Business Member Spotlight: Kerry Miller Designer/Builder, Inc.
Ojai Valley Green Coalition business member Kerry Miller and his family moved to Ojai in1999. Since then he has used his considerable talents to establish his successful business, Kerry Miller Designer/Builder, Inc. Talents local theatre owner Khaled Alawar sought out when the historic Ojai Playhouse was damaged by a broken water main.
Raised in Texas, Kerry came to us from New Mexico where he attended University of New Mexico, receiving his BUS in sculpture. “Some of the other classes that I took there were solar energy, architecture, light and air pollution,” said Kerry, who enjoyed the woodworking skills that he used in the sculpture. “So after graduating I went into cabinetmaking.”
It was his artistic woodworking skills creating one-of-a-kind doors that drew the attention of a Corrales, New Mexico adobe home builder who hired him in 1980. Kerry earned his own contractor’s license a year later. Next he founded his own construction company specializing in custom doors, gates, fireplace mantles, cabinets, furniture, windows, stained, beveled and etched glass for homes and businesses in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe area.
Kerry’s custom home building designs won awards from early on, with a 1990 1st place in the Custom Builder category of Albuquerque Living magazine and a 1998 award in Albuquerque Living magazine’s Great Homes of Albuquerque contest.
“Today our business mission is to assist our clients in creating their dreams,” said Kerry, adding that they guide their clients through the building process “using all of our artistic, design, construction, and project management background and abilities.”
Kerry feels it is always important to ask lots of questions about the client’s needs, tastes and opinions and then walk his clients through “the steps of creating a living space.” His aim is to provide a living environment that is a natural extension of their way of life.
“I have always been interested in green building practices even before it was called green,” said Kerry, with over three decades of experience. “I feel that educating, offering and building energy efficient homes and businesses for people, helps to save our environment as well as people’s pocketbook in the long run. Using sustainable products within this process helps to ensure that we save as much of our natural resources for future generations to enjoy. For me it’s not about my pocketbook but doing what is right for humankind and the environment. Not everyone really gets it yet, so I try to educate my clients from the beginning. Most really want to do what is right these days, but the cost can sometimes be the determining factor. That is when we make compromises to get the most bang for their buck.”
Kerry, a member of the Green Coalition since 2009 and a Board Member from 2011 to 2014, has created many outstanding examples of green buildings and remodels, including a home on the OVGC’s annual home tour. He offers his design, consultation, construction management and building services for homes and remodels in Ventura and Santa Barbara as well as the Ojai Valley.
“We use the very best of area artists, craftsmen and tradesmen to help each client create his or her dream living space,” said Kerry. As for his personal life in Ojai, “we have eight children, 8 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren between us. Life is full!” Kerry and his wife, Leslie, say they are “very conscious of our environment and the foods we eat. I feel that by practicing what we preach, the people around us learn and carry those same ideals into their own lives.”
To find out more about Kerry’s business go to www.kerrymillerdesigns.com or call Kerry at 640-0262. The Coalition thanks Kerry for his support.