Designing Her Own Niche

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Business

Liz Toombs founded PDR Interiors in 2009. Initially known as Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors, a name inspired by a fabric pattern, she found herself more often using the initials PDR and soon rebranded.

She was just a couple of years out of college and was thinking of how much fun it would be to get paid to decorate people’s spaces. “And it is fun, but I also take my responsibility seriously,” she said.

Toombs enjoys mentoring college students who want to get into the design profession. For over a decade, she has hired student workers for PDR Interiors. “They come here to learn from me, but I think I learn as much from them,” she said, “and it is so special to watch where they go after college and how their careers progress.”

Collegiate life plays a central role in Toombs’ business, too. Roughly 90 percent of PDR’s business comes from the Greek housing community, mostly sorority houses, on campuses around the country. Toombs and her team, which includes full-time and part-time employees, work remotely on these collegiate projects, with one or two site visits along the way.

“From there our niche market began to take shape and we have continued to build that client base.”

Offering full-service interior decorating guidance, Toombs and her team help clients with their finish selections, fabric and furniture selections and sourcing, window treatment design and installation, and art and accessory sourcing and placement.

They have designed spaces in more than 80 Greek chapter houses, including at the University of Kentucky. Toombs is a UK alumna. She was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority in the early 2000s, when she was a merchandising, apparel and textiles major, a program within the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

In addition to Greek housing, Toombs also works with residential clients. “During the pandemic we offered virtual consultations for our residential clients, but most of them have chosen to go back to in-person meetings at this point,” she said. “Our clients stuck with us, and we had a steady flow of projects.”

Before she was a business owner herself, Toombs didn’t fully appreciate the importance of doing business with a small, locally run company. Growing up, she often shopped at major retailers. “Now, I buy locally as much as I possibly can,” she said. “My company exists because of the support of others. I want to spread that goodwill and encouragement to fellow small businesses.”

A long-time proponent of networking, volunteering and being involved in the community, Toombs has found businesspeople in Central Kentucky to be friendly and receptive. “I love being a small-business owner in Lexington,” she said. “Most small business owners genuinely want to see other small businesses succeed. This city really gets the idea that in buying from small, locally run businesses you are supporting your neighbor and creating a city that is flourishing.”