Meet Neil.  Neil is a good friend and great guy.  He also happens to have one of the coolest jobs around.  He  spends his days working underwater with a camera bringing  us the amazing footage we see in major motion pictures and shows like “Shark Week” on the  Discovery Channel.  It was only natural that I would pry my way into seeing how Neil lives in Miami.  It’s all about the outdoors.  How you living Neil?  Take a look…

Why Miami?

I was born there and raised there.  It’s a great place if you like the ocean.  That’s Miami’s greatest asset in my opinion, the water is warm and clear, and there is a good balance between surfing and freediving for me.  Also, with my career being centered around the water, it’s really convenient to travel to a lot of the locations we work on in the Caribbean.

Describe your decorating style?

My furniture is either contemporary or from Indonesia; I find the two different styles work well together.  This house is mostly glass, and the best part of it are the views of the water from the inside.  I tried to keep the furniture low key so it wouldn’t be to distracting.  I also like white walls; I have a lot of big paintings that I find work better with white walls.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked when I was going to finish painting my place, but “Primer White” is my color.  The floors are made of bamboo, and my cabinets are recycled wood.  I don’t know if that qualifies as being “green,” but it’s something I was trying to be conscious of when I was designing it.

Favorite room and why?

The Main Area which is basically the living, dining, and kitchen all in one big room.  I can sit on the couch, watch TV with the air conditioning on and watch the boats go by, ideally while somebody is making me food.

If you had to rent a room out, to whom would you LOVE to rent?

That’s a tough question.  I’m a really private person when it comes to my personal space.  I would have to say my girlfriend, although I couldn’t charge her rent.  She doesn’t charge me rent when I stay with her.

What item in your home did you splurge on?

Does the boat count?  Inside the house I would say the kitchen, especially the countertops.  They are actually white glass and at the time they were really unusual.  I think the technical term for them was “Agglomerate.”

Do you know your neighbors?

I do; they’re really cool on both sides.  I’m the youngest one in my neighborhood by a landslide.  I bought the house when I was 27 and remember one of my neighbors coming over to introduce themselves and asking if my parents were home.

What is your favorite chore?

I really enjoy mowing the lawn in the evening.  I put my iPod on and zone out.  Mowing the lawn is one of those weird things… I always get fixated on some kind of pattern when going around the yard.  I imagine it must be hell on somebody with O.C.D.

What store do you most frequent when buying things for your home?

That would be The Home Depot, without question.  One of the things that they don’t tell you when buying your first house is that something is always broken.  The second thing is about Property Taxes.

What item or items stay stocked in your home?

I travel a lot.  I spend more time away from home than in it for sure.  That being the case, there are only three things in my house at all times:  vodka, coffee, and chocolate.  All of which are in my freezer.

Anything you want to share about Neil’s domestic life?

My home life is surprisingly dull.  My home is in the middle of one the biggest party towns in the country (South Beach), but I rarely go out.  I built that house from almost the ground up with the help of my Dad.  It took me nearly 3 years and was an insane amount of work.  We did everything from the the electric and plumbing to planting the grass.  I spent 1 of those years living out of a bedroom in the back behind plastic and covered in dust.  No kitchen, just 1/2 a bathroom and a cold outdoor shower.  Having the house finished now, I almost never leave except to get food or go to work.  That’s been the best part of living in this house for me, I built it to suit my needs and how I wanted to live.