In Business of Home’s series Shop Talk, we chat with owners of home furnishings stores across the country to hear about their hard-won lessons and challenges, big and small. This week, we spoke with Debbie Mathews of Debbie Mathews Antiques & Designs in Nashville.
The women in Mathews’s early life were never going to allow her to be anything other than an antiques dealer. “My grandmother was passionate about antiques, so we went to garage sales, estate sales, antique shows, auctions. She trained me from a young age in what to look for,” she says. Her childhood best friend’s mother also carted the two young pals around to sales. “She would make it a contest: ‘Let’s see who can find the most Little Red Riding Hood cookie jars.’ I feel like my training started from when I could walk.” Mathews launched her first antiques business in her twenties, and after taking a breather to start a family, she eventually expanded her services to interior design, and finally, retail.
Ahead, she discusses her antiques niche, how her business has changed with the technological whims of the industry (or not!), and why she’s still not tired of the hunt after all these years.
What is the aesthetic of the store, and what type of antiques are you known for?
I am known for more traditional and transitional interiors. I carry mostly 17th, 18th and 19th century European pieces. The majority of my antique inventory is French and Italian, with a few German, a couple of Swedish, and maybe a few English pieces as well.
I’m known for having a large selection of chests or commodes. I try to find pieces that are a little bit different—not your typical Louis Philippe commodes, but maybe one where the inlay is book-matched, or the marble top has angled corners. I also have been known for a large section of mirrors, and vintage and antique lighting. I always have a selection of Murano glass chandeliers, which are really more midcentury, but I think they pair well with traditional and transitional interiors.
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We feature a number of local artists, as well as artists from out of town. Right now I’ve got two artists based in Colorado, an Atlanta artist and several Nashville artists. We style vignettes that showcase my aesthetic, so if a person walks in, they’re going to get a real sense of how I design somebody’s home. My philosophy is to ground a room with substantial and exceptional antiques; my quote is “Every room needs at least one antique.” I bring in transitional pieces in the last layer of my designs so whatever space I’m designing feels current and fresh, as opposed to looking like a museum.
Can you tell me about your sourcing process? You must have relationships going back many years at this point.
I do. One of the first ways I sourced was by going to antique auctions. There was an auction in Chattanooga once a month, and I learned so much because the auctioneer would give a full detailed description of every item he presented. During Covid, that particular auction went online, so I can still buy virtually. I’ll also go to local estate sales. There are women in Nashville who host many of these sales, and they’ll reach out to me saying, “Debbie, oh my gosh, we’re getting ready to sell a number of items that look just like you.”
But the majority of my inventory does come from Europe, and I achieve that in two different ways: One, there are a handful of gentlemen in Atlanta who bring back containers from France, Spain, Italy, probably five times a year. I feel like we’ve grown up together—they’re some of my very best friends—and they let me know when they have a new container coming in. If I can’t make the trip to Atlanta to look at pieces in person, they’ll FaceTime me, send me videos. I’ve purchased so much from these same gentlemen over 30-plus years, and they’re so kind to me.
I also go to Europe myself. I can’t get there as often as I would like, because I’ve got my design clients and it’s hard to take two weeks away, but that’s my favorite way to purchase antiques. The inventory is just so much greater, and I can immerse myself in that shopping adventure for days on end. There are headaches with shipping items back from Europe: Inevitably, something gets lost or broken. It’s not all fun and games. I console myself with the fact when I buy off containers in Atlanta, I know exactly what I’m getting.
But it really doesn’t matter where my husband and I might be traveling. If I accompany him on a business trip to the Northeast and he’s in meetings all day, the first thing I do is look up local antique stores. He teases me, “Do you not ever get enough?” And no, I don’t. I love it. It’s a game.
What is the category or object that flies out the door?
It’s cyclical. I used to say chess commodes. Today it’s small side tables, really narrow consoles. People are always looking for that narrow piece to go in a hallway or a unique small space. I’ve always had the thought that larger pieces take longer to sell, but the exception to that is a beautiful, long, narrow French cabinet or sideboard. I rarely can keep them for a month. I just sold probably the largest one I’ve ever had on Saturday. Then, without question, mirrors. People always need mirrors. As far as accessories, my number one is antique books. I always keep those in stock, because when I’m styling a project for a photo shoot, it seems like I always need antique books, whether to perch on a side table with a little vase of flowers or to style a bookcase. They add that last layer of richness.
What about your own favorite object in the store right now?
I have a pair of chairs in the shop, and every day, I look at them and want to bring them home. I’m struggling, because when I buy something for the showroom, I try not to take it home. But these chairs! They’re sometimes called curule chairs, sometimes Savonarola chairs. They were originally designed [in Italy] hundreds of years ago, so that when royalty went on the road, maybe to travel to their summer home, they could be folded up. They looked very regal, but they’re kind of contemporary in design. It’s usually an iron base with big brass knobs or rests for the arms. The pair I have here, the seat and back are in this rich brown leather, and they’re almost sculptural. They’d be perfect for an entrance hall. I’m coveting them at the moment.
My second favorite type of item is the Louis Philippe style. Louis Philippe changed course from the previous kings, who were into opulence and over-the-top embellishment. He wanted to appeal more to the common people, and furniture design became a lot more streamlined and simplistic. That’s who I am. I don’t want the heavily carved Victorian pieces; I want a simple walnut chest with beautiful book-matched or inlaid veneer, not a lot of busyness. The Louis Philippe–style mirrors are very simple arches, but with maybe a geometric design carved into the gilt wood.
What’s your e-comm strategy like, and how has it changed over the course of your business?
Years ago, I was vetted and accepted as a 1stDibs dealer, which was the first feather in my cap, because the process was really rigorous. I had to be interviewed by an auctioneer from Sotheby’s. I had to send them a portfolio of the types of antiques that I carry and write descriptions, which they critiqued. It was something that I invested a lot of time and energy in. I was a 1stDibs dealer for probably five or six years, but as my physical retail business started to expand and the cost to be on 1stDibs increased, I pulled out and moved to Chairish, and I am still there. I don’t have a huge presence there because about a year ago, we added a shop page to our website. Almost all of my inventory is on our shop page, and we’re seeing the fruits of that labor. It’s taken time for people to find it, but we are getting more and more people shopping that way who can’t come and see our pieces in person. We use Shopify, which is pretty easy.
What is the Nashville design scene like, and where do you fit into it?
There are the most amazing designers in Nashville. I think it was four or five years ago that the Nashville Design Collective was built, and it’s a smaller version of ADAC in Atlanta or the D&D Building in New York. More fabric showrooms are popping up, so I feel like it’s booming and will continue to do so. There are so many Nashville designers who are nationally recognized at this point. As far as where I fit in, I am known for more traditional interiors. Definitely antiques. It’s been, gosh, 35 years that I’ve been in the antique business. Other designers shop with me. My shop is literally on the corner of Main and Main, with a stoplight right in front of my building. You just can’t miss it. I feel like moving into this location two years ago has put me on the map.
What’s your favorite kind of day at work?
[Two Saturdays ago] was a great day. I don’t typically work on Saturdays, but I knew we would be really busy because of the Antiques & Garden Show. I went into the shop for a couple hours in the afternoon, and heard people talking about the pieces and saying, “This might be my favorite shop that I’ve ever been in.” There were a group of ladies from Knoxville and they said, “We will definitely be back. This is just beautiful. You’ve got a great eye.” Our sales were incredible. It’s reaffirming that I am meeting the needs of my shoppers. When someone walks in and they pause and go, “Wow” … My office is just off the showroom, so I can hear people talking, and it makes my day. I never tire of it.
