even if I left college without a plan.
After graduation, I fell into medical sales, which suited my personality in many ways. But even then, on weekends and in whatever free hours I could find, I was drawn back to the world my grandmother had first shown me. I started attending antique auctions and estate sales again — not as a child tagging along, but as a buyer, a hunter, and a student of beautiful things.
In my late twenties, I took a leap: I opened an antique booth at the Belle Meade Shoppes. What started as a part-time hobby quickly revealed itself as something else entirely. I had a gift for finding exceptional pieces, and people noticed. I was told by many that I had “a great eye”.
Then came my children — two sons and a daughter — and I made the choice that so many women make: I stepped away from my career to raise them. For years, my primary work was motherhood. I stayed involved in my antique booth, continued sourcing pieces, and poured energy into my community. I was one of the founders of the Nashville chapter of the ALS Association and remained deeply committed to that work for a decade. I volunteered at my children’s schools and showed up for the life that was right in front of me.
But the antiques never left me. And gradually, neither did beautiful and timeless design.
As my reputation for finding interesting pieces grew, people began asking if I could help them with more than just acquiring furniture — they wanted help designing their homes. I began immersing myself in design standards, fabric and furniture lines, space planning, and the business of the craft. I learned everything I could. Those years were some of the most important stepping stones of my career.
I dabbled in design throughout my children’s growing-up years, taking on projects here and there. But it wasn’t until my youngest — my daughter — was in high school that I finally jumped in with both feet. In 2013, I launched Debbie Mathews Antiques & Designs as a full-time design firm, working out of my home.
I was nearly fifty years old.
The business grew faster than I expected. By 2015, I needed real space — offices, a conference room, showroom floor — and I moved into 1,850 square feet on White Bridge Road. It was there, surrounded by antiques and fabric samples and the hum of a real team, that something shifted. Clients and peers stopped seeing my work as a hobby and began to understand it for what it had always been: a professional calling and passion. That space was where my systems and processes were built, where my team took shape, and where I found my footing as a business owner.
Six years later, the business had outgrown that space too. In 2021, I found a building that needed significant renovation — and I built it out exactly to meet our needs and specifications. It sits at a highly visible Belle Meade corner location, all on one level, flooded with natural light, and close to the neighborhoods where many of our clients live. It houses our full design team, a luxury showroom, and every resource needed to do this work at the highest level.
When I walk through those doors each morning, I sometimes think about that little girl trailing behind her grandmother through rooms full of old, beautiful things. I didn’t know then that I was being educated. I didn’t know that her patient lessons — look closely, ask questions, respect what has endured — would form the foundation of everything I would one day build.
Today, I am fortunate to have luxury design projects all over the Southeast, helping clients with both primary and secondary residences. I have built a wonderful and loyal shopper base with both interior designers and people who love antiques just as much as I do! I travel to Europe to source interesting, one of a kind, and elevated 18th and 19th Century pieces, and am incredibly grateful that I am lucky enough to live my dream.
I found my way here the long way around. Through science classes and medical sales and decades of showing up for other people before I gave myself permission to show up for my own dream. I don’t regret a single detour. Every one of them made me better at this.
It turns out I knew what I was meant to do all along. I just needed time — and a grandmother with an excellent eye — to find my way back to it.
Debbie Mathews is the principal designer and owner of Debbie Mathews Antiques & Designs, a luxury interior design firm and curated antique showroom serving clients across Middle Tennessee and beyond.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In many respects it has been a smooth road once I decided what I wanted to do. Prior to putting myself out there as a full time interior designer, I obtained a Master’s Degree in Education from Vanderbilt as well as my residential Realtor’s license. While I ended up not being passionate about Counseling or selling real estate both of these educations have certainly been beneficial in helping with my design projects.
Working with design clients often gets emotional because you are working within their personal space surrounded by many of their family heirlooms and prized possessions and change can be difficult. Also, sometimes couples struggle with differing tastes and priorities, so my counseling degree definitely has helped on many levels. I also feel that I am uniquely qualified to speak to home improvements that can really add value to a home given my time as a realtor.
As far as specific struggles, I would say that taking risk as an independent business owner has been challenging and scary. When I started my design business in 2013 I was divorced and didn’t have money to throw away. I needed to really think through financial decisions like renting my first office and hiring my first few employees. I later joined the Entrepreneur Organization so that I could bounce fears and ideas off of other similar and like minded Entrepreneurs experiencing some of the same challenges as I was. I also started immersing myself in business books as I had never even taken a single business class in college. I knew quite a bit about antiques and designs but very little about running a business!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I essentially have two separate businesses.
First, I run a residential Interior Design Firm catering to the luxury client who desires a “timeless, collected, and beautiful” aesthetic. We have worked all over the Southeast on both client’s primary and secondary residences. I am often quoted as saying “Every Room Needs at Least One Antique” so someone who is desiring a more contemporary aesthetic would likely not be a great design fit. I love to mix antiques with newer pieces to create an interesting tension and something unexpected. An example of this would be using more contemporary art in antique frames or placing an abstract piece of art above an 18the Century Italian commode. I love incorporating “one of a kind pieces”, often vintage or antique, in my design projects so that each home feels uniquely curated and timeless. I want to design with a longer “expiration date” in mind. I pay attention to the trends but try to incorporate them into the last layer of my designs so that they can easily be switched out when that particular trend feels dated.
My second business is running a retail showroom which is very different than running an interior design business. I have two different staffs, different financial goals, use different business platforms, ,etc. While it can be challenging to run both of these businesses there is some inherent overlap. Many of our retail shoppers eventually become design clients and many of our design clients purchase retail inventory for their homes. There is a direct synergy between the two businesses which cannot be ignored but at the end of the day they are very different.
Our retail showroom is a wonderful mix of European antiques and vintage items. We carry mostly 18th and 19th Century French, English, and Italian pieces but will often mix in some Swedish and German pieces as well. We carry some mid- Century pieces as well like murano glass lamps and chandeliers as well as some Maison Jansen coffee tables. I am known for carrying a wide selection of chandeliers and lanterns, mirrors and chests. We also carry a wide range of art, both antique and contemporary, as well as accessories, Italian linens, and giftable items. Our showroom showcases vignettes that we have created that display our design aesthetic and make it easy for shoppers to replicate at home. I source many of our antiques directly from Europe attending markets in and around Paris as well as the South of France.
I am most proud of how far I have come in the past 13 years. As an almost 50 year old woman with no business experience, I have harnessed my passions to create a vibrant design career as well as a retail showroom which is truly the physical embodiment of my design aesthetic. I have done this on my own, without borrowing any money, and created a business that I absolutely love. I have been featured in Southern Living, Country Cottage, Nashville At Home, Traditional Home, and House Beautiful this Fall.
I think what sets me apart from others is that I am truly comfortable in my own skin and with my design direction. I am not trying to be someone else – “I have chosen my lane and plan to stay in it”! I am extremely passionate about what I do and I think that energy shines through my work.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I am an avid reader and listener of podcasts. Some of the books that I have found most helpful are as follows:
1. The E Myth and the E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber (these taught me business basics)
2. Rocket Fuel and Traction by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters (taught me a lot of managing employees)
3. Lunch with Lucy by Sherry Deutschmann (taught me about investing in my employees)
4. Claim Your Confidence by Lydia Fenet
As far as podcasts, there are so many but I mostly listen to those that are interior design specific like:
1. A Well Designed Business
2. The Business of Home
3. Style Matters
4. How to Decorate Podcast
5. The McClain Method
I have actually been a guest on all of these as well as others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://debbiemathews.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbiemathewshome
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.mathews.71
