Advising executives and other high-profile clients through dense legal and commercial transactions demands technical precision, strategic imagination, and the patience to translate complex rules into humane outcomes. It’s the kind of work that asks an adviser to hold many moving parts and many people’s interests at once. After all, mistakes cost money and trust.
Robert Andrew Millar forged that temperament in courtrooms and corporate suites. Today, he brings the same discipline to a more personal but equally impactful arena: homes and the lives lived inside them.
Millar’s fascination with houses began in childhood. He stacked wooden blocks, drew floor plans on scraps of paper, and begged his parents for a drafting table at the age of nine. A babysitter once told him he had the eye of an architect. Home life also taught him the value of service. His parents owned a restaurant, and the rhythms of hospitality shaped a careful attention to other people’s needs. A stepfather worked in real estate, showing the practical side of property, while his father’s legal practice pointed him toward law as a vocation.
After law school and a period of service in the Army, Millar practiced corporate law for two decades, representing technology companies building national infrastructure and helping close complex, multi-party deals. The hours were long and the stakes high; the work demanded relentless vigilance.
Yet during law school, something pivotal happened. “I bought, restored, and sold a house for quite a profit, and felt a kind of satisfaction I’d never found at a negotiation table,” he says. “That one renovation gave me clarity about what I actually wanted to spend my days doing.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic rearranged priorities, Millar and his husband, Mario Guariso, reconsidered their trajectory. The couple bought a house in La Quinta for a winter escape and, surprised by how inviting country club life felt, negotiated early retirement so they could focus on design, restoration, and smaller real estate projects together.
Another defining moment turned goodwill into a vocation. Millar encountered a neighbor who was overwhelmed by caregiving after selling a property off-market for far less than it was worth. “When someone you care about is shortchanged, you don’t walk away,” Millar says.
That incident prompted him to earn a real estate license and adopt a promise. “I told myself I would protect clients the way I had been able to protect corporate principals. And that’s by combining rigorous deal craft with human care,” Millar shares. He has channeled those skills into local service, joining the homeowners association board, updating agreements, and addressing infrastructure and governance issues, eventually serving as its leader and gaining community trust.
These moves led to the establishment of Robert Andrew Millar & Associates, which marries Millar’s strategic instincts with Guariso’s refined sense of presentation. Guariso brought more than two decades of experience in interior design and architectural consultancy in a major metropolitan market, with a specialty in mid-century homes.
Robert Andrew Millar & Associates guides buyers and sellers while seamlessly managing local teams. Millar describes its approach as white-glove advisory, not traditional brokerage. The team places a premium on community, aesthetics, and service. They help investors revive stalled renovations for standout returns, transform challenging listings into successful sales, and support relocating families so they arrive with ease and confidence.
Today, the firm is known for offering homes that are designed as fully realized living environments. As Millar often says, “Just bring your toothbrush.” This speaks to more than convenience. “It means arriving with only life’s essentials, not a list of renovations,” Millar adds. Each property is intentionally crafted as a sanctuary, complete with curated furniture, art, linens, and landscaping.
Essentially, buyers don’t just acquire a house. They inherit a lifestyle. This turnkey philosophy has consistently led to record-breaking sales and delighted buyers who appreciate the ease of turning a key and instantly feeling at home.
The arc from soldier to corporate counselor to neighborhood steward is less a straight line than a loop of complementary skills: disciplined service, an eye for structure, and a devotion to people. “Law taught me to manage risk; real estate taught me to imagine the life inside the walls,” Millar reflects. Settled in a place he helped shape and partnered with someone whose design expertise brings spaces to life, Millar has found a practice that feels equal parts stewardship and duty.
