Aug. 7, 2025

When Jennifer Miles closed her store, Consignor’s Designs, at the end of last year, she intended to move to Virginia to live closer to a daughter.

Then, she reconsidered.

“I started thinking of the reality of it, and I don’t think I’m quite ready,” Miles said. “Down the road, maybe in five years, yes. But I have friends here, and my son lives here. I had to decide what’s the next chapter.”

This month, Miles’ story will continue as she prepares to open J Miles Design & More, described as an affordable home design business that creates welcoming spaces tailored to individual tastes. J Miles Design & More offers services in home staging and design, downsizing and senior living transitions.

Her consignment showroom and office space will open Sept. 2 at 1714 S. Minnesota Ave., which at one point housed Twetten’s Interior Designs. Twetten’s moved to a new location at 2401 W. Trevi Place in south Sioux Falls.

This month, Miles is accepting high-quality, up-to-date and gently used furniture through appointments at her new location. Her tagline is “beautiful homes on a budget.”

Miles operated Consignor’s Designs for 19 years in a retail mall on South Minnesota Avenue, four blocks south of her new location. This summer, as she worked a part-time job in a Lewis Drug garden center, former customers often told her how much they missed her store.

“Sioux Falls needs a store like that, they told me, there’s just nothing like it,” Miles said. “I really have missed all my customers and clients. I feel a little lost. That store was so much of my identity the last 19 years … and both my children said, I think you’re craving it.”

Preparing to open J Miles Design & More has given Miles a renewed sense of energy. Combining the consignment and design sides of the business gives her the best of both worlds, she said, allowing her to help clients in their homes.

She plans to hire a part-time employee so she can spend Tuesdays and Wednesdays with clients and have the store open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Miles currently is involved in setting up an estate sale for a client who is downsizing her McKennan Park home after living there for 37 years.

Estate sales no longer are conducted solely after the death of people who have owned the furniture for decades, Miles said. Instead, people now fill their homes with a mix of vintage and newer pieces, changing the look before items become worn out.

“A lot of people, after their kids are grown and leave the nest, redo their homes, then when it’s time to downsize, pieces are still in style and up to date,” Miles said. “It’s become a different thing than it used to be when you think estate sale.”

Being environmentally friendly is important to Miles, and she stresses the importance of reusing and recycling instead of always buying new. A former teacher and single parent, she always has been budget-conscious, she said.

Miles is repainting her new store in lighter, brighter colors. When she opens, Miles plans to bring back a tradition that she had established at her former store. Over the years, it had become a gathering spot for people who would come in weekly for coffee, cookies or coffee cake and conversation.

“So many people are just looking for that opportunity to be seen and heard, to be acknowledged and have a day-brightener,” Miles said. “I was a gathering spot with a Tuesday crowd or a Wednesday crowd.”

To reach Miles, call or text 605-251-9618 or email jmilesdesignandmore@gmail.com.