Welcome to The Urban Cottage!

 

My name is Laureen Wheeler and I am excited share my home and lifestyle inspiration with you. I am blessed to share our home with my husband, Todd, our two cats, Monkey and Kahlua and our greyhound dog, Delta.  In addition to keeping our home running smoothly, I have had the honor of holding a full-time position as a real estate advisor on one of the top teams in Miami, Florida.

 

For the past 11 years, Todd and I have enjoyed apartment/condominium-style living here in Miami.  We had the opportunity to reside in beautiful places such as Key Biscayne and Coconut Grove which provided amazing views of sparkling Biscayne Bay and its surroundings.

 

When we finally saved enough to purchase our home, we had to choose what we could afford in our desired neighborhood of Coral Gables, Fl.  We settled upon a 1924 Old Spanish style home on a quiet street.  The exterior of the home was architecturally interesting but needed much love and attention inside and out.  Having the opportunity to work as a luxury real estate agent, I derived many of my remodeling and decorating ideas from the beautiful estates and homes we have the pleasure of experiencing first-hand.

 

Thus began my journey of creating what is now our Urban Cottage!

 

I am a native of Miami and was fortunate to grow up in a household of much creativity.  Although I do not possess a degree in interior design, I have a wealth of practical experience coupled with a dab of DNA passed along from my parents.  My father was a plumber by trade, but a born engineer who could build anything.  He, along with my mother designed and built the 1950 ranch-style home I grew up in.

 

My mother was an artist by true definition and whom I attribute much of my decorating knowledge, experience and inspiration.  She was an excellent seamstress (better than I will ever be) and made our mother-daughter clothing to match during a time when it was fashionable to do so.  We would walk down Miracle Mile which is the main shopping district here in Coral Gables and peer into the dress shop windows.  She would mentally study the clothing, hurry home and create custom patterns out of newspaper, then piece together the clothing from the patterns.  We would often get stopped by women who wanted to know where we purchased the matching outfits!

 

 

One of the things I will always be grateful for is the fact that she taught me that good design does not have to cost a fortune and that is fun and challenging to repurpose items in order to create a totally different look.  This is where things clicked for me as she nourished my hunger for creativity.

 

I hope to pass along some inspiration to my followers in the same manner she passed it along me.

                                                                        LW

 

   

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