This week I would like to introduce you to a very special friend of mine, Kim Macumber. We have been friends for over twenty five years and she is an incredibly talented interior designer. We plan to share some of our ideas together in a new blog segment called “Life by Design, Inside and Out.” You can subscribe to Kim’s blog at-

http://www.kimmacumberinteriors.com/blog/

Moving into a new home comes with spectrum of emotions, everything from a great sense of accomplishment to an overwhelming angst over what to pay attention to first. Should you make decisions about window coverings and furniture, or consider your landscape and garden? Do you feel confident to make long term choices about how you will live in a new space, or would waiting a bit give you some time to learn more about your new environment? And what about all those unexpected expenses that seem to add up around a move… is there even any budget left to work with?

About twenty-five years ago I was relocated from Texas to Georgia and faced all of those questions without a clue where to begin. My home was located in a traditional neighborhood where every yard was kept tidy and it seemed as if everyone had hired impeccable interior decorators to create lovely interiors. I had come from a tiny craftsman style cottage in Houston, so most of the rooms of my new home were completely empty. The new house was perched atop a big hill with a huge backyard sloping down to a creek. I was just a little intimidated!

Until I met Kim. Across the street my new neighbor on Rocky Glen was an adorable young woman with a charming southern accent and a big friendly smile.

She always made me feel like there was plenty of time and everything would come together. She had a great sense of style, lots of encouraging ideas and best of all, she was just starting out too, so some of her rooms were also empty. Together we would ponder magazines and design books dreaming up future furnishings and beautiful possibilities. We would celebrate each others progress, no matter how small, as we inched our way toward making our houses into homes.

Over time it became clear where our individual passions were leading us. Kim created lovely interiors that were somehow elegant and cozy at the same time. I became acquainted with all of my native magnolia trees and rare trillium plants, spending a large amount of time up to my knees in mud by the creek. She waited patiently for a special order down filled sofa that arrived like a fluffy cloud in the middle of her family room.

I dug hundreds of holes and filled them with daffodils and narcissus that eventually naturalized, painting the hillside brilliant yellow and white every Spring. Kim made her home more beautiful one room at a time. I transformed my sprawling landscape into my own garden world.

I’ll never forget when Kim made the decision to change all of the moulding throughout the first floor of her house from a wood stain to white. Every board needed to be stripped, sanded and then painted with oil base enamel. She did most of this work all by herself, late at night after her two young daughters had gone to bed. The entire process was messy and back-braking but Kim never gave up. Once she had a vision, she stuck with it until it was completed.

Years have passed and many miles have separated us, but Kim and I have always remained close. Now we have both centered our careers on those passions we discovered back in Georgia on Rocky Glen and I am always looking forward to seeing the finishing touches to her latest project. Today Kim uses her talent and those same wonderful qualities to encourage her design clients, creating inspiring spaces with Kim Macumber Interior in Sherborn, Massachusetts. I still spend most of my days out in someone’s garden helping my client’s with my landscape company, Goodness Grows In Austin.

Kim and I are blessed to be able to share the work we love with others. I look forward to sharing some of her ideas with you in the future and let you in on some of our collaborative projects. We are both committed to helping you make your world just a little bit more beautiful, inside and out.

remember goodness grows,

Heather