Interview with Kimberly McCole

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Home Decor Interview:

Kimberly McCole

Kim McCole did something few of us are brave enough to do: leave the comfort of a traditional single family home and take a chance on a dream.

Kim fell in love with a 1920s style cottage home in Florida three years ago. Today she lives in that home with her family, having made her dream come true.

Not only that, she created a very popular blog about her home called Dear Daisy Cottage.

We were touched by Kim's story and thought she'd be a great person to sit down and talk with here at Decor Medley. She was nice enough to accept our offer, and we now present the finished product here for you.

Enjoy!

1. Kim, thanks so much for agreeing to this interview and for sharing your time with us. Please take this opportunity to introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about your blog, Daisy Cottage, which recently celebrated its 2^nd anniversary (congratulations!).

Thank you so much Giorgina for the honor of being interviewed for your wonderful website!

I am a homemaker from Florida - married and a mother of two, and I write the blog, "Dear Daisy Cottage" which is mainly about my love and passion for our yellow cottage-bungalow, and of course my family, friends, and Maggie - our little dappled dachshund.

2. You purchased a 1920s cottage that you�ve slowly built into your dream home.

You�ve done a magnificent job and it looks fantastic from the photos you�ve posted.

What is it about the cottage style homes that attracts you to them so much?

I love cottage styled homes for their humble warmth and casual feel. I think they truly embrace the heart.

3. Before living in your cottage, your family lived in a more traditional ranch style home. How has it been adjusting to a smaller, cottage style home, and does your family share your passion for cottages?

Honestly, there was no adjustment at all! This felt like home-sweet-home the minute we moved in. There is a wonderful vibe here. The home is just a little bit smaller than our last home, but the floor plan lends itself to easy living and the tall ceilings make the rooms live larger.

My family supports my passion for cottages and basically, if I'm happy, they're happy! *wink* My husband loves our home and its' close proximity to downtown as much as I do.

4. You�re not shy about your love of finding decorative items at thrift shops and yard sales, which many of us can proudly relate to.

Since your cottage is relatively small compared to the more traditional modern homes, how do you find room to display all the treasures you find at these stores?

Well, I like to group like-treasures together and I also rotate things in and out, depending on my mood. I also trade with my sister quite a bit which makes thrift shopping and junking so much more fun! When I tire of something, I either pass it along or donate it to Goodwill. It's my way of recycling!

5. You have an adorable dog named Miss Maggie. How does Maggie react when you come home with new decorative purchases for the home, and do you have any accessories that are patterned after Miss Maggie?

Oh yes, I adore Maggie! She's a VERY loving and sweet dog.

When I come home with new goodies in hand, all she is really concerned about is that I put them all down for a minute so that I can pick her up, and give her a hug.

Actually, she would prefer for me to carry her around like that all day!

She is so used to things coming and going here, she really has no problem with it at all. I do love dachshund figurines and have a few of them displayed in my office.

6. Everyone who owns an older home always wonders about its previous owners. In your case, your home was built during the �roaring �20s.�

Do you often wonder what kinds of parties were thrown in your home during that time period, and the kinds of worries that happened there during the Great Depression that followed? Do you think previous owners loved the home as much as you do?

Oh yes - I wondered about that the minute we bought the house! I did as much research as I could at our local library and then we had the good fortune of meeting some of the family of the original homeowners on the local home tour that Daisy Cottage was a part of!

We have since had them back for several visits and happily learned a great deal more about John and Zoe. They were wonderful people who did indeed survive the Great Depression, thankfully keeping their home, and they loved living here and did for close to 40 years.

I am very grateful to have met their family and they are all welcome here in what is their home too, any time.

7. You�re a self confessed magazine junkie. What are your favorite home decor and design magazines, and do you often order decor by mail?

I do love decorating magazines!

Let's see - some of the many ones that I enjoy are Romantic Country, Cottage Style, Home Companion, Country Home, Country Sampler and Better Homes & Gardens.

I don't order decor by mail very often and my favorite decor catalog is from Anthropologie.

8. Kim, thanks again for sharing your time with us. For our last question, please tell us what it was in your life that first triggered your passion for home decor? And what has allowed you to continue this passion and devote a large part of your life to it?

I remember as a little girl, ALWAYS caring about what my room looked like. It was like my sanctuary. I loved moving things around and enjoyed the nesting part of creating my space.

I really don't know what triggered that - I've just always had the love for decorating. Being a homemaker, I've been blessed with the opportunities to continue the nesting and while some hobbies have come and gone, decorating and the passion I have for turning a house into a home has never waned.

Now, with the beautiful world of blogging, even more inspiration is at our fingertips - and we can share with others all over the world. It really is an amazing opportunity!

We want to send a huge "Thank You" to Kim for allowing us ask her some questions about her lovely cottage home and share some time with her. Perhaps she has inspired you to go after your own dream too, whatever that may be.

It is obvious to anyone how much joy Kim's home brings her. We're thrilled she found her American dream, and even better, that she gets to write about it and share her home with others. It's a really neat idea and I wish more bloggers would open up the way Kim has.

Be sure to visit Dear Daisy Cottage often for great ideas on your own home. We want to wish Kim continued happiness with her home, and special thanks go out to Miss Maggie May for her involuntary participation in this crazy world of internet blogs! Maggie's a cutie and deserves to be spoiled, and we're pretty sure she is :)

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