Community Highlights: Meet Ali Milligan of A Milligan Interiors

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ali Milligan.

Hi Ali, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I moved to Denver about 10 years ago when I was in my mid-twenties, brought here by love and the excitement of building a life for myself somewhere new. Throughout my twenties I was focused on building my career in the corporate world, having fallen into a Healthcare IT technology role. While I was good at what I did, it was not fulfilling for me intellectually or creatively and I knew I could not continue in that for the rest of my life.

Flash forward to August of 2020, we were in a pandemic shutdown and I was working from home like many of us were. I woke up one morning with a migraine–and it STAYED. Yes, daily, non-stop, continuous migraine pain. For almost 2 years. I ultimately ended up leaving my corporate job and was on disability for over a year. I saw over 20 doctors, tried countless treatments, procedures, diets, routines, energy healing rituals. Nothing helped. It was one of the hardest times I experienced in my life, and it began to feel like my only purpose in life was self-care.

By the end of 2021 I had learned enough coping strategies that I knew I was ready to start taking steps to take my life back. I knew I had an eye for design from working on my own home interior design projects, and in this I found a deep amount of passion and creative fulfillment. I was eager to explore if I could make a career for myself, potentially even with my own business someday, where I could still balance my personal health needs. I made the leap and went back to school at Heritage School of Interior Design in January of 2022—and I knew I was where I belonged. Despite still coping with daily chronic pain I completed my Certification that spring and started a part time role with a home staging and interior design firm.

Around that same time I found a psychology-based pain recovery program called Lin Health. I didn’t have much hope or confidence anymore because at this point I had gotten so burnt out from the cycle of hope and disappointment that I had experienced over the last couple of years. But as I gave this new program a chance, I was astonished to see that little by little, over the next 12 months my pain got BETTER. This program taught me strategies for how to heal my nervous system that the medical system had absolutely failed to provide. And miracle-of-miracles I also conceived my first child that summer, a beautiful baby girl who arrived in spring of 2023. After taking 15 months off to stay home with her—I started my own interior design firm A Milligan Interiors. Owning my own firm has given me the freedom to continue the creative work I am meant to do on my own terms so that I can still have a lot of time present at home with my daughter.

While I look back on those difficult years with empathy for my younger self, this experience completely reframed my perspective on life and our purpose here in this world. I would not change a thing. Today I live happily, healthily, pain free and creatively fulfilled with my beautiful family and I couldn’t feel more optimistic for the future.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Transitioning to a completely new career brought a large learning curve, which took much more perseverance than I expected for this recovering perfectionist. With every new design project I continue to learn new things and the challenges only help me become a better designer, so I am learning to embrace the journey!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
A Milligan Interiors is a full-service boutique-style interior design firm specializing in small to medium size residential and commercial office projects.

We especially love working with families and designing family-friendly spaces that are not only beautiful but deeply functional.

Our full-service design process means we will be involved every step of the way from concept through to the final finishing accessories to ensure our clients have a seamless experience from beginning to end. We take the stress out of the design experience by acting as a trusted guide through the design process, helping our clients avoid any costly mistakes along the way, while taking on all of the logistics and heavy-lifting to save our clients time and resources.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Along my journey, I have learned to frame my life and my career through a lens of gratitude and trust. It is not easy being a business owner, and it was not easy to transition to a completely new career in my 30’s. But by learning to let go of perfectionism and embrace everything that comes my way, I can live a freer, more creative and authentic life, and have the sacred opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. One home at a time.

Pricing:

• We offer custom quotes

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amilliganinteriors.com
• Instagram: @amilliganinteriors

Image Credits
PLV Photography