Meet Debbie Godbout & Liz Dzurinda | Co-owners of Bexley House

We had the good fortune of connecting with Debbie Godbout & Liz Dzurinda and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Debbie & Liz, how does your business help the community?
We are constantly surprised and gratified to hear our customers refer to Bexley House as their happy place. If they’re having a bad day, they’ll come in and browse and their spirits will be lifted. We have formed friendships with many of our customers. Some customers have formed friendships with one another and continue to meet at the store to shop. Mothers come in with their adult daughters to set up a new home. It’s a privilege to play a part in these moments. To know we have created a space where people feel safe and free to interact with one another as well as with us. Hopefully, they find an item or two to take away with them, to bring those feelings of family, friendship, and joy into their homes. It may be social impact on the micro level, but these small human interactions seem more vital now than ever.

What should our readers know about your business?
Bexley House has certainly come a long way from a once monthly shopping experience. And though the path forward may have been uncertain at times, we’ve always had a very clear vision of what we wanted to be. We deliberately created an agile brand able to shift with changing times and styles. We don’t see home décor as static: a set it and forget it mentality, as it were. And we try to impart the same to our customers. We want them to know they don’t have to pigeon-hole themselves. We encourage thinking outside the box, trying new things, expanding expectations.

We focus on an in-store experience to please all five senses. The music you hear on entering along with our friendly greetings, the yummy smell of the hand-poured soy wax candles, the eye-pleasing displays, the feel of the florals and fabrics, and our occasional tasting events combine to create a full sensory experience. All of it overlaid by outstanding customer service. We want our customers to know they can stroll into Bexley House at any time and be inspired. Confident they will leave the store with their vision realized along with the ability to reproduce a unique vignette in their own home. We are thrilled to be supporting players in the process, giving customers as much, or as little, assistance as they wish.

We are proud to have started as a boot strap operation and, as we evolve, it’s important to us that we maintain our small-town sensibilities. We want our customers to know we don’t just work in the community, we live here, too.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Main Street in Clayton holds a special place in our hearts, and we’d encourage anyone to spend the day there. We’d recommend a Saturday in order to enjoy the Clayton Farm and Community Market where an ever-changing array of seasonal goodies like fresh vegetables, free-range eggs, North Carolina seafood, dog treats, fresh-baked bread, and more are on display. For lunch, there’s Manning’s Restaurant, an upscale casual dining experience. Liz recommends their special, whatever it might be! After lunch, spend the afternoon exploring the many home décor shops up and down Main Street. Don’t forget to stop into Bexley House, of course. And then, for dinner, we recommend Crawford Cookshop, upscale dining at its best. Be surprised by their seasonal menus which showcase the freshest local ingredients. That’s our idea of a very good day!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We really can’t thank you enough for giving us the opportunity. But before we recognize the person who helped us see the potential in ourselves and our future business, a bit of history. Shortly after becoming neighbors in 2016, we discovered a shared love of décor and upcycling and began refinishing furniture together. We were scouring estate and yard sales for furniture to transform, and our garages and sheds became full to the brim. Unfortunately, our husbands’ patience was being stretched thin as well and we knew we had to do something. We just didn’t know what.

At around this time, Liz had gone to get her hair done at The Loft Salon and the owner, Cortney Trasti, mentioned she had an empty shed at her disposal. That generous offer would be followed by another: to use an empty room in a building she had just purchased and remodeled. Open to the public once a month, we would stage the room with our latest upcycled projects. We were also able to offer sign crafting classes in an adjacent room. It was the first incarnation of Bexley House.

Cortney gave us more than space to work. She gave us endless encouragement and support. Up to and including giving us the push we needed when it became obvious the time had come for us to fly. As a successful female business owner, she provided us with both a goal to strive for and an excellent example of how to achieve it. Honestly, without Cortney, there might not be a Bexley House. And we’re grateful and excited for this chance to recognize her for the part she played in our story.

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