Bedroom Therapy with DesAnn Collins

Creating the sweetest spot for sleep

Nothing ruins a happy morning (or makes a grumpy one even worse) than a night of tossing and turning. We all know a supportive mattress is the hero of a good night’s sleep but bedroom décor plays a starring role too. Stumped on how to create the sleep sanctuary of your dreams? Prepare yourself for dreamy inspiration from DesAnn Collins.

As part of a new series – Bedroom Therapy – we’re snooping in the inner sanctuaries of interior designers and design enthusiasts. DesAnn is a designer, decorator and home stager in Cleveland Ohio and says her bedroom is her last bastion of sanity. “In the evenings after a crazy busy day, I’ll retire to my fortress intentionally – just to be alone to think and dream and escape,” she explained. “I’ve learned that if I want to be creative in the morning, I need to honor my need for solitude in the evening.”

Leave your i-everything at the door

When creativity is your business, protecting your assets begins in the bedroom, says DesAnn. While she watches TV in her bedroom and has a landline phone in the room for emergencies, she bans all electronic devices from her sleep sanctuary. “I’m not a brain surgeon so there’s no need for me to be wired into email 24 hours a day,” she said. “In my experience, no one has ever died from a design emergency in the middle of the night.”

Project Runway (and sometimes a good book or magazine) helps DesAnn disconnect from the world at night. When she’s ready for sleep, absolute darkness is non-negotiable with double-lined curtains.

A space designed for respite

DesAnn describes her bedroom design style as eclectic and gives new ideas as much credence as things from the past that bring her joy. Her mother and grandmother crocheted her a yellow and white bedspread when she was a teenager and it still pulls on her heart strings. Her red Christmas fascinator hat is equally as priceless.

“I enjoy mixing beautiful late 1800’s furniture with more modern day elements,” she shared. “The walls and ceiling are a soothing shade of grey, which are much different than the yellow we first painted this room 10 years ago. But my style of design has evolved and I now enjoy the way the darker grey plays dramatically against the old wood floors.”

Beautiful dreamer

According to DesAnn, sleep is her super-power. “If I don’t sleep well, everything in my life suffers – my ability to handle stress, manage products and especially generate creative ideas.” She spends her days physically moving furniture around (until she gets it right, she says) and at the end of the day, her body needs a firm, supportive mattress that allows her muscles the chance to recover and reenergize for the next morning.

But does she make her bed in the morning? You bet she does. “My “business” as a designer and home stager is all about how a space looks and makes one feel. The bed being made makes the space feel neat, tidy and crisp and looks beautiful and calm. An un-made bed looks like work that’s not finished.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVrcNo6-Dlk