Privacy and Cookie Policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 July 2026

At Dream of Home, your privacy matters. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information is collected when you visit https://www.dreamofhome.co.uk, why it is collected, how it is used and the choices you have about your information.

Dream of Home is owned and operated by Sarah Macklin. For the purposes of UK data protection law, Sarah Macklin is the data controller responsible for the personal information collected through this website.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact:

Sarah Macklin
Email: sarah@dreamofhome.co.uk

What information is collected?

Depending on how you use this website, I may collect the following information:

Your name and email address if you subscribe to the newsletter
Your name, email address and website address if you choose to leave a comment on an article
Information you voluntarily provide when contacting me by email.
Your IP address and browser information
Information about how you use the website, including pages visited, time spent on pages, device type and general location
Technical information such as browser type, operating system and referring website.

I do not intentionally collect special category personal data (such as health information or religious beliefs), nor do I knowingly collect information from children.

How your information is collected

Information may be collected when you:

Visit the website
Accept or reject cookies through the cookie consent banner
Leave a comment on a blog post
Subscribe to the Dream of Home newsletter
Contact me by email.

Some information is collected automatically using cookies and similar technologies. More information can be found in the Cookie Policy.

Why your information is collected

Personal information is used to:

Operate and improve the website
Understand how visitors use the site
Respond to enquiries
Send newsletters and updates where you have chosen to receive them
Prevent spam and protect the website from abuse
Display relevant advertising
Track affiliate referrals where applicable
Comply with legal obligations.

Your information is never sold to third parties.

Legal basis for processing

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), I rely on the following lawful bases for processing personal information.

Consent

Where you choose to:

subscribe to the newsletter;
accept optional cookies;
consent to personalised advertising where applicable.

You may withdraw your consent at any time.

Legitimate interests

I process certain information where it is necessary to operate and improve Dream of Home, including:

monitoring website performance;
preventing spam and malicious activity;
maintaining website security;
responding to enquiries;
understanding how visitors use the website.

I ensure these legitimate interests do not override your rights and freedoms.

Legal obligations

In certain circumstances I may process information where required to comply with UK law.

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics 4 to help understand how visitors use the website.

Google Analytics may collect information including:

pages viewed;
time spent on the website;
approximate location;
device type;
browser type;
interactions with website content.

This information helps improve the website and understand which content visitors find most useful.

Where required by law, analytics cookies are only used after consent has been provided through the cookie banner.

Google may process some information on servers located outside the United Kingdom. Appropriate safeguards are in place to protect this information.

Google AdSense

Dream of Home displays advertisements provided by Google AdSense.

With your consent, Google and its advertising partners may use cookies to:

display personalised adverts;
measure advertising performance;
prevent fraud;
limit the number of times an advert is shown.

If you decline advertising cookies, you will still see adverts, but they may be less relevant to your interests.

Affiliate links

Some articles contain affiliate links through the Awin affiliate network.

If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Affiliate tracking uses cookies to identify that a purchase originated from Dream of Home. These cookies do not allow me to see your payment details or any other sensitive information.

Affiliate links help support the running costs of the website.

Email newsletter

If you subscribe to the Dream of Home newsletter, your email address and any information you provide during sign-up are stored securely using Mailchimp.

Your information is only used to send newsletters, updates and occasional promotional emails relating to Dream of Home.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in every email.

Comments

Visitors may choose to leave comments on blog posts.

When you leave a comment, WordPress stores the information you submit, including:

your name;
email address;
website (if provided);
IP address;
browser information.

This information helps manage discussions and reduce spam.

Comments remain visible on the website unless removed.

Please avoid sharing sensitive personal information within comments, as they are publicly visible.

Spam protection

Comments are checked using Akismet, an automated spam detection service.

Information submitted as part of a comment may be transferred to Akismet to determine whether the comment is genuine or spam.

Cookies

Dream of Home uses cookies to improve your browsing experience, remember your preferences, analyse website traffic and support advertising and affiliate tracking.

Further information is available in the Cookie Policy.

Third-party services

This website uses trusted third-party providers to deliver certain services.

These currently include:

Google Analytics
Google AdSense
Awin
Mailchimp
Akismet
WordPress

These providers may process personal information on my behalf in accordance with their own privacy policies.

International transfers

Some third-party providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where this happens, appropriate safeguards are used to ensure your information receives an equivalent level of protection, including the use of approved contractual safeguards where required.

How long information is kept

Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary.

Generally:

email enquiries are retained until they are no longer needed;
newsletter information is kept until you unsubscribe;
comments remain on the website unless removed;
analytics information is retained according to Google Analytics’ configured retention settings;
records may be retained where required for legal or regulatory purposes.

How your information is protected

Reasonable technical and organisational measures are used to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure.

However, no method of transmitting information over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

request access to your personal information;
request correction of inaccurate information;
request deletion of your information in certain circumstances;
request restriction of processing;
object to certain types of processing;
request a copy of information you have provided in a portable format where applicable;
withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact:

sarah@dreamofhome.co.uk

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how your personal information has been handled, I would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns first.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent authority for data protection.

Links to other websites

Dream of Home may contain links to third-party websites.

Once you leave this website, I have no control over how those websites collect or use your information. You should review their own privacy policies before providing any personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, website functionality or the services used by Dream of Home.

Any updates will be published on this page and the “Last updated” date at the top of this policy will be amended accordingly.

Last updated: 12 July 2026

This Cookie Policy explains how Dream of Home uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit https://www.dreamofhome.co.uk.

Dream of Home is owned and operated by Sarah Macklin. This policy explains what cookies are, why they are used, and how you can manage your preferences.

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy, please contact:

Sarah Macklin
Email: sarah@dreamofhome.co.uk

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit a website. They allow websites to recognise your device, remember preferences and understand how visitors interact with the website.

Cookies can help websites work properly, improve user experience and provide information about how the website is being used.

Some cookies are placed directly by the website you are visiting, while others may be placed by third-party services used by that website.

How Dream of Home uses cookies

Dream of Home uses cookies for the following purposes:

To ensure the website works correctly
To remember your cookie preferences
To understand how visitors use the website
To improve website content and performance
To display relevant advertising
To measure the effectiveness of affiliate links.

Some cookies are essential for the website to function, while others are only used when you provide consent.

Types of cookies used

Essential cookies

Essential cookies are required for the website to operate properly.

These cookies may be used to:

remember your cookie preferences;
maintain basic website functionality;
protect the website against spam and abuse.

These cookies cannot be switched off through the cookie banner because the website cannot function properly without them.

Analytics cookies

Dream of Home uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how visitors interact with the website.

Analytics cookies help provide information such as:

which pages visitors view;
how long visitors spend on the website;
how visitors find the website;
which content is most popular;
general information about devices and browsers.

This information helps improve the website and create content that is more useful to readers.

Analytics cookies are only used where consent has been provided through the cookie banner.

Advertising cookies

Dream of Home uses Google AdSense to display advertisements.

Advertising cookies may be used by Google and its advertising partners to:

display advertisements that may be more relevant to your interests;
measure advertising performance;
understand interactions with advertisements;
prevent fraudulent activity.

If you choose not to accept advertising cookies, advertisements may still appear but may not be personalised.

Affiliate cookies

Some links on Dream of Home are affiliate links.

The website participates in affiliate programmes through Awin. When you click an affiliate link, a cookie may be placed on your device to allow the affiliate network to record that a purchase originated from Dream of Home.

This allows commissions to be correctly attributed.

Affiliate cookies do not provide Dream of Home with access to your personal details, payment information or browsing history.

Email newsletter cookies

Dream of Home uses Mailchimp to manage newsletter subscriptions.

If you subscribe to the newsletter, Mailchimp may use tracking technologies within emails to provide information such as whether emails have been opened or links have been clicked.

This information helps improve newsletter content and delivery.

You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the link included in every email.

Comment and spam protection cookies

Dream of Home uses WordPress comments and Akismet to help manage comments and prevent spam.

When you leave a comment, cookies and similar technologies may be used to help identify legitimate users and reduce fraudulent or automated submissions.

Third-party cookies

Some cookies used on this website are provided by third-party services.

These currently include:

Google Analytics
Google AdSense
Awin
Mailchimp
Akismet

These third parties may process information collected through cookies in accordance with their own privacy policies.

Managing your cookie preferences

When you first visit Dream of Home, you will be given the option to accept or reject non-essential cookies through the cookie consent banner.

You can change your cookie preferences at any time by adjusting your browser settings or revisiting the cookie settings available through the website.

Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect how some parts of the website function.

Managing cookies through your browser

Most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings.

You can usually:

view cookies stored on your device;
delete existing cookies;
block cookies from specific websites;
block all cookies.

Instructions vary depending on the browser you use. You can find guidance through your browser’s help settings.

Changes to this Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes to the cookies used on Dream of Home or changes in legal requirements.

Any updates will be published on this page, and the “Last updated” date at the top of this policy will be amended accordingly.

More information

For information about how Dream of Home collects and uses personal information, please see the Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about cookies or privacy, please contact: