From rustic to resourceful
White cinder block walls, cold tile and bare bed frames are what greet students when walking into their dorm rooms for the first time.
Most can agree it is not exactly the most stylish place to live.
But, after a week, the interior design of the residence halls can be drastically changed.
“I bought the majority of my dorm stuff at Bed, Bath and Beyond and Target,” said Unionville freshman Sarah Alegria. “My roommate and I plan on buying the boldest and brightest things we can find to snaz up our room.”
Customizing the dorm room, however, might not be an inexpensive process.
According to the National Retail Federation, back-to-school sales rank second only to holiday shopping. College-bound students and their parents spent $3.6 billion last year just on decorations for their dorm rooms or apartments.
Posters, Pictures and Message Boards
With one poster, a student can showcase his or her personality, while making the room a little less ‘blah.’
Poster themes fit any personality. Everything from movies like “Animal House” to the periodic table of drinks are popular choices to tape to walls across campus.
Essentials
- posters
- medusa lamp
- pictures
- desk lamp
- message board
- carpet
- futon
- shelves
- hangers
- DVD player
- mini fridge
- scoop chair
- alarm clock
- bean bag
“I had posters of Jay-Z, the movie ‘Blow,’ Jessica Simpson, Hilary Duff, Sublime, Brooke Burke and Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima in my dorm last year,” said South Lyon sophomore Eric Lloyd.
Lloyd said he bought a couple of his posters at the back-to-school poster sale in the Bovee University Center Rotunda.
Lloyd’s reason for hanging posters on his wall is because it allows people to know what he likes.
“Plus Adriana Lima is beautiful,” he said.
Message boards also are popular for socialization. By hanging a dry erase board on the door, students can receive a variety of messages from neighbors.
“I’ll get drunken messages and phone numbers, but if people also need me and I’m not there, they can just write it on the board,” said Brighton sophomore Rachel Weingartz.
Lighting
A popular fixture to hit the dorm room scene is the medusa lamp — a metal stand sprouting five different shades of lamps, all of which can bend to different angles and add some dorm room funk.
String lights also are a way students can lighten a room.
Sterling Heights sophomore Melanie Maltese hung up string lights for Christmas, but decided to keep them up the rest of the year.
“They served as a great substitute for the (overhead) light, which I thought was too bright, and I was too lazy to take them down,” Maltese said.
Seating and carpet
Futons can be a college student’s best friend when it comes to seating. They manage to fit the length of many rooms and also have the added bonus of folding into a bed.
Funky chairs like bean bags and scoop chairs are another type of seating students can use to decorate their rooms.
“My roommates bought two (scoop chairs) because they looked cool and they’re easy to put away,” said Plymouth sophomore Laura Hamilton.
Bean bags are another option because they are light and easy to move. Many students use them to lounge in when playing video games or watching television.
Carpet or rugs are options to help students escape cold, hard floors or soften their steps.
