Why Anna Collins’s hot-pink art-filled bedroom is her ‘happy place’

Technically speaking, Anna Collins really has only one room to which she can properly lay claim – her bedroom. She decorated it herself when she was 10, insisting on a pink-meets-zebra theme whose visual punch still holds a decade after her parents first allowed their second-born daughter to unleash her style on their two-bedroom downtown Toronto apartment. Now 20 and poised to begin a dance teachers' training program at Canada's National Ballet School come the fall, the younger sister of New York-based photographer and artist Petra Collins, a regular contributor to Tavi Gevinson's Rookie magazine, uses it for more than just sleeping. A combination drop-in centre and video chat room, this is where Ask Anna, her popular YouTube advice blog aimed at girls and young women curious about sex, love and feminism, is produced with Freddy, her King Charles Spaniel, at her side. "My parents are really relaxed, so we could hang out in the living room," Collins says, "but we come here instead and hang out on my bed. It's where I feel most calm. It's my happy place."

The desk

"My desk is from Bombay Kids. My mom wanted me to get a desk to do my homework, but I always just did it in bed and used the desk for decorating purposes. On it is my record collection, my sister's book and a few photos and knick-knacks from trips. There's a lot of stuff on my desk. I really get attached to little items and find it hard to let things go. I love decorating my room, and I am a really sentimental and nostalgic person. It's a way for me to hold on to memories."

The art work

"This is a vagina. My sister [photographer Petra Collins] made it following a road trip we took maybe four years ago for Rookie Yearbook One. Petra took the photos, and at the end there was this huge art show for which Petra made this glitter vagina artwork. I forget how I actually ended up having it. I think when Petra was moving to New York I got a hold of it. I like it because it reminds me of my sister. It's made of fake flowers from the dollar store combined with real gold glitter on the background. I remember watching her make it. I have put a Polaroid of my boyfriend, Fox Martindale, and me, before my prom, in the middle."

The lamp

"I love animal prints and I am a huge animal person, so when decorating my room I wanted a zebra theme. I was 10 years old at the time and my mom definitely indulged me. I had a lot of zebra prints. Over the years I have gotten rid of a lot it. But this lamp has stayed. I haven't had the heart to lose it. It's just been around for a long time. It makes me happy. I love the print."

The record player

"My boyfriend bought this for my 18th birthday. It's one of my favourite birthday gifts ever. It's a Crossley, and pink."

The yellow guitar "That's Fox's guitar. He, like, basically lives with me. He has a band with his best friends called Goodbye Honolulu and he likes to collect vintage guitars. It's an Airline guitar, which is his favourite guitar at the moment. He got it a couple of months ago. We like to sing together, Patsy Cline and country songs, for fun. He plays that guitar a lot." The fans "The one on the right has Jesus on it and is blue and green. I got it on the Rookie Yearbook One road trip in a small town with Tavi and Petra, somewhere on the east coast of the U.S.

The black one

Fox's grandma gave to me. It's from Mexico. She lives in Guadalajara. I am close to his family, and when she visits she brings back little gifts from Mexico. I just really like it."

The lace

"My best friend's older sister had a width of lace on her wall and I loved it. It was really soothing to me. I love creating my own atmosphere and so I hung up this lace. I love the look of it. I don't think I will ever get rid of it. I love the texture and the contrast with my photos. I found it at Fabricland."

The pink chair

"I got it from Bombay Kids a long time ago. I had a pink theme going on and this chair fit in. It's got a pizza-slice pillow that my sister gave me. I love bright furniture. It is comforting. Fox sits on that chair all the time and plays guitar."