Singer and actress Kim-Lian van der Meij (41) has lived permanently on Gotland for three years now with her (Swedish) husband and children – a Swedish island with 59,000 inhabitants, in the Baltic Sea. After two years of renovating and painting, it is now time to really enjoy it. And DOUXE, ever since Kim-Lian discovered the brand all by herself, plays a big part in that. “Before, it was: I just plop into bed, done. Now it has really become a ritual.”

Discovering the DOUXE brand all by yourself is quite a story. Do tell.

“I travel a lot from Sweden to the Netherlands and within the Netherlands for my work. As a result I regularly sleep in all kinds of hotels. I can’t remember which day it was, or in which hotel, but I remember waking up and thinking: I slept so well, what am I lying on? Or rather: what am I lying in between? What is this bliss?”

And then?

“So then I took more or less the whole bed apart, looking for what it was that felt so good. And then I found the label. DOUXE, that is.”

What makes you like it so much?

“It’s mainly the Egyptian cotton that the covers, sheets and pillowcases are made of. That really gives you that luxurious five-star hotel feeling. Crisp, fresh, and warm and cool at the same time: the perfect combination. It was honestly just bliss.”

And then you thought: how do I get this luxurious hotel feeling into my own bedroom as soon as possible?

“It stayed in my head somewhere – and apparently somewhere in the cosmos too, because then I saw someone talking about DOUXE on Instagram and I thought: great that you’re reminding me. Then, when we moved into our brand-new house, I immediately ordered beds, covers and pillows. DOUXE saw that, I think, and proposed a collaboration.”

A dream collaboration, because sleep is important to you, right?

“I love sleeping enormously. And especially now that I’m ‘older’, my body simply asks for it, and I invest more in a good night’s sleep. Before, I didn’t think about sleep at all. Now I think: I feel like retreating to my bedroom, even for a little nap in between. I think much more about comfort.”

Are you allowed to try things out too? 

“Liselotte asked me if I would like to test the featherbed sometime. I thought: I’ll test anything when it comes to sleep and luxury. But I was immediately completely enthusiastic. It’s like falling into a cloud. It made me so happy to plop into it and feel the down mould itself around your body.”

How lovely. But do you even get out of bed anymore?

“Difficult. My bedroom has also become much more than just a bedroom. Sleeping is a real experience. I also love retreating into it to meditate, watch a series, or wake up slowly on a Sunday morning. And it has really become a ritual to straighten it and plump it up in the morning. You take better care of it because you really want that quality and that feeling of luxury to last – after all, that’s what you enjoy the most.”

A quick word about Christmas – how do you celebrate it? Here, or in the Netherlands?

“We always celebrate Christmas here, and that’s not necessarily different from the Netherlands, although the cosy feeling starts earlier. There is snow, and it gets dark early, around 15.00. Then everyone goes inside. To keep people from getting a bit depressed about that, everyone hangs up lots and lots of lights, so it’s super cosy. And many people build a little igloo of snowballs in front of their house, with a tealight inside. When I see that, I instantly get the nesting urge. Indoors, open fire, games, lovely.”

And that Christmas tree, do you just chop it down in the garden, or what?

“You can buy them here too, but some people do indeed just go into the forest with an axe, haha.”

Of course quite a few gifts are given at Christmas. Do you have any tips?

“Definitely. I think: we all need comfort in our lives, we work hard, so you have to spoil yourself. So I gave my father, also someone who loves sleeping enormously, a DOUXE duvet with a cover as a gift. 
My sister I gave those lovely, thick white DOUXE towels. Believe me, not everything has to be expensive and branded as far as I’m concerned, and I’m not into designer clothes and expensive cars, but you have to shower and sleep every day, so I always allow myself and others that luxury.

One more tip for anyone who likes luxury and doesn’t like cold feet: the DOUXE down slippers. You put them on the radiator for a moment before going to bed, and you are guaranteed to step into bed with warm feet. Pure luxury, right? 

I just love DOUXE’s products and want everyone to have that feeling of pure luxury and five-star hotels. I like promoting something when I’m enthusiastic about it and stand behind the brand. When I think: people simply have to know this, or this might inspire someone, then I’m happy to share it.”

What does 2022 have in store for you, actually?

“A lot. And lots of fun things. 2022 is going to be a top year, I can just feel it. I’m taking part in Wie is de Mol, the Dutch TV series, which can be seen on television from January. And besides that, a few really cool projects are coming up that I’m really looking forward to, but that unfortunately I can’t say anything about yet.”

Ah, too bad.

“Yes, sorry... For the past two years we were really builders, and now that everything is finished, I can pick up my career again a bit and do more with my passion again. Singing, dancing and acting instead of sanding, painting and carpentry.”

I understand. Finally, a set of four dilemmas: 

Percale or sateen? “Percale. I like that thick feel; the feeling of something heavy lying on me gives me a safe, secure and extremely luxurious feeling. I’d like to try the sateen, but percale makes me so happy.”

Dutch herring or Swedish surströmming? “Dutch herring, that’s obvious.”

Sinterklaas or Christmas? “Christmas.”

Hotel at home or hotel away? “Hotel at home. One hundred per cent.”

Pepernoot (spiced biscuits) or peperkoek (spiced cake)? “Peperkoek. They make whole little houses out of it here. Beautiful – and fun to do with the children.”