Designing Around Art and Giving: How Debby Gomulka Starts Every Project
Most design projects begin with a floor plan. For Debby Gomulka, they begin with a conversation. Her firm, Provenance Lee Interiors, says her process starts with understanding each client’s style, philanthropic causes, art collection, and personal stories.
The emphasis on art collections makes sense given her background. She studied art history, and a 2025 CEOWORLD profile notes an interior design degree with an art minor from Meredith College. Knowing how to display and frame artwork is a natural strength for a designer with that training, and it informs her residential interior design work.
Her website also notes that she has served in leadership roles with museums and arts organizations, and those relationships may help her understand how clients think about collecting and giving.
Philanthropy is part of the picture too. Her firm describes her as a philanthropist, and her personal site lists extensive community leadership. By asking about a client’s causes, she builds rooms that reflect what they value, not just what they own.
The approach applies across the firm’s services, from historic preservation and renovation to new construction and vacation homes. In each case, the client’s story guides the design, and she says the aim is a space that makes people feel better.
The approach also appears in testimonials. One client praised her excellent taste and eye for design, balance, and color, along with her professionalism and attention to detail.
The result is a method that treats a home as a portrait of its owner. By starting with art, causes, and stories, she creates interiors that carry personal meaning, and that meaning is what she says makes people feel better in the spaces she designs. For clients thinking about how to begin a project, her method suggests that the best starting point is simply to talk about what matters to them.
Prospective clients can learn more on the Provenance Lee Interiors website or through her LinkedIn profile. Her personal site offers an additional overview of her philosophy and credentials.
