JOY OF HOME - Featuring an array of custom services
09/13/2024 03:58PM ● By MERYL SIEGMAN
A relative newcomer to the Burlington shopping scene, JOY OF HOME is poised to become your go-to store when it’s time to refresh your home decor. With the opening of the store in January 2024, owner Alisa Darmstadt has fulfilled a lifelong dream of running her own shop specializing in interior design.
Joy of Home offers a wide range of items that complete a room, including pillows, lamps, wall décor, table linens, throws, bowls, vases, candle holders, and personality-filled objects. It also has first-rate custom workrooms that can make anything in fabric for the home. Imagine all of that plus an emphasis on community commitment and sustainability.
Joy of Home is a value-driven business that supports the local community.
A STORE OWNER FULFILLS HER DREAMS
A native of Burlington, Alisa moved to central Vermont after college with her husband to raise a family. With a degree in human ecology, it was only then that she discovered her love of home decorating. She began her new career with a consulting business that helped homeowners with DIY interior decoration, offering assistance in choosing paint colors and furniture layouts and using design elements to make their spaces more beautiful and functional.
After relocating to Burlington several years ago as an empty nester, Alisa was ready for more. A harmonic combination of a desire to open a store, a passion for fabric, and patience waiting for the stars to align finally coincided with the availability of the perfect space on Williston Road in South Burlington. Thus, Joy of Home was born.
STOP IN FOR A VISIT
The best way to appreciate all that Joy of Home has to offer is to see it for yourself. When you arrive at the storefront on Williston Road, you’ll immediately be attracted by the colorful decor and lighted lamps visible through the windows. Once inside the 2,000-square-foot space, you can meander through its three sections. First, explore the array of décor items that have been carefully chosen to help complete any room in the home.
“I try to find things that you won’t typically find in the area,” Alisa explains. “While many items can be given as gifts, the emphasis is on helping homeowners decorate their homes. I love patterns, colors, and textures, and that is evident in many of our offerings.”
Alisa also focuses on merchandise that is sustainable in some way, whether recycled, upcycled, or fair trade. An exclusive line of handmade Joy of Home products, such as pillows, pennant bunting, and wall pockets, made from remnants and discontinued fabric samples, is also available.
Next, enjoy seeing and touching the bolts of home decor fabrics. “We have over 100 bolts of home décor fabric in stock,” she says. “We also carry hundreds of fabric and trim samples that people can order.” In the bustling back room, supplies and extra inventory are piled high, and orders are prepped to go to a workroom or be picked up by a delighted owner.
A unique collection of sustainable home decor is combined with fabric displays.
AN ARRAY OF CUSTOM SERVICES
The heartbeat of Joy of Home is its bespoke custom services. While some clients stop by to purchase gifts or buy fabrics to sew things themselves, most come in for the custom services. Alisa continues, “You can recover old furniture, buy accent pillows and cushions, adorn your windows with drapes, shades, and valances, and commission table and bed linens exactly to your specifications. We believe that our homes should bring us joy— whatever that means to you and however you envision it.”
A COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Alisa also values community and sustainability, evidenced by her selection of products that empower individuals, strengthen communities, and have the least impact on our planet.
She sources materials that contain recycled elements or organic components, are handmade by artisans earning a fair wage, or are made locally. The store gives back to its community and environment by donating to local organizations, creating home decor from fabric remnants, and reducing its consumption of plastics and the generation of waste.
“We have a goal of being active in our community, so we host fundraisers for local organizations such as food banks, homeless shelters, and youth LGBTQIA+ groups,” Alisa says. “We are very community-minded and share our profits with the community.”
AN EMPHASIS ON CUSTOMER SERVICE
“At Joy of Home, we are very focused on customer service,” Alisa goes on to say. We love helping clients find what they are looking for, whether it’s fabric, a lamp, or candlesticks. Our goal is to provide as much product information as we can, including where the product comes from and what it’s made of. That translates to custom work as well—we are communicative and transparent. ”
WHAT LIES AHEAD
Alisa has lots on her agenda in the days to come. She wants to work with more artisans and creators, representing their work in her store. She would also like to host workshops and expand her inventory to include small furnishings and rugs in addition to carrying more fabrics. She says, “I have a lot of ideas for products we can produce here.” She concludes by saying she looks forward to having a steady flow of orders and restocking favorite decor items frequently. She is well on her way.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOY OF HOME
