How My Style Has Changed In Six Years

My style has changed ten bajillion times over the last six years.

At the age of 26, I think I’ve finally landed on the style I love the most. It represents who I am at this moment. I wanted my bedroom to feel quiet, calm and refined. Everything matches, and I was super intentional about that this go around. After having hand me down/ mix-matched furniture for most of my life, I wanted to have something that felt put together and calming. My personal style hasn’t always been like that though. In fact, it’s been all over the place, but I always wanted to try a lot of different things and never shyed away from color. If you’ve known me long enough, you know I have the same approach with my hair color. Woof. So I think it’d be fun to walk down memory lane through all the fun, whacky, and completely chaotic styles of Lindsay Miller’s home. Here we go.

2014 — My Freshman Dorm Room

After spending my first semester of Jones County Junior college living at home, I made the leap and became a Residential Assistant at Anderson Hall (the dorms at JCJC.) Summer DeLoach and I were practically new friends when we moved in. More like comfortable acquaintances. We had known each other for seven years, and shared multiple mutual friends that kept us around each other. Little did I know that she’d become one of my best friends and still be one to this day. I had never lived with anyone other than my family up until this point. My only brother is eight years older and the thought of living with a girl was terrifying. I had no idea what to expect, but Summer was so cool. She truly danced to the beat of her own drum and she was the same kind of weird as me. We were made to be roommates.

I can’t count on one hand the amount of times we skipped class on rainy days and watched TV. Particularly our favorite show, Frasier. We stayed up every night and over analyzed our futures, talked about our future husbands, our biggest dreams and fears. We were honest with one another, and that’s what made our roommate-ship so incredible. I’d live with her again in a heartbeat!

The orange chair was from Goodwill and everything else was from Tuesday morning. I truly thought I was on the cusp of superior interior design with this one. I really loved coral if you couldn’t tell.

Spot the massive cheese ball jar under my bed.

2014 — My Sophomore Dorm Room

Same roommate, different dorm decor. This time.. make it CHEVRON.

I thought it would be creative to create my own picture wall of my favorite things. Cork board squares of pictures of friends, a hand-painted rendition of Jones Hall, a cardboard deer head, Lionel Richie album and another album I had no idea what it was. I just liked the colors.

Spot that headboard? Yeah, it’s a piece of chevron fabric nailed to an antique window pane. I bought that bedding on eBay. Overall, this bedroom displayed my hobbies, love for old things made new, and yellow and red. Go Bobcats!

2015 — Junior Year & My First Apartment in Oxford.

The summer before my junior year, I interned at Country Living Magazine in Birmingham, AL. That’s actually when I fell in love with Bham, but that’s another story for a later time. All that to say, I was the style intern and I was highly influenced by the impeccable taste of the women around me. They all dressed so cute, and their homes were phenomenal. A few biked to work in wedges and they all knew of the cutest restaurants in Birmingham. I loved watching them simply exist.

Anyways!

I collected so many cute (and free) items from the immaculate prop closet at the end of the summer. One of the best finds was the farmhouse, pink striped pillow and those two white Ikea frames. My grandfather built that wooden headboard from wooden pallets by hand. I got everything else from Home Goods, which I must have visited maybe 30+ times that summer.

This room represented the beginning of a new life in Oxford. A world where 19 year olds were adults. I had to actually do my own laundry. I was more excited than ever to go to a collegiate school like Ole Miss. I always dreamed of moving away and making my parents proud, but it was a hard transition. After being such a big fish in the little pond that is JCJC, I felt like a little fish in a big pond for once. I was surrounded by strangers but the potential to make new friends was thrilling. It took a few months for it to feel like home, but this little room at the apartment complex was a reprieve. I’d call home to my parents often and call Summer to check in on her at Mississippi College. I didn’t realize how long it would take for a new place to feel like home, but it happened gradually. With every new day, Oxford became familiar and more like home to me. I started working at Square Books, I joined Student Activities Association, became an Ole Miss Ambassador and eventually I made really great friends.

2016— Senior Year & Living Alone for the First Time.

My senior year was the sweet spot. I had settled into the Velvet Ditch of Oxford, Mississippi just fine. I decided to live alone at the Links, which were forever away from the campus and the square, but I loved it. My bedroom faced a golf course and it felt like I wasn’t in Oxford in some ways. Which was nice, because my life revolved around student involvement and hanging out with friends. Notice how many times school has been mentioned in all of this!

This house was best for napping and watching Harry Potter. My walls were filled with notes from friends, inspiring quotes and picture of friends. I have always been a collector of sentimental things. I never throw things away and this apartment was the place I could display them all. The style was not cohesive and honestly a bit junky, but this home was warm. People would come over to get away from the pressures of school and social obligations. We’d watch Stranger Things, watch stupid Twitter videos, and talk about books for the most part. I loved that my home became a respite for all of us.

I painted the banner above my TV, and I still hold to that sentiment. We really are just walking each other home.

2018 — Post Grad Life in Laurel.

I moved back to Laurel after I graduated and lived with two roommates in a cute little house on 8th avenue in Downtown. I had the master bedroom, but it basically became an art studio where I slept occasionally.

I struggled with moving back home more than I’d like to admit. I was coping with the fact that my bubble of a life in Oxford had popped... and was over. For good. I didn’t realize how much I would struggle, but this room was a good place for me to build a new life. I officially started Good Soil in this room and every wall was an outpouring of creativity. I wanted to see everything all the time.

If I’m being honest, this style stresses me to look at now, but I know that these were formative years in my professional and personal growth.

2019 — The TreeHouse in Laurel.

Ah, the beloved TreeHouse. It was one big square, an apartment above a garage with no central heat or air conditioning, the tiniest shower and a mini bake oven, but it was my first real home. I loved it so much. I was living the good life on 6th avenue (well, in a grandmother suite behind 6th avenue), and I finally bought furniture specifically to fit this home. It was so small, but it forced people to get close and spend quality time together. It made me discover what its like to be a good neighbor and I wanted people to come over all the time.

It took some time to get used to Laurel, but the Treehouse sealed the deal. I had made Laurel into my own. My favorite part about living in the TreeHouse was the fall and springtime. The temperature was perfect and I’d keep my door open and read. I’d take long walks down the avenues and see the Mississippi Cherry Blossoms bloom in season.

2019— The Big Move to Birmingham, Alabama.

I took a job with a non-profit in Birmingham, AL, and my dreams came true when I landed a brand new, renovated apartment next to Super Target (ahhh!) and on HWY 280. (ughh!)

I put a lot of thought and effort into this apartment decor. Bought new furniture, sought out all the good deals on Facebook Marketplace, and spent two glorious years in this space.

I spent the two most formidable years of my life in this apartment. I will write about it one day, but in summation — I have never cried on the floor as much and I have never felt as much joy in my life. I discovered God through His word on that pink couch. I raised my first puppy. I lived through a worldwide pandemic. What a blessing it has been to me!

2021 — My Dream Home & Three New Sisters.

My current home is my all-time favorite. It’s nestled in a beautiful neighborhood with three of my closest friends. We’re all single, funny and ready to spend life’s best and worst moments together. I’ve never loved a home so much. I’ve never thought I would love living with people as much, but I really do. God changed my heart in so many ways, but one thing He made me cherish in 2021 is authentic community. A pandemic will do that to you, I guess.

I’m happy to be here and stay here for awhile, God willing.

While I love a Pinterest worthy home, my biggest realization throughout the years is that the style of a home doesn’t make a difference if you don’t share your home with others well. People don’t feel more at home because of cohesive color palettes and matching furniture. They feel at home because of the warmth of the people inside. My hope is that my home will be a reflection of the growing love I have for others. Even as life gets harder and extending hospitality becomes sort of a burden in such a hostile world, I hope our hearts don’t harden towards letting others in.

I think that’s why I designed my room to seem soft and quiet these days. I hope to be a soft landing pad for someone else and perhaps their bad day. I hope that my tendency to be the loudest in the room becomes an aspiration to listen and be slow to speak.

I’ve always wondered why I took pictures of my room each year, but now I’m glad I did.