<p>By Anne D’Innocenzio
Associated Press</p>
<p>Denim fashions may be all the rage this fall, but Erica Green cares more about dressing her dorm room than herself. Green, an incoming junior at Goucher College in Baltimore, plans to spend more than $500 on furnishings, from bright blue butterfly chairs and rugs to a TV-DVD combo unit.</p>
<p>``I can envision the room. I have been thinking about it for days,‘’ said the 19-year-old Columbia, Md., resident.
Plenty of college students are joining Green in the fun of dorm-room decorating. The trend has been a boon to home-furnishings stores and big chains such as Target and J.C. Penney, which are all expanding their dorm-room decor beyond the basic lamps and white organizing bins.
Retailers are offering a brightly colored array of products and high-tech furnishings such as ottomans that vibrate to music. Even dorm-room basics have undergone makeovers -- backrests and bean-bag chairs now come in lime-green faux fur, and milk crates have been replaced by aqua-blue mesh cubes.
Merchants also are coming out with services to help students and their parents spend their money more easily. This fall, Target will begin offering free round-trip bus trips from at least seven university campuses around the country to nearby stores. Bed, Bath & Beyond and Linens 'n Things feature dorm registries on their Web sites.
These merchants are all catering to a sophisticated generation. The youngsters who grew up with high-tech gadgets and decorating shows are used to having personalized items, and they want to create a haven that shows their personality.
``They are used to having a lot of their own stuff, and they kind of expect to bring that personalization to college,'' said Susan Schulz, editor-in-chief of teen magazine CosmoGirl. College students have grown up customizing their cell phones and Web pages and are used to having furniture collections designed for them, she said.
``These kids really have the tools to express themselves and create their own style,'' Schulz said.
According to the National Retail Federation, **college students spent $2.6 billion for dorm-room furnishings in 2004, not including $7.5 billion on consumer electronics such as computers and TVs. Students spent on average $260.09 on dorm decor and another $509.14 on consumer electronics**, according to the retail group.
``College students have money to spend, and stores are going all out. They have wandered into a gold mine,'' NRF spokeswoman Ellen Tolley Davis said.</p>
<p>The biggest spenders tend to be freshman and juniors, many of whom move into single rooms or off-campus apartments. Green, for example, spent about $300 during her freshman year, but now that she won’t have any roommates this year, she has more freedom to decorate. She plans to shop at stores such as Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond.</p>
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