Though this dorm room was inhabited by two freshmen boys, it's an example of the type of dorm room my daughter Annie might be living in soon as a college freshman.This is turning out to be the summer of Very Little Sewing For Me. It's all about getting ready to send my firstborn, Annie, off to college for the first time. You already know I made her patchwork duvet cover, now I'm working on pillow covers for her bed. Not being a visual person, Annie has no interest in thinking about how she's going to decorate her new living space, so I'm turning into Momzilla and am obsessing about dorm room decor. (Plus I like to think about interior design stuff anyway, so it's really all about me.)
Here's where you come in, dear readers: What little touches do you recommend to turn an institutional space into a place a kid can call home? Did you have a favorite "thing" in your college dorm room? Maybe your child did or does? Please share here!
A couple more dorm room shots to inspire you (to inspire me).
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••I did actually finish something for me. My Burda cargo vest is done and I like it! I'm wearing it to work tomorrow and I'll try to get some shots of me modeling it. Details to come!
37 comments:
Favorite dorm room item - it was a brightly colored sheet that I hung on the wall.
Served dual duty of livening up an institutional room, as well as deadening some of the sound that transferred through adjoining walls.
One other thing I remembered was a care package from a relative, full on non-necessary but nice stuff - tootsie rolls, popcorn, colored socks.
We made curtains. We also got a rug...one from Lowes that they sell around back-to-school time for a good price and you won't feel bad when you throw the thing out later. Question though...will your daughter have a single or a roommate? If there is a roomie involved, you might want to wait so the girls can consult with each other before making too many decisions.
I was in college in the late 70s, so Arrowsmith posters and a boom box will absolutely not help you! My college nieces, however, want blankets and quilts from home, coffeemakers and reading lamps (we got a good bronze goose neck desk lamp from Lowe's - really nice) and homey stuff like warm rugs for cold floor, nice cushions for hard chairs, and bright colors to liven up drab monotones. And all the closet and drawer organization possible! Oh, and last year Target had those pillow bedrest things, they weren't sewn well and didn't last all year but one niece loved it to sit in bed and read. Good luck! K
I honestly think it's going to depend on just how much the room resembles a shoebox. ;) The room I lived in at UCLA was teeny and frankly, just wouldn't allow for much fun stuff, cutesy stuff. Granted, there wasn't as much cute stuff to buy for dorms back then, but still.
Things that I think could be fun (aside from the requisite mini-fridge, that is) include a comfy rug, one of those papasan type chairs (if space allows), a fun floor lamp, cool posters, storage bins in fun colors.
I would say to have a plan in advance, but know that you might have to revamp the whole thing when you get there. Good luck!
Dorm living was SO fun. In our room, we made sure to have a small microwave and dorm fridge for snacks (and sometimes meals). Having good lighting other than the industrial overhead lights was a nice touch, too.
If Annie's shared bathroom is down the hall, she'll probably want/need a cute bathrobe + shower shoes and a caddy for bathroom stuff.
I made a cute duvet cover for my bed as well as a curtain separating my bottom bunk from the roomie's top bunk. Beanbag chairs and floor cushions were a nice option to the hardbacked chairs we had. And made more seating for guests.
My daughter carried over her decor from her bedroom at home – SpongeBob Squarepants. I think it made the transition just a little easier. Her dorm room looked a lot like her bedroom.
Over the course of my university career I have had 5 different dorm rooms (this includes under-grad, dropping out of law-school and an MBA.)
By far the greatest dorm room was the year that my mother had a carpenter make a huge loft platform for my roommate and me. (I had planned to make this myself, but Mom panicked about the health and safety aspects of anything I might assemble.) Being a child of divorce and blended families there were enough extra household goods to then feather the place out with an oriental carpet and a couch. This made us very popular with anyone coming from out of town to visit kids living anywhere in the "quad." Come to think of it, I wouldn't encourage putting a couch in your daughter's dorm room!
Other than this glorious year, a cork board to tack in all my special nick-nacks was always important, as was a fridge.
My daughter's dorm room had an open closet like the one in your picture, and I made a cute curtain, hanging on a tension rod, to hide the, er, mess.
Oh Gawd does that room bring back memories! My friend's first roommate's mother blewn in and decorated the entire dorm even supplying a duvet cover for my friend so that everything coordinated!
Honestly all I remember of my dorm room was that I needed all the conveniences...TV, clock radio, stereo, etc. You know all those things that a good laptop and an iPod would cover now. And a mini refrigerator...that was a must have!!!
So I guess I've been no help, huh! *LOL*
This may be too 'crafty' but you can make cool wall decals or even 'wallpaper' using fabric and liquid starch to add more personality to the space. It works remarkably well, is fast and easy to do, and peels off beautifully with no wall damage when you're done (although you'll have to wipe down the wall). You can even launder and re-use the fabric, so very eco-friendly and economical, too.
Another idea might be a little ottoman with removable top...it pulls triple duty as hidden storage, extra seating, and a tabletop if necessary.
Rice cooker, rice cooker, rice cooker. As it turns out, you can cook just about anything in one of those- my college roommate and I did meats, fish, rice, pasta, risotto, and soups in ours, among many other things. Dining Hall food is notoriously awful, so a rice cooker can really alleviate those cravings for home cooked meals.
On a less practical note, I also suggest feather boas. My roommate and I bought several at a dollar store when we first moved in together on a silly girlish whim and used them as curtains, wall decor, bedding (lash a few together for a throw), etc, and they were a lot of fun to play with. They added color and whimsy to our otherwise drab white box of a room and turned out to be the thing that we loved the most.
My daughter LOVED the following while she lived in the dorms: Giant pillow, mini-fridge, giant latte cup(she ate soup, oatmeal and mac and cheese out of it), slipper socks, care packages of candies and cookies, a lanyard for her keycard, earphones, a fan and of course, grocery store gift cards (to buy Oreos and bagels with)
I don't think I had a favorite decorative or homey thing, but good lighting and a lap desk were absolutely indispensable. Honestly, I always found space (or lack of it) to be the biggest challenge. So things that were functional and small fit the bill. Lots of kids in my dorm propped their beds up on (none too safe) cinder blocks to create extra storage space under the beds. My roommate and I found leg extenders for our beds instead.
My favorite thing about my dorm room was my craft nook. I raised my bunk bed and put all my crafty junk under the bed and a nice butterfly chair to sit and chill. I can send pictures if you are interested. I wouldn't recommend a rug. My roommate was a slob and constantly got alcohol and food all over it and she never cleaned it. I ended up dumping it without telling her during spring break.
Have fun decorating!
I had a papasan chair that I loved and my friend had the Poang chair from ikea. Both were awesome!
My son never stayed in a dorm but decorating the apartment was all about making it as homey as possible. Like you, I made a duvet with matching shams and bedskirt. I bought all matching accessories for the bedroom and bath to make it just like home. It's just nice to have a bright, cheery and comfortable place to live. Frankly, I think it's necessary for one's mental health! My first apartment was such a horrible, dreary place and I couldn't let my son live like that. Believe me, Annie will be so thankful that you are doing all of this!
PS: I know Annie's dresses are little but how in the world is she going to fit all of her clothes?
I LOVED living on-campus. I lived in residence halls for 4 of the 5 years I was in college. I highly recommend a microfridge that she will likely be able to rent from the company (http://www.microfridge.com/) through the school. Carpet is really nice to have as well, warms up the room and is easy to clean. You can usually find a remnant that you can get bound that is about the size of a dorm room. Artwork is nice to have, as are curtains (use a tension rod). Also, encourage her to not bring everything she owns. I did, my first semester and didn't need half of it. It's also fun to coordinate with your roommate on decor/duvet covers, etc, so the room has a cohesive look. I didn't do that until my 2nd year and it made such a difference.
I lived in a 8x14' box for 2 yrs.
I found a slightly damaged new 4x6' wool oriental reproduction rug for peanuts and convinced some guys to help me carry it up to my room.
At an import store, I found floor pillows and a wicker chest for my sweaters (which didn't fit into the tiny standard-issue dresser).
I found a black shaker-style chair at a storage place's abandoned stuff section, again for peanuts. That became my backpack landing spot.
Guests preferred the floor pillows or sitting on my bed to the shaker chair.
Oh, I put houseplants on the top shelves of a rickety bookcase I bought. In earthquake country (the Hayward fault runs right through the Berkeley Hills), I didn't want to put heavy books up there.
I never lost a plant or books to earthquakes. Parties are another matter. We fit 20 people in my room once for a potluck!
Dorm stuff- 1. a fleece blanket that folds into a pillow. There is nothing like a cuddly blanket when studying. 2. A beanbag chair- these don't take up much space and can give more seating when friends visit. Most kids hate having guests sit on their bed. or one of those chair in a bags that are used for camping 3. an extra sheet to cover the bed when guests have to sit. Then your favorite comforter doesn't get ruined. Make it something very washable.
4. a fan, dorm rooms are very stuffy
Posters to cover the walls, surge suppressors/powerstrips to plug in extra stuff. A shower basket to carry stuff to and from the bathroom, as well as a nice/decent bathrobe. Those are a few things that come to mind. A coordinating duvet and pillowcases goes very far in creating a coordinated room...
Rose in SV
A covered storage chest to get stuff off the floor. And something my daughter has found useful in her dorm room (shared by 4 girls) in Israel is a wallhanger with pockets for make-up and toiletries.
Get a string of lights (or two). Great ambient lighting. Also- if there is a flourescent light on the ceiling, tack up a fun chiffon print over it.
Lifts to put under the bed legs to make more room for storage underneath! Cinder blocks work!
I have 2 children who graduated from undergrad in the past 2 years. Their favorite dorm room items were the mini fridge, a rug for the floor, and lots of pillows with removeable/washable covers.
My oldest is color coordinated and an ardent believer in dorm room feng shui:
1. comforter, sheets and matching huge pillow to rest upon while studying-she wrestled with color schemes the summer before move in.
2. Rug/uggs for cold floor/bathrobe/cute shower caddy/cordury bean bag all in color scheme
3.mini fridge/microwave(can share this with roomie)mini lights around room/decals on windows that changed seasonally/fabric across closet if no door/Audrey Hepburn poster on wall
Her younger brother's dorm room consisted of:
1.clothes on the floor/burnt popcorn in microwave/poster on wall/dirty wash at least months old
There you have it. Both happy. Both polar opposite.
:)
I was almost never in my dorm room in college, between classes and studying in the library/ study groups, numerous activities, and friends. I don't think I would have noticed all those little touches that I might appreciate now, like simple curtains. Having said that, a bulletin board hung on the outside of my door was great for self-expression and for my friends to leave notes for me when I was out. I loved coming home to new notes from friends!
When we moved my niece into a dorm room, it was all about space - we went to the local "space shop" at the college campus area and networked around to see what was for sale, what was selling and why. The thing is that if she plans on staying in the dorm, space will become more and more valuable each year/semester. My nieces fav decoration was collage of pictures on her wall, but not much space after all the mini-fridge, microwave, bathroom accessories, space-saving organizers were moved in. Have fun with this - it's so much fun to watch the kids blossom!
I never really "decorated" my dorm room. If it's allowed, allot some budget toward a small fridge and microwave. Dorm food is inedible. And write her name on her can opener and everything else borrowable.
Of actual decorative objects, I bought a HUGE throw pillow and a smaller one for my bed and I loved that huge pillow. I didn't get rid of it until about 5 years and I graduated from college...an order of magnitude longer than five years ago.
Not read all comments, but saw Slapdash's advice: and yes a small fridge was what I had very soon when I lived in my "student house", which was an old canal house with 17 students living there. I do have sweet memories of that time. A recent reunion made me see it all again, and how small it was. Have a good time with Annie in this, I do remember papering a wall with my mother. We still talk about that occassionally.
Wow, that jumps me right back to freshman year of college (which was only a few years ago, but still feels like a long time!)
I second everyone who's mentioning a minifridge (if allowed). Also, a hot water pot. If your daughter does have a roommate, worth figuring out who wants to get what so you don't show up with doubles of large space-filling items. (My freshman year roommate and I decided that she would buy the fridge, I could use it too, but then she would get to keep it...and then we ended up rooming together for the next two years as well, and I didn't end up needing my own fridge...) Storage bins for under the bed are good, too.
I mostly decorated by hanging up some beautiful art papers on the wall, around 3' by 2', I think. (there was one year I pinned up a velvet shawl, as well.) A few throw pillows on the bed. Some greeting cards used as art on the walls.
Greetings from another Momzilla. My daughter is going away to college in the fall, and she is too busy spending time with her friends to give a thought to her dorm room. So I'm doing it for her! ;-) I'll have to wait until we get to the States to buy things, because her clothes, etc. will already put our luggage over weight limits. But I've found some fun online sources:
http://www.containerstore.com/college/index.html
http://www.pbteen.com/pages/pbdorm/?cm_type=gnav
http://www.garnethill.com/bedding-home/dorm-decor/
http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/ref=sc_iw_l_0_6/?node=13035431
I've resisted ordering anything in advance, because it's her room and she should decide. And I keep telling myself that it's absurd that I'm so invested in this. Your post made me feel much better!
Karen in Paris
I've been so busy that there has been so little time for sewing too. DD#1 is in the Honors dorm at her college this Fall and let me tell you, these are deluxe accommodations. It's a shared suite, a gym on the bottom floor, just wonderful. My DH was so impressed when he saw where she would be living. Don't know how she's going to decorate, but I definitely know she does NOT want my input LOL. I'm just and old fart mother to her ;) .
We weren't allowed to replace the curtains for fire safety reasons. I think that's the norm for most dorms these days, so unfortunately you have to live with the eye sore.
Here are some things to think about:
I made a curtain for my clothes closet (one year I had a closet without a door).
You might want to make a seat cover for the desk chair (which is usually uncomfortable).
Lots of cute pajamas and a robe for walking to the shared bathroom!
Definitely get a mattress topper because they are usually pretty uncomfortable without them!
I've also found you can usually get away with regular twin sheets and forgo the more expensive long sets made for college beds.
Cute throw pillows will make the bed nice. Especially since it ends up getting used like a couch for visitors.
I miss dorm living! Well sort of! I went back for my 5 year reunion recently and it was so much fun. Though I was very glad to sleep in my own bed again :)
Ooo... my favorite thing in my dorm room was a corkboard and a ribbon that was strung on the wall. I had these cute mini clothespin clips that I hung pictures on the ribbon at the head of my bed. Both the ribbon and corkboard housed pictures of friends and family.
I'm sending my last two daughters
(of 4) off to college this Fall.
What I know? Don't send too much. Unless she will be living on the other side of the earth, it's better to take less and send or visit with the things she finds that she 'must' have.
That being said: Extra long twin sheets are a must. Also, my daughters really liked these:
http://www.amazon.com/Shower-Caddy-Craft-Neatnix-BUCKET/dp/B00155F34C/ref=sr_1_38?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1279621123&sr=8-38
Best of luck to you and your daughter!
Like Julia, I agree with a lift for the bed (not a bunk bed, obviously). I used cinder blocks and was able to slide my whole laundry basket under the bed! Amen! And my mom made me a bed skirt that hid all of the ugliness of the cinder blocks.
I wouldn't get too wrapped up in the look of the room...there is a slight (usually uncontrollable) factor - THE ROOMMATE. Some decisions might be best left between the two girls. I'm sure your daughter would reach out to you for help executing.
Wow, how time flies. I made
crazy" quilts in my daughters favorite colors as a "Mommi loves you" gift. Then we had a ball coordinating all the dire necessities. Now in hindsight, the more you send them off to college with, the more you have to lug home each summer. LOL.
I would coordinate more with larger items with the roommate, tv, frig., etc., to avoid duplicating because those rooms are so tiny. They did appreciate having the larger area rug we brought because the floor was tiled, not carpeted.
And both of my daughters loved care-packages: with all the yummies. Most colleges now have care-packages put together by a service that are delivered to the students dorm room, specifically during exam time. They couldn't thank me enough for those.
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