Rite at Home in Cascade, a Profile of the Owners

Milton Miller and LaMont Bynum always wanted to work in interior design but for years, other aspirations got in the way.  It wasn’t until the two got together that those dreams would be realized.

Encouraged by his family’s influence, Miller became a practicing chiropractor in his hometown of Macon. 

“My parents always wanted me to be a doctor, but I was always the artistic one,” Miller said. 

His parents owned a wedding business and as a young man he would help out by working in floral design and designing wedding gowns.

“I’ve always thought there was something greater on the other side,” Miller said.  “At some point you have to sacrifice something to get something else.” 

Bynum worked for 16 years in the hospitality industry before becoming a full time interior designer.  He opened five hotels, offering his design skills for three hotels and completely designing one of them on his own.  His family owned an interior design company and after some time, he decided to take a risk by going in to business for himself.

“I realized I wasn’t living up to my full potential and the full potential of the creative gifts God’s given me,” Bynum said.

The two finally met when Bynum was sent to Miller's hometown of Macon to open a hotel and the two eventually began working together on design projects in Atlanta.

As the owners of Miller Bynum Designs, they had to travel far from their home in the Cascades to find furniture and other design pieces for their projects 

“Cascade is a very affluent, progressive community but we just didn’t have access to great furniture and interior design services,” Bynum said. 

Seeing the need in their community, the two decided to use their skills as interior designers to turn an old abandoned gas station into a consignment furniture store.     

“We saw beyond it’s intended usage as designers and said, let’s make this into an upscale furniture boutique,” Bynum said. 

Rite at Home opened in 2012 and is, according to the duo, the only upscale furniture boutique owned by African American men in all of Atlanta.

“We have been well received in the community and outside of the community we’re starting to get more travelers,” Miller said, noting that customers have traveled from Dekalb County and the Vinings to shop at their store.

“People say that our store is even better than those on the north side of town,” Miller said. 

Beyond the consignment store, the two also operate their interior design business out of the same location, making their store a one-stop shop for interior decorating and design.

“We like to say we’re a lifestyle boutique, we create a lifestyle,” Bynum said. 

As designers and business partners, the duo complement each other and each offers a unique style to their clientele.

“Milton’s so edgy he lives on the edge,” Bynum said.  “I can’t do that, I’m so polished so we complement each other.” 

 Since opening in 2012, the customer base of the store has continued to grow as has their interior design company. 

For Miller and Bynum, interior design is about more than a beautiful living space.    

“Home is where visions and dreams happen, home is where you raise your kids,” Bynum said.  “So we change environments and we change lives.” 

For their clients, the right design can improve relationships and quality of life. 

"We had someone who would never go to the front of her house because she hated it," Bynum said.  

After enlisting the design team to change the front of her home, she now invites people over and uses the space that she once hated. 

"We changed all of that and that's rewarding," Bynum said.  

After years working in other industries, Miller and Bynum have found their niche in the Cascades. 

“If you put the right vision and drive and you have the right passion, good things will happen.”