In response to Julia’s amazing article A Freshman’s Anticipation of the Housing Announcements I thought I’d share how I decorated my dorm the last couple of years as a means to help any nervous Froshies or readers who just want to update the look of their room come fall.
My parent’s and I had a super minimalist approach my freshman year, not by choice, but by the fact that I’m from Florida and could really only pack what I wanted in a couple of suitcases. So, here’s to the evolution of my dorm décor, which is akin to Miley Cyrus–started off looking like a teen queen and ended up in womanhood (minus the bong).
The Neon Room
Entering into my first weekend on campus all I had as far as my room decoration was concerned was my bedding from Pottery Barn Teen, two of my paintings, my pillow, and a couple of sticky ribbons to make the walls look pretty.
I was randomly assigned to McGlinn and when I walked into my quad it looked like the saddest set up to me. It was all white blocks and could literally be hosed down. My parents were so disappointed at the bareness of our middle room that they went down to Target and surprised me by decorating the middle room with colorful curtains, super bright neon pillows, and a futon from Target. Five inches down from the top of the wall was a corkboard strip across the wall where my dad got an electric stapler and strung lights first and then stapled up curtains. So, instead of our walls being bare white, they were fun colors!
My roommate–now my best friend four years later–shared a side room, which was extremely cozy and we made it our own little home. Our room was so small that all I needed was the three things I brought with me on the plane and a quick run to Target for my favorite furniture piece–plastic drawers. They are so light and easy to move around that I’ve been able to use the same ones for the last four years. My mom is saying I’m outgrowing them but I refuse to part from my beloved plastic. Also, I had a lofted bed which made a nook underneath, consisting of my closet and my desk. Anytime I Skyped it would look like I was sitting in my closet, which I essentially was. To make that space feel more private I got a shower curtain rode and a sheer pink curtain and put that up to make a little doorway. It’s very easy to do and can also add a pop of color to your room.
So you hear me talking a lot about what my parents did, that’s because you will be so busy doing Freshman Orientation activities your first weekend that almost all the parents take on the responsibility of helping set up their children’s rooms. I think it helps them nest and also relieves you of the pressures of making friends and unpacking all in one weekend.
Things you will buy at ND and don’t need to bring: futon (if you have a quad), mini-fridge, extra decorations, lamp, and plastic furniture.
The Moroccan Room
So my sophomore year my bestie and I decided to move to Walsh so we could have a smaller dorm environment, be more centered on campus, and eventually get singles. After your freshman year your parents really don’t need to help you move in any more since most of your stuff will be in near-by storage unit and you can just get a guy friend to help. My dad happened to have the weekend off and offered to come and help move me in, so of course I took up the offer! I had early move-in because I was doing a leadership retreat and my dad asked me what I wanted my room to look like. I told him just to use whatever was in the storage but if he had time a Moroccan theme would be cool.
I came back from my retreat to the sickest dorm room I’d ever seen. He used his hobby as a carpenter to the fullest and made my tiny single look so homey. He reused my futon from freshman year but put in Persian looking carpets cut to the room’s floor plan, a headboard he constructed himself and some cool wall décor he hung up by using chain and nails that were already in the walls. My favorite part of the room was that there was a really unsightly heating bar that ran up along my right wall. My dad got super long dark red curtains and hung them over the bar to not only disguise the bar put also made my wall look like it was painted.
When my dad was setting up the room a girl came knocking by and asked him how much he charged for room decoration services, he blames it on his Hispanic background, but secretly he loves when that kind of stuff happens as he now has a great drinking story for the next couple of years. “I was so sweaty that I was mistaken for the help, hahahaha!” He also now calls himself my little servant anytime he helps me with anything, which is partially true. He’s the best.
The room really did end up so amazing that sometimes I would have random people knocking wanting to see the “morocco dorm,” definitely my favorite room out of all the years.
The Treetop Room
My next single was on our fourth floor overlooking God Quad and I felt like I was up in the trees. I decided to decorate a room that felt ethereal and airy but this time I was going it alone much like Lindsay Lohan in New York. Meaning I was a complete solo mess but with the addition of power tools.
I bought a new comforter from Pottery Barn but mostly just used stuff that was already in my storage unit. Luckily the girl who had lived in my room before me had a carpet that was cut to the room and gave it to me for 20 bucks, what I didn’t know was that it wasn’t cut around the furniture… I’m too small to lift modular furniture on my own. I got a nice dad down the hall to help me put it in, which really made me miss my dad but also gave me inspiration. I went down to the local Home Depot and bought myself an electric stapler. In the same fashion my dad had done in the previous years I stapled up curtains to the wall to make the room feel more like home. It took me 6 hours, a tall ladder, and a lot of sweat. And it looked pretty good. I managed not to staple my fingers, so I call that a success. I put Command Strips on the ceiling and hung up pom-pom’s I’d bought off Etsy (which I’m sure are easy to make on your own but I don’t have the Pinterest gene). I noticed that the window shade looked pretty ratty so I went out and bought a new crème colored one, which made a world of difference. At the end of the day I had really pretty room and felt accomplished with what I’d done on my own.
The Prepster Room
This year I had the exact same single so it wasn’t too bad replicating what I’d done the year before. I definitely wanted to mix up my color scheme though, so I decided to take a trip down to Target. They had a bunch of really cute dorm stuff that was inexpensive and all very matchy-matchy (I love that). So I decided to pick out a preppy look of navy, bright pink, and kelly green. I bought the bedding, mini-rug, and chair that all matched and made my room feel really put together.
If you just want one thing to pull from this article it would be curtains, curtains, curtains! They can cover up a bunch of stuff, brighten up a room, and aren’t too expensive or hard to put up. Hope this article helps anyone needing any fresh ideas for their room in the fall!
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Images: provided by author