Forget drab dorm rooms, students hiring professional decorators

[Dave_Berry]

"As college students in Georgia and elsewhere settle into dorm living, a growing number are far from roughing it. More students and their parents are paying interior designers $90 to $175 an hour to turn drab dorm space into spaces worthy of magazine spreads, complete with upholstered headboards, wallpaper and crystal chandeliers ..."

Forget drab dorm rooms, students hiring professional decorators - Atlanta Business Chronicle

Are you among those parents?

[BCEagle91]

No.

We're too cheap. Our kids slept on the floor for many years as did we.

But I do like the sentiment - someone has to keep the economy going out there.

[Beliavsky]

No.

People who have not yet become productive should be grateful to have a roof over their heads and not expect to live in places "worthy of magazine spreads".

[blueiguana]

To each their own. I think it's amazing what they can do with a dorm room! IMHO there's a rite of passage and a certain charm in living in a sub-optimal dorm that you decorate with your roommate, not your parents or designer. It's the first time you've probably had 100% control. It should reflect all the quirkiness and new beginnings that college is, not a slick fully finished professional project.

[Erin's Dad]

Remember when your first apartment had cinder blocks and boards for a bookshelf? Looks like those days are gone for a certain class (or maybe they never existed for them).

[J'adoube]

How nostalgic Erin's Dad. I remember being woken up at 3 in the morning by my cinder blocks and boards bookshelf banging against a wall during a minor earthquake. As a parent I worried more about the dorm room being clean, quiet (at least when the door was closed), and close to classes than about the possibilities of decor.

[Catria]

Perhaps Ivies will see professionally-decorated dorms shortly...

[mathmom]

I still have cinderblocks and boards in my attic. (It's finished, but obviously not in high style - there are futons up there too.) You can't make those shelves too high. In our family we preferred the slightly ratty look of Caltech far more than the perfection of Stanford. And I'd much rather have a big slightly shabby double room (which is what my son had freshman year) than a tiny double where your head hits the ceiling when you sit up in your bed because it's so poorly designed (his sophomore year room.)

[BCEagle91]

I did the commuter thing so I only saw the inside of a dorm room once or twice while visiting someone. Saw the apartments a few times too, again visiting people.

Our son has been sleeping on an air mattress in his apartment for six months. I picked up a mattress and bed frame for him in the last two weeks so he could sleep on a bed in his apartment. He has a dining room set (used), a chair (from his college apartment) and a bookcase (from his college apartment) and that's all.

It's actually enough.

I do remember the days of being a poor college student. A little adversity has you really appreciating the little things which most take for granted today.

[NorthMinnesota]

My kids have always had nicely decorated rooms but that's because we all are a little bit creative. Pinterest has sparked many inexpensive DIY projects around here. This year D2 bought three $4.50 Target door mirrors, painted the trim and then hung them horizontally in a stacked row. It looks great! She also found free print downloads of vintage cameras and had them printed in B&W engineering print size for $1.86 at Staples. You can have a wonderfully young and modern space for very little money.

[kiddie]

For my daughter who started college this month, selecting and buying the stuff for her room (linens, towels, rugs, etc.) was an important step in getting prepared to move on. Then once she moved in - the process of hanging stuff on the walls etc was an important step in making the room feel like home to her. We joked all summer that she was nesting (just like pregnant women when they decorate the baby's room).

[crizello]

Cinder blocks, wood crates, and old utility wire spools were the norm for us. And, of course, the wine bottle candles!

Seriously, this does not surprise me to see such needless extravagance. I read recently about a mom that pays $350 per semester for a service that washes and folds her son's laundry at his dorm.

Recession, what recession?

[emilybee]

I find the idea creepy.

[blueiguana]

@ NorthMinnesota - Those sound like great projects that add personal style to a dorm room. I love pintrest for ideas (and recipes!). The difference here is this was your daughter's inspiration and work...it's her dorm room and reflects her (and hopefully her roommmate). There's nothing shameful in a great looking dorm room, but it's your daughters project. Some might not see the difference in that...I do.

[BCEagle91]

> Seriously, this does not surprise me to see such needless extravagance. I read
> recently about a mom that pays $350 per semester for a service that washes
> and folds her son's laundry at his dorm.

One of my nephew's school provides linen service in their dorms.