Secret Gardens
Creating an outdoor Living space: The Home of Sheila & Water Revell
Walter and Sheila Revell in the garden she has created. While he is master of the business world outside (chairman of NCL, International Finance Bank, and Revell Investments), she is master of the universe at home.
Describing how her colorful, cozy garden makes her feel, homeowner Sheila Revell says “it feeds me, makes me happy, and challenges me.”
After moving into their 1926 Coral Gables home in 1996, Sheila began to work on creating a usable outdoor living space. The addition of a pergola covered with brilliant fuchsia bougainvillea added the perfect canopy, and installation of a Chicago brick floor created a perfect setting for intimate dining, reading and lounging spaces. Pots of herbs, orchids, delicate plants, and seasonal bloomers are frequently moved around to freshen the space.
A garden-lover all her life, Sheila is always on the lookout for new tropical plants and does much of the work herself. She gathers ideas from her worldwide travels, favorite garden books, and volunteer work planning local garden tours. She says a garden, no matter what the size, is always “a work in progress.”
