Discovering Miami
The visit that started it all.
In January 2018, I found myself in the middle of another long, dark Maine winter. You know the kind where the sun sets at 4 pm, and everything feels cold, gray, and…endless. I had some airline miles to use, and I remember having this very clear thought: I need to go to Florida. Anywhere warm. Anywhere sunny.
I wasn’t sure where in Florida I wanted to go. I’d already done Cocoa Beach, Tampa, Naples, Orlando…the usual. I had never been to the Fort Lauderdale area, so I threw a quick “anyone live near here?” question on my Instagram story. That’s when I remembered I had friends in Miami. And honestly? Miami just sounded fun. I didn’t know much about it. I had no plan. I just knew I needed a break.
So I booked it.
Flying over Miami.
I sort of misunderstood the assignment and ended up staying in Hollywood, which, by the way, is not Miami. I thought I was booking something “Miami-adjacent.” It’s actually about 40 minutes north. Still, I loved it. I stayed right on the beach, and even before stepping foot in Miami, something in me already felt lighter. I didn’t know it yet, but this trip would completely change the way I see design, color, and creativity.
My friends offered to show me around the city. They love Miami the way only locals can, with that mix of pride, nostalgia, and “there’s no place like this.” They were excited to be my tour guides, and I was excited to see anything they wanted to show me. We ended up having one of the most fun few days of my twenties.
One of the first things they said was, “We’re taking you to Ocean Drive.”
I had heard of it, but I didn’t really know what it was. I asked, “Is that the neon street?” They laughed and said, “You’ll see.”
Walking down Ocean Drive for the first time is something I’ll never forget. This was back in 2018 when you could still park right on the street, which already feels like a different lifetime. The moment I stepped out of the car and looked around, I audibly gasped. The entire strip was glowing. The Art Deco hotels, pastel by day, neon by night, were lit up in blues, pinks, greens, and peach. It felt like stepping into a movie set. I don’t think I blinked for several minutes.
The energy was unreal. The buildings, the palms, the breeze off the water…it was overwhelming in the best way.
Then they pointed across the street and said, “Do you know what that is?”
I didn’t.
“That’s the Versace Mansion.”
The Versace Mansion
It stopped me in my tracks. I had always admired Gianni Versace’s work, and I knew the story, but seeing the house in real life was surreal. Seeing the wrought-iron gates, the Medusa medallions, and the Italian villa architecture in person, I was stunned. It didn’t match the Art Deco buildings around it, yet somehow it still belonged. Miami can hold contradictions like that. Glam next to grit, pastel next to patina. It’s what makes it so interesting and storied to me.
Right there, standing in front of the neon buildings, it hit me:
THIS is the vibe.
It was everything I love. The beach, sun, palm trees, historic architecture, color, culture…all wrapped into one place.
One of my only videos from that first night on Ocean Drive. Shaky with excitement. lol
There’s really no other way to explain it. Miami had everything I loved without me even knowing I loved it.
The next day we went to Wynwood. Which is it’s own beast. Bars, live music, Wynwood Walls, the whole thing. Very different energy, but I still loved it.
I was 28, it was mid-January, and I stayed for maybe four or five nights. It was a quick trip, but when I went home, I couldn’t stop thinking about Miami. I was obsessed . Like fully, embarrassingly obsessed. My obsession still has a cringe element to it, but back then, I was talking about it nonstop. I looked up hotels. I watched vlogs. I started researching neighborhoods.
And then I did what any normal person would do:
I went back a month and a half later.
Villa Casa Casuarina aka The Versace Mansion
That second trip was longer. A full week and I explored hard. I resort-hopped, visited Coral Gables, Dolphin Mall, and Wynwood again, met up with more friends, and tried to see as much of Miami as possible. I realized each area had its own personality:
South Beach felt pastel, Deco, electric.
Coral Gables felt classic and elegant.
Coconut Grove felt lush and tropical.
Brickell felt like New York with palm trees.
We went fishing off Sanibel Island, also not Miami, but stunning nonetheless. Standing in warm water in the middle of winter, catching fish with a backdrop that looked like a postcard.
When I say this trip was life-changing, I’m not trying to be dramatic. It was the beginning of something I didn’t have the words for yet. It was the spark that eventually led to my obsession with color, curves, pastels, tropical motifs, hotel-suite comfort, and the mix of Deco + glam + tropical softness that I now call MIAMI Tropical Deco.
It was the first of countless trips and the beginning of the aesthetic I’m now building into my home and this entire blog.
