Hi Everyone,

As you all know, I love sharing home tours on this blog with all of you so you can see how other people are able to style my art in their homes. If you haven’t already seen, our mini prints are back on the site and we’re featuring a couple new prints that were not available previously. I’m especially excited about today’s home tour because our guest has some of our minis styled in very creative ways throughout his home. If you pay attention to the images throughout the post, you’ll notice minis styled in ways that really add dimension and life to small, otherwise neglected spaces. Today’s guest is Wheeler Coberly a veteran Real Estate Agent and experienced home-flipper from Los Angeles, CA. So, you could say he knows a thing or two about homes! I’m going to let Wheeler take it from here...

Hi Wheeler, thanks for welcoming us into your home! Would you mind telling us a little more about yourself?

I was born in Los Angeles and currently live in the Mar Vista neighborhood with my family. We're a beach family. If we're not at home lounging in the backyard, we're at the beach. I grew up playing beach volleyball and have recently fallen in love with Pop Tennis (or Paddle Tennis). My wife is addicted to the sport so we often find ourselves playing in Santa Monica or down at the legendary courts in Venice.

Doesn’t that Mini Reef, Bora Bora print look so great styled on that bar cart? I think it really helps tie in the colors from the Bondi Beach Landscape print above. Minis are the perfect bar cart accessory to bring a little color to the space.

I know your career is pretty multi-faceted. Why don’t you tell our readers more about what you do.

I'm a residential real estate agent with Compass. My office is on Main Street in Santa Monica but I've represented clients throughout Los Angeles County and Santa Barbara for the last 16 years. In addition to sales, my wife and I remodeled our last home and rebuilt the home where we currently live, which has been extremely helpful to my clients who haven't been through that process before. We can look at a fixer home together and talk through that process without them feeling overwhelmed. Now, through Compass, we can offer our clients assistance - physically and monetarily - to fix up their homes, including staging, to maximize their profits. It's called Compass Concierge and it's revolutionizing our industry.

That’s so fascinating. I definitely think the Real Estate business could use a little revamping. How did you get into the real estate business? Was it something you were always interested in or did you stumble into it?

100% stumbled into it. After college, my brother and I were planning a summer backpacking trip through Europe and needed cash. My good friend, Blake Schinto, who was, and still is, a title insurance rep at the time, found me an assistant position in Pacific Palisades. I knew nothing about real estate sales but it really resonated with me during those few months. After returning from Europe, I found another assistant position in Brentwood which helped launch my career to where it is now. I can't imagine jumping into this business without having that assistant experience and I'm incredibly grateful to the agents I worked under.

Here you can see a perfect example of the size difference between our mini and small prints styled on Wheeler’s mantle. I think minis and smalls pair together so nicely both on mantles and even in gallery walls just to add a little bit more dimension.

Now let’s get to your home! What was it like originally and how did you change it up?

When we purchased our house in Mar Vista, it was a 2,200sqft "traditional" home with two levels. The second level wasn't usable for our lifestyle so we hired a highly talented firm, Letter Four, Inc., to rework the existing floor plan, add square footage and dimension, as well as update the style. My wife and I love the modern farmhouse look and leaned more on farmhouse than modern. Currently, the home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms in 2,800sqft of living space.

Smaller rooms, such as bathrooms, always tend to have skinny walls that can be difficult to decorate. Usually, they’re left bare, but mini prints are the perfect size to stack in this type of spot! Here, you can see Wheeler paired our Mini Hole 10, Pebble Beach and Mini Beverly Hills Hotel, which really pop against the black and white patterned wallpaper.

What inspires your interior decor style?

We are a very laid back family so we wanted to reflect that in our home. Our style is beachy and a little bohemian with some modern touches thrown in. We wanted everything to be family friendly as well as clean and sophisticated. We love art and colorful pieces that make our space pop mixed in with neutrals and lots of plants.

I love the look of floating shelves in a kitchen, but, if not styled correctly, you always run the risk of them looking too bare or messy. My mini prints are the perfect size to style on floating shelves and bring color into your kitchen. You can see how the Mini Always Welcome at the Parker II really makes the red vase next to it stand out.

I notice you have a few of my pieces styled throughout your home. When were you first introduced to the brand and what was your first piece?

I can't remember exactly when I was first introduced to the brand. I believe I saw a photo of a beach on the east coast with different colored umbrellas, blue water and bright sand. I immediately thought, "I want to be there!". My first piece was the large Poipu Beach photo because I get that same feeling every time I see it. Keeps me motivated to get back.

You have a connection to Kauai, right? What were your thoughts when picking Poipu Beach for your living space?

Our family has been going to Kauai every year (sometimes twice a year) for the past 11 years. We don't own on the island but that is certainly a dream of mine. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been and it feels like home away from home. Poipu Beach is one of our favorite beaches in Kauai and we have created great memories there with our kids. Surfing, snorkeling and swimming to that little island you see in the GM photo. Also, my brother and his wife were recently married in Poipu so it's definitely been a special place for our entire family.

Lastly, what about the Gray Malin lifestyle brand do you connect with?

Travel. We love to travel with our kids and tend to find ourselves in coastal locations. There is a calmness to the Gray Malin brand that really resonates with me and my family. We're water people!

Thank you so much for welcoming my team into your home, Wheeler! It makes me so happy whenever I hear about how others are able to connect with my brand and all of your pieces look so wonderful styled in your home. To you readers, if you’re feeling inspired by Wheeler’s home, you can pick some mini prints of your own this week only! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to bring some fun into the smaller corners of your home. Shop all Mini Prints here.

Xx

Cheers!

Gray