<p>“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 …”</p>
<p>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”.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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).</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>It’s actually enough.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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).</p>
<p>Cinder blocks, wood crates, and old utility wire spools were the norm for us. And, of course, the wine bottle candles!</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>@ 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.</p>
<p>I’m not a decorator, but a wonderful, free (except for the mounting tape) decorating idea just occurred to me. Take all the T-shirts some college organizations give away during orientation/welcome week and mount them, askew or lined up (take your pick), on the walls and closet door. Voila! Decor in your college colors.</p>
<p>It’s not all that new. 40 years ago a girl I grew up with had a professional decorator do her dorm room. We all thought it was crazy then as well.</p>
<p>When I walked into my freshman dorm room thirty-five years ago, my new roommate and I had only exchanged a letter or two. All I knew was that she had a stereo and was bringing it. I was bringing a hot pot.</p>
<p>My roommate’s mother gave me a huge bag with a comforter and some other things that were going to be necessary for us to coordinate the room to her (and her daughter’s satisfaction). This was a complete surprise to me, and it had not even entered my mind that we needed to decorate in such a way. She also gave me a bill for $25 which was a small fortune to me! I was the one paying for everything “extra.” I spent every bit of savings on that comforter, and I had no pizza or ice cream money for the first month or so of my college life. I still think it was outrageous to decorate in that way! </p>
<p>P.S. The comforter still survives and is what we use when we need a blanket to put outdoors for a picnic or concert.</p>
<p>@blueiguana…Ha! D2 has always lived in on-campus apartments where she has her own bedroom so no worries about clashing roomie tastes! She has now been asked to decorate the main living area of this year’s apt. My post really addresses the fact that you can have a fabulously decorated room very cheaply and not need a professional decorator so we agree! At her school all of the girls’ places that I have seen are fun and bright. I remember how surprised I was when D1 went to school as a freshie in '06 and most kids had flat screen tvs! Around here we now see lots of Ikea/Pottery Barn inspired rooms. I am sure some of them were professionally decorated. It doesn’t surprise me as the students at this university also dress up for class, rare to see sweats! I knew the school had that reputation but didn’t really believe it until I waited on campus to pick up D2 from her last final one year and was tallying how many people in sweats would walk by. In 35 minutes there were none!!! :eek: Definitely not like that when I went to school in the dark ages!</p>
She has now been asked to decorate the main living area of this year’s apt. My post really addresses the fact that you can have a fabulously decorated room very cheaply and not need a professional decorator so we agree! At her school all of the girls’ places that I have seen are fun and bright. I remember how surprised I was when D1 went to school as a freshie in '06 and most kids had flat screen tvs! Around here we now see lots of Ikea/Pottery Barn inspired rooms. I am sure some of them were professionally decorated. It doesn’t surprise me as the students at this university also dress up for class, rare to see sweats! I knew the school had that reputation but didn’t really believe it until I waited on campus to pick up D2 from her last final one year and was tallying how many people in sweats would walk by. In 35 minutes there were none!!! :eek: Definitely not like that when I went to school in the dark ages!</p>