Returning to Interior Design with a new Burlington Furniture

This past spring has catalyzed so many changes in our lives and communities. Vermont has always been a unique place and living here has always provided endless proud moments when faced with challenging situations #bravelittlestate. Being a part of Vermont has always felt small yet purposeful. Our efforts in the face of change are always filled with a sense of duty and therefore impressively successful.

Whether us 802 folks are banding together to support our local farmers and local businesses, or we’re banding together to flatten the curve against COVID-19; whichever it may be, Vermonters pull through. In this case, we have proven our ability to show support for both! By following state regulated guidelines through Gov. Phil Scot, we have shown a huge success in supporting our population’s health (high five, Phil!) while simultaneously learning how to support our small business owners and our local favorite shops (*ahem)!

But seriously, think of all the El Cortijo Take-out that has occurred. How about all the Bar Hill Gin people bought alongside their oh-so-chic (yet effective) Bar Hill Hand Sanitizer? If you didn’t jump on that train, it is never too late. Face it: your hands will always be a little gross and their hand sanitizer comes in a cute honey bear bottle that we’re such a sucker for.

But do you know what else we all did? We not only continued to stay home, but we kept busy. This led to you (our clients) to want to get things done; you were all in your homes with rooms half-finished or renovations still on your “honey-do” lists, blank walls and outdated designs staring you all down every day. So, you kept calling and scheduling help for your home décor and we kept coming through for your needs. Orders were still placed (virtually of course). Emails were still exchanged. Design. Still. Happened.

Although we were closed per state mandate, our clients continued to be loyal, supportive and awesome. In this COVID-climate, Burlington Furniture Designers were not lost, and our company found “opportunity in crisis” (founder/owner, Mark Binkhorst’s coined motto).

The term “New normal” is tossed around a lot… maybe too much. But even so, Mark has always been keen on evolving with all “new normals” and industry changes instead of staying stagnant. And honestly, thank goodness because none of us would want to work out of the back of a trailer in a parking lot selling futons (read: how Mark started the company! *mind blown*… No offense, Mark). It is, indeed, the only reason why our designers and current show room operate out of one of the largest and most beautiful spaces on Pine Street, right in the heart of Burlington’s Art District.

Upon observing designers and their client’s, Mark noticed their interactions evolving organically to survive the COVID-Climate. The team was continuing their design projects in a regulation-abiding, safe manner. Quickly an avenue of change presented itself and Burlington Furniture expanded on it.

Our design team is a strong crew of kick-ass women with varying personalities. However, united under a passion for interior design, our thoughts were the same: “We can still help you”. Our dedication was there and sung through our encouraging emails, texts, and social media: “Let’s take this online”. “Call your designer”, “Face-Time us”! Before we knew it, our catchy #DesignOnPine evolved overnight into #DesignOnPineOnline (say that 10x fast).

We took this online presence and leaned into it. Why?  Our website in 2020 is the new store front. We will always be “brick and mortar”(how can we not?), but we needed to pivot to “brick and click” so our Vermonters can reference everything we have to offer them: our in-house talented designers, current trends, new showroom additions, upcoming sales, etc. This may seem already normal for existing online stores, but as our lives have shifted into a new realm of encouraging “stay-at-home” and “social distancing practices”, this mode of operation for local businesses became more imperative and super new especially to Burlington Furniture!

We have done right by our Burlington design scene year after year by offering contemporary designs and modern furniture along with amazing and affordable interior design services (hello 11 years of Best of Burlington Seven Daysies awards!), But taking our crew online and becoming efficient in it, while also maintaining our  physical store and services, has been no easy endeavor. However, this enduring design-passionate team has continued to persevere, pivot, and most importantly, keep providing its Burlington and Vermont communities with modern design and the contemporary style it has come to love and support.

So go ahead, explore our companies and styles online. You can choose to book a designer and talk to us in real time on our website! Or you can grab your mask and local distillery-made hand sanitizer, make an appointment, and peruse our gorgeous show room floor! The choice is yours and we are here for that. Changes happened, and we evolved to support our community and our designers. Check us out. #supportlocal #designlocal #designonpine #designonpineonline