Alice O. Miller

Alice O. Miller, age 79, of Casselberry, passed away peacefully on January 22, 2018. Born May 4, 1938 to William and Lovie Donley in Bainbridge, Georgia, Alice was a longtime resident and business fixture as an interior designer for many, many years in Central Florida. Below is a newspaper article detailing her devotion to the business she created.

Even a fire couldn't keep Alice Miller away from the business she started 25 years ago. Miller was an established interior designer with a strong customer base when a fire in 1992 destroyed the Casselberry showroom that housed furniture and her administrative offices.

She had built the business from a home office that evolved into the 15,000-square-foot showroom, a 4,000-square-foot design studio in Altamonte Springs and a 12,000-square-foot warehouse in Sanford. The day after the fire, Miller gathered her employees in the kitchen of her Casselberry home and started building again. "I didn't let it affect me,'' Miller said. "`I knew I had to get back into the world and not let this defeat me.'' In 1996, she reopened Home Accents by Alice Miller Interiors in the same building, which, by this time, had a new appearance. "People stay for hours when they come in here,'' Miller said. "It's a fun place, and people like to come because they can find some unique stuff. It's like a flea market.'' The current look is Old World with plenty of earth tones. The faux painted walls are designed to give the showroom the appropriate background for the many room settings, which range from the leather and library scene to the plush pillow and lace display. Miller describes her designs as ``elegant and comfortable, yet casual without overdoing it.'' ``It's all themed out and ready for the designers and the general public that come here to shop,'' she said.

The accessories and the finishing touches in a room are what make the difference, Miller said. Her designers know the market and the trends and work closely with customers in achieving the desired result, she said. ``We buy the accessories to go with the furniture and we select everything very carefully,'' she said. Miller said she shops all over the world for distinctive products on the higher end that aren't readily available. Items include ceramics, wall art, baskets, linens, soaps, fountains, pillows, and custom-designed, dried-flower selections. ``So far, people love the merchandise, and it moves very quickly,'' she said. In addition to the retail segment of the market, Miller has a strong reputation among home builders, which make up about 50 percent of her business. When she first started, Miller said her core business was decorating model homes for builders.

The furniture part evolved later, she said. Her clients come from throughout the country, and she also has traveled to other states to design home interiors. Her strength, Miller said, is being able create designs to fit a customer's profile.

Her company can help clients who buy homes ranging from $60,000 to as much as $1 million. ``You market to the profile, whether the client is a professional or blue collar or a senior,'' she said. Miller said she receives much satisfaction from her work and is free of stress because she does not owe any money to creditors. She owns the building and her home and reinvests everything she makes into the business.

Miller has received numerous home-builders' awards, including the Aurora Award, and has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens and Home Accents Today magazines. She also volunteered her consulting services for the recently renovated City Hall in Casselberry and serves on several redevelopment committees.