Today we’d like to introduce you to Diane Powell.
Hi Diane, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in middle Tennessee and then after college went into the Army as a communications officer. This led me to living in different countries and settling in Washington DC for almost 25 years. There I learned to love the historic homes and began my renovating addiction. Before HGTV! I worked at NASA HQ during the day and renovated during every other waking hour. I have a gift of seeing what is possible in old buildings and making them beautiful spaces. In 2015, we moved to Lenoir City. The downtown was abandoned with most of the stores vacant and boarded up with only a couple of pawnshops and check cash businesses. I found a vacant 15,000 sf former Rexall drugstore built in 1905 and took the leap. I began renovating the building and shortly afterwards the city started reconstructing the downtown sidewalks. The first couple of years were a mess of torn up streets and no sidewalks, but slowly people could see progress. We opened an event center in one portion of the building and began hosting showers, parties, and weddings. Guests loved seeing the beauty of gleaming wood floors and pretty pressed tin ceilings in a historic building. I continued to renovate the building and rented the corner space to a women’s clothing boutique. Next I found an old arts and crafts style hotel. It was dirty and in disrepair, but I knew the building was solid and that we could make it beautiful again. I rented it to a popular home furnishings and antique business. Once again, the visitors loved the how a restored hundred year old building made them feel a part of the history of Lenoir City.
Within the first four years, other women were beginning to open other stores and people began to come shop in our downtown. This hadn’t happened in many years!
Since then I’ve purchased a couple more buildings (remember addiction?). They now house a salon, a dance studio and two AirBnB’s. I always embrace as much of the historical character as I can in the buildings that I renovate.
In 2023 I opened Lenoir Decor- a home decor store that focuses on eclectic, quality furniture and accessories that make your home special. I believe that your home should reflect your personality and definitely not look like every other house in the neighborhood. We’ve had too much cream and gray in the past few years so we also feature LOTS of colorful pieces that make you feel joyful.
Lenoir City is growing and I meet people moving to our area every day from other states. Now they get to experience a pretty historic section of town with a variety of stores, a coffee shop, a Mexican ice cream shop, and a unique sandwich cafe. I get to enjoy being a creative shop owner while still renovating parts of my buildings. I remember creating houses for my Barbie when I was young and I still feel like I’m playing when I’m creating pretty, inviting spaces today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not! Renovating 100 year old buildings takes vision but also takes a lot of money and stamina. Finding people that can do the work is not easy. These old buildings had little to no usable electrical power, plumbing and definitely no HVAC. All needed new roofs, windows and gutters. So I learned to be patient and find great people that were willing to tackle old buildings. They had been abandoned for many years and that is hard on a building. The town’s mayor and codes office have been very supportive.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m not afraid to take on a challenge. My friends laughed at me when I bought my first house on Capitol Hill. Two years of hard work turned that Victorian townhouse into a showplace. In Tennessee I was blessed to be able to buy the anchor building in downtown Lenoir City and immediately gave the exterior a facelift. This encouraged others to take a chance on the downtown. I can see past the holes in the floors and crumbling plaster ceilings and know that I can make it a beautiful space for people to enjoy. Now with my decor store I often hear “there’s no place like this around here” or “this store looks like something from a big city”. Great! I think I’m creating a special experience for shoppers now with the backdrop of a 100 year old building.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
That I was an Army Officer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Lenoirdecor.net
- Facebook: Lenoirdecorstore
