Designing for Comfort

Designing for Comfort - At Between the Sheets, Teresa Cross tailors her advice to suit each customer’s unique home and lifestyle.
Photography by Between the Sheets

Armed with more than 22 years of experience, Between the Sheets vice president of sales and merchandise Teresa Cross helps customers at the company’s El Paseo location outfit their dream homes. From the sourcing and designing of products to the final sale, Cross has a hand in nearly every aspect of the Between the Sheets experience — making her the definitive source for up-and-coming home trends and tips shoppers should keep in mind while browsing furniture or picking up a new duvet.

You have a background in fashion. How did that carry over into your work at Between the Sheets?

You buy key pieces in fashion, typically, that [you can incorporate] into many different styles. That same philosophy works really well with interior design. You can buy key things that are good quality — that last a long time — then you can change a decorative pillow on your bed and a throw without having to completely start over.

If you’re going to make an investment in quality home goods, where is the best place to splurge?

Everyone spends a third of their life in bed. That really should be where you put the bulk of your money. I would definitely do a really good set of sheets, a really good down comforter, and a really good mattress pad. Those are the three things that you touch and lay on every single day.

Between the Sheets

As a buyer, what are you looking for? What makes a piece fit the Between the Sheets brand?

Stuff that not everyone has. We look for different price points, but it has to be quality-made. We have a lot of our stuff made for us. We control every single aspect of [our sheeting]: How it’s cleaned, how it’s combed, how it’s woven, the gauges of thread, the color, the kind of dye. It’s a pretty intense level of involvement. [Our down comforters are] the same way. Our down is made in Denmark. We know where the animals are raised, how they’re treated, the fabric that’s on the inside, the outside, how it’s sewn.

What is unique about your job?

We’re really close with a lot of our clients. If you’re really working with a bedding specialist, I need to know how you sleep. Do you sleep hot or warm? That changes, also, especially for women. You really get to know people and their lifestyles. [You ask,] what kind of company do they have? What are their needs for that company?

What home trends are you seeing right now?

It’s getting back to a very organic [style]. Lots of greens and blues, natural materials, plants, raffia. But then we also are looking at a lot of pastels. Gold is definitely back. [The color palette is] much warmer in interiors than in the decade past, where everything in the house [has been] silver and white and very stark and cold. COVID seems to have changed that relationship with our homes. Now we really want them to be warm and inviting, to really have some color and texture, and soft sofas and throws, anything soft and cuddly. Everyone across the board really has taken some ownership and pride in their homes because we were all in our homes for a long time.

Do people seem to be focusing more on what they love, rather than designing their homes to display or entertain?

Absolutely. Of course, for us, it’s all about your personal experience with our products — it may look great, but if it’s not comfortable for you, then does it really matter? You should design your home for your personal interaction with it, how you live. It needs to work for you. It needs to be comfortable, and it needs to last.

Teresa Recommends
Staff at Between the Sheets spend lunch breaks treating themselves to lobster rolls at Porta Via, newly opened at The Shops on El Paseo. “Their aesthetic is very much on trend,” Cross says. “It’s a beautiful restaurant [with] a very ’60s, ’70s vibe.”