The Rise and Fall of Burke Decor

Inside the Scandal That Shook the Home Furnishings World

Prologue: A Personal Betrayal

It began with betrayal.

In 2019, during what I thought was a routine strategy meeting, Erin Burke – founder of the rising online retailer Burke Decor – blindsided me. My agency had been building her e-commerce business, but behind the scenes she was poaching my developers. Even my Chief Technology Officer, a man I trusted deeply, had been secretly working with her before defecting to her team.

At the time, I chalked it up to the ruthlessness of business. In truth, it was the first glimpse of the methods that would one day bring down Burke Decor – and leave thousands of customers, vendors, and partners betrayed.

This is the story of how a stylish, aspirational home décor brand became a cautionary tale of ambition, deception, and collapse.

Building the Dream

When Erin Burke launched Burke Decor in 2007, she positioned it as a destination for modern living.

It worked. At its peak, the site carried over 400,000 products – designer accents, trendy furniture, and exclusive trade-only brands like Four Hands, Noir, and Eichholtz. Interior designers flocked to it. Everyday shoppers loved the boutique aesthetic paired with big-box range.

Burke pushed into brick-and-mortar with a flagship in Ohio, a showroom in Los Angeles, and a local outlet. Even Silicon Valley noticed: Burke Decor partnered with the hit mobile game Design Home, letting players purchase the real versions of their virtual furniture.

For over a decade, Burke Decor was a darling of the design world – stylish, accessible, and aspirational. But behind the curated photos and Instagram glamour, the foundation was starting to crack.

Red Flags: The Customer Revolt

By 2023, the sheen had worn off.

Burke Decor’s customers began reporting horror stories:

• Orders delayed by months.

• Refunds promised but never delivered.

• Emails and calls ignored.

The excuses were always the same – “software glitches,” “refund checks in the mail.” But the checks rarely arrived.

Complaints surged:

• Better Business Bureau: “F” rating, 450+ consumer complaints.

• Trustpilot: nearly 600 one-star reviews.

Burke’s Instagram page became a battlefield. She restricted comments, but Facebook groups and Reddit threads filled the void. One group, “Burke Decor Scammed Me,” quickly gathered hundreds of angry members.

Then came something stranger: refunds issued not by credit card, but through Venmo and Zelle – directly from Erin Burke’s personal accounts. For a national retailer, it was a surreal sign of desperation.

Burke admitted to “customer service issues,” blamed credit card processors, and unveiled a seven-step recovery plan. She hired a turnaround firm, promised every order would be resolved, and assured customers brighter days were ahead.

But the nightmare only deepened.

The Lawsuits: Pulling Back the Curtain

In May 2024, the façade crumbled.

Fintech lender Ampla filed a $6.4 million lawsuit, accusing Burke Decor and Erin Burke of fraud. Court filings revealed a startling picture:

• Misused Funds: Ampla’s $8 million credit line – meant for inventory – was allegedly siphoned off to pay mortgages and personal expenses.

• Hidden Cash Flow: Customer payments were secretly diverted into other accounts, away from the lender’s reach.

• False Books: Burke allegedly overstated inventory and hid liabilities to secure the loan.

By Ampla’s calculations, Burke Decor had only $15,000 left in cash by spring 2024. Meanwhile, millions in customer orders remained unfulfilled.

The dominoes fell quickly.

• FedEx sued for $1.6 million in unpaid shipping fees.

• Vendors pulled products.

• Erin Burke herself filed for personal bankruptcy in Los Angeles, listing debts tied to Burke Decor. Even Pinterest appeared as a creditor, owed for unpaid advertising.

By early 2025, the company was circling the drain.

Collapse: Burke Decor Shuts Down

On April 18, 2025, without warning, Burke Decor’s website went dark.

Instead of a sprawling marketplace, visitors saw a stark message:

“We are not currently accepting new orders.”

In Ohio, state officials suspended Burke Decor’s license. The Attorney General’s office sued, citing 350+ complaints and $380,000 in consumer losses.

It should have been the end. But Erin Burke wasn’t finished.

The Shadow Rebirth

Weeks after Burke Decor’s shutdown, a new site appeared: StudioPerDiem.com.

To the untrained eye, it was a chic, modern home décor startup. To those burned by Burke Decor, it was déjà vu.

• The design mirrored Burke Decor’s.

• The inventory included brands like Puebco and OYOY, once stocked in Burke’s warehouses.

• The ownership trail led to an LLC registered by Erin Burke’s mother, operating out of the same UPS Store mailbox used by Burke Decor.

Former employees confirmed what customers suspected: Studio Per Diem was simply Burke Decor reborn under a new name.

And it wasn’t the first time. Burke had previously launched Designer-Rug.com and BabyTot.com, parallel storefronts quietly run out of the same Ohio office. Studio Per Diem was just the latest mask.

On social media, customers warned each other: “Don’t be fooled – it’s the same person who took your money.”

Epilogue: Lessons From a Collapse

The story of Burke Decor is about more than a failed retailer. It’s a study in how ambition, deception, and secrecy can turn a beloved brand into a cautionary tale.

For customers, it meant thousands lost and endless frustration. For vendors, it meant unpaid invoices and broken trust. For Erin Burke, it meant bankruptcy, lawsuits, and – perhaps – a second life under a new brand.

The lessons are sobering:

• Transparency matters. Hiding problems destroys trust faster than the problems themselves.

• Ethics matter. Cutting corners may offer short-term gains, but the fallout lasts forever.

• Vigilance matters. Customers and partners alike must learn to spot red flags before it’s too late.

Burke Decor’s story is still unfolding. Lawsuits continue. Studio Per Diem is live. And Erin Burke remains in the shadows of her own making.

What’s certain is that the fall of Burke Decor will be remembered – not just for its collapse, but for the reminder that in business, trust is everything. Once lost, it rarely returns.