After World War II, Collins resumed his Tallahassee law practice and his service in the legislature. He emerged as a leading state senator at this time. The Collins family made a number of alterations to their home in the late 1940s. They added a sunroom onto the back of the house, which became known as the Florida Room. They also removed a number of Grove Hotel era features, such as bathrooms added to the first floor parlor. As the brick surface of Monroe Street was being replaced with asphalt, the Collins family acquired a large number of the thick pavers and created brick patios along the outside of the house. They also added closets upstairs and poured a cement slab in the basement.