Sarah-Mai Miller and Heath Miller lived in 10 different houses and apartments in 17 years. The couple owned three of those houses — an 1800s saltbox in Greenport on Long Island and a modern cozy cabin and a glass cabin, both in a town called Milan in upstate New York.
The couple’s ventures in real estate were a natural extension of their jobs as creative directors. Together, they founded Chalk 242, a creative ad agency they’d named after the address of their first apartment in New York City, a prewar building on the Upper West Side. For the Millers, the lines blurred between work, play and home.
The two houses in Milan were nicknamed Maitopia and Mailan, a nod to Ms. Miller’s name. But they bore her husband’s out-of-the-box touches, like a lap pool within two steps of the backdoor of Maitopia, and, most curious to Ms. Miller, a bathtub in the middle of the tiny home. “I saw the designs for the tub and was like, ‘Really?’” she recalled.
In February 2023, Mr. Miller, 47, died in a head-on collision on a rural, dark road on the North Fork a few miles from their Greenport home. Mr. Miller was driving. His friend who was in the passenger’s seat, and the two occupants of the other car died.
Mr. Miller’s death left his wife stricken with grief, reliving every memory of what they had built together. The night Heath died, Sarah-Mai called her parents, who drove through the night to be with their daughter. Other friends and family members offered their support and presence in the coming days and weeks. Ms. Miller eventually went back “home” to her native Ohio after the informal celebration of Heath’s life in his hometown, York, Pa., where some of his family still lives. She returned to the saltbox home in Greenport weeks later to see if she could be there alone. She had a little company, Rufus, their dog. “It was so empty,” she said. “Every day was a reminder of how quiet it was.”