Milton still in search of career ‘Perfection’
Reesa Milton was born and raised here in Rome. Daughter of a photographer, she was always part of the creative world.
“Milton’s photography, which was well known in Rome, was my father’s business,” Milton said. “My first job was helping him with his business at around 14 years of age. That is how I was first introduced into the bridal world.”
She said that her first real job was at Miller’s Department Store in downtown Rome where she worked as the bridal consultant/manager of the bridal department.
“My early exposure to the world of weddings is what inspired me after two years of college to come back home and open my first shop, Wedding Belle in downtown Rome, sometime in 1978,” Milton explained. “I always knew I wanted to help guide people through these most important events in their life.”
Milton said that she found the business very satisfying, but found herself becoming more interested in home decor after building and decorating a few houses of her own.
“I sold Wedding Belle in 2002 and opened my current store Perfect Home the same year,” Milton said. “I felt that there was a need in Rome for someone who could make it a little easier — to walk people through the process of making decisions about the final touches of their home that is not intimidating and could make it affordable for them.”
Milton said that her specialty is currently the “finishing touches,” focusing on the family rooms and making them “a real home.”
“The shop Perfect Home is set up to feel just like that, a home,” Milton said. “You can come in and find a spot that makes you feel comfortable and might inspire you to do something in your own home.
The store is full of paintings, accessories and custom furniture Milton said that she handpicks herself. She said she wants customers to see how things could come together in their own rooms.
“It is so important how you feel in your house and sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to see that,” Milton went on to explain. “Your home should be a place to recharge and re-energize. If it is not doing that for you and it is stressing you out that needs to be corrected.”
Milton said that she likes to observe people in their home, offering house calls such as “Decorator for a Day service” and “In Home Consultations” to help get to know her customers and what their needs are in their home.
“Their home should reflect their taste and ideas, not mine,” Milton said. “The whole process uses a professional, but fun and pleasant technique of reading between the ‘lines’ by seeing how they live and knowing how their home needs to work for them.” Contributed photo
Reesa Milton shows some of her paintings on display in Perfect Home.
Milton said that more than anything the process brings her happiness by allowing her to express her creativity while helping someone else find more joy and comfort in their own home.
“More than anything I like the look on their face when I make their room look how they imagined it never could,” Milton said.
Most recently Milton has endeavored in a new field, abstract painting. Her store has several sections displaying her art mixed in with the furniture and accessories. Milton said that she was inspired to start painting after tiring of always having to look around for abstracts that might match the decor in her store and clients’ homes.
“While still operating Perfect Home, and working full time as an interior designer, I am actively pursuing my third act as an abstract and abstract landscape painter,” Milton said. “Now I am excited to see where that will take me.”
Milton said that her painting was beneficial to growing her main business Perfect Home.
“Through my design work I was always looking for work to match special projects and it was not easy to find. Abstracts are very popular right now,” Milton explained.
“Three years ago, ‘my sweet fella’ gave me paints for Christmas, as he himself is a painter, so that I could try it out.”
Milton said at the time she did not realize how much she would enjoy it.
“I love it,” Milton exclaimed. “Now I can do commission work to match special fabrics and make pieces to match what my customers have in mind.”
She said that one of her most popular paintings are what she calls her “Angels.”
“One of my most requested paintings are the ‘Bless this child angels’ I paint. I cater them to what the parent might want,” Milton said. “I also do Christmas angels and bridal angel or profiles in addition to my landscape abstracts.”
Milton recently was commissioned to do a painting of a “duck hunt at dawn” by a friend and customer. She said it was “really fun” to do something different.
“My favorite painting is always the one that is my head before the brush ever touches the canvas,” Milton said. “All paintings will go through a gawky teenager stage before you actually like it. I am just enjoying every journey.”
In addition to her decorating and painting, Milton was recently tapped to speak to a large group of girls at Emory who are studying design. Milton said that such opportunities do not come up all the time, but she enjoys them when they do.
“One of my best pieces of advice is to be adaptable,” Milton said. “Trust yourself and trust your business. If you pay close attention it will show you where you want to go.”
“Don’t be afraid to make changes when necessary and always keep looking forward in your business,” Milton continued. “I hope that when a customer or design client enters Perfect Home they feel as if they are entering my personal Home. Nothing can replace a warm and welcoming atmosphere in a business.
Milton also said that honesty was one of the pillars of running a great small business.
“Be impeccable to your word. If you say you are going to do something, then do it,” Milton said. “if you make a promise to someone you have to keep it, it is the only way to build trust in small business and in a small town that is what everything is based on.”