There’s No Place Like Home

Editor’s Note

For this, our annual home issue, we wanted to connect with the home team. For Hurricane Football fans, that means only one thing. So, we thought, what better way to celebrate the idea of home than with our cover girl Jessica Cristobal, the wife of UM ’Canes coach Mario Cristobal. She is, of course, much more than a wife. Not only is she a beauty pageant queen (Miss Florida World 1994, Mrs. Florida International 2025), she is an author, a philanthropist, and the founder of the Leading Ladies League, a non-profit that supports women. But forgive us this time, we featured her on the cover because she is the First Lady of the ‘Canes, and part of the essential support team for Coach Cristobal.

And that, in essence, is what home is all about. A place of refuge, a place of safety, an oasis of comfort and succor that one returns to after being out in the world, either on the road or on the job. The world is a pretty tough place these days, and we all need the solace of our private retreats. Every person’s home is their castle, as the Brits would say, the place where you feel protected. Home is where the heart is.

Having said that, home is also, for most of us, very much a physical space. And no one is more obsessed with their homes than the residents of Coral Gables. As English artist and textile designer William Morris once advised, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Fortunately, you don’t have to look far in the Gables to find the useful and beautiful things that comprise a home. In our guide to home stores, we list more than 50 shops in the Gables that cater to the homeowner, offering everything from designer lighting to options for flooring. We also list a dozen interior design firms based here, just in case you need a helping hand to create the home of your dreams.

Of course, once you’ve fashioned a beautiful dwelling for yourself, you can then proudly invite guests, for few things better reflect who you are than your abode. On the other hand, what does it matter who visits? As interior designer Jeff Lincoln once said, “The ultimate luxury is being able to relax and enjoy your home.” It’s for you, after all.

JP Faber
Editor-in-Chief
Coral Gables Magazine