<p>Better go ahead and get those decorators working on the basements so they will be ready when it is time for the post-grad basement dwellers!</p>
<p>This is over the top. There are a few things I considered to keep the dorm room comfortable, but not a decorator.
If the floor is hard and cold, a small rug will help- but it can be any kind from Walmart, Target, or anywhere.
I invest in the bedding. Sleep is important. Comfy sheets, a soft comforter, and an extra thick mattress pad go a long way.
A comfortable chair for studying. A larger fridge with separate freezer if allowed. Space savers like the inexpensive closet organizers at Target or Walmart help keep the room neat. For about $10 you can keep the shoes in a hanging shoe storage.
These investments have paid off as the bedding lasts longer and has been handed down to siblings/friends. Same for the chair and fridge. The better fridge has paid for itself if the student has access to shopping for food as they can be on a reduced meal plan and keep milk for cereal, fruit, sandwich meat and some frozen pizza in the fridge. I have been “crafty” and painted inexpensive bookshelves. A little color in the room makes a difference.
I don’t know about the decorator idea but I think it comes out of fear of the leaving for college part and wanting the student to be comfortable. Parents should not feel intimidated by this. Stores like Walmart, Bed Bath Beyond, Target, put all their college stuff in a designated place at the beginning of the school year. Some of it is nice and colorful.
The total cost is an initial investment, but chairs and fridges last a long time, can be handed down or sold to another student. We have used the bedding until it is worn out. Fridges can be shared with a room mate. One student can bring a fridge, the other a microwave and so on.
We have come a long way since the cinder block bookshelves ( I had them) but it starts with the baby stuff that was never available when we or our kids were born. So much stuff. There is a lot of dorm stuff available- some of it is an improvement on what we had, (no microwaves then) but it is still possible to stick to a budget with it and choose items that are functional.</p>
<p>
This is the key, not everyone has the same budget. Some people don’t have taste, so they need a decorator. Between our kids and H, they probably could decorate a room better than most decorators for 150/hr. But I don’t necessary think that just because some parents have the means to provide more material comfort for their kids, it is an indication of separation anxiety or some how those kids are entitled or spoiled. More often than not, parents want to justify what they are doing is the best thing to do.</p>
<p>We got D1 a new car when she was legally able to drive, no justification and apology from us. D2 has a license, but she can’t drive, and where we live now we don’t need a car, so she doesn’t have a car in college. We also do not feel the need to explain that to anyone, and D2 is fine with it.</p>
<p>Some kids never have anything to look forward to because it’s all handed to them on a silver platter.</p>
<p>"…the bed is exactly like a sofa"</p>
<p>–but only when it’s MADE! :D</p>
<p>oldfort, I totally get that. We have also made different decisions over who gets use of an automobile as needs and responsibilities have been different. I see no reason to explain a car for a teen- that teen may be working or save the parent a lot of time by driving their younger siblings to places too.
Still some sensitivity is in order. There can be huge economic discrepancies between room mates and hall mates. This does not mean one has to deprive the student. But what does it teach the student to go over the top on a dorm room- beyond what their peers are doing? Will the student expect to be over the top on everything else? Teaching about money includes using it wisely and sensitively. It does not take a lot of decorating sense to outfit a dorm room- surely something a friend or relative can help with if needed. Maybe there is a better use for that decorator fee.</p>
<p>On the flip side, it is also important for us to teach our kids not to be envious of what others have because there will always people who have more.</p>
<p>That’s true too 
I guess if they have the money, who are we to judge?</p>
<p>A pair of roommates who lived in my college dorm back in the fall of 1983 did this when they entered as freshman. Took them a looooong time to overcome the ridicule.</p>
<p>So she’s on an equestrian SCHOLARSHIP and they can afford a Decorator? Maybe the scholarship could have gone to someone who couldn’t afford a decorator – or books – or food – or tuition. (This makes me almost as mad as hearing about the welfare recipient with 4 illegitimate kids and an illegitimate grandkid on TV who can afford pageant dresses and a pet pig!)</p>
<p>Interesting responses. I feel some people are being pretty judgmental.</p>
<p>Just to give some background, this is not something I would be interested in myself (even for a house), and my parents wouldn’t have paid for it when I was in college. HOWEVER, I don’t necessarily see anything wrong with it. I certainly don’t think it’s OK for other students to look down (as one poster noted her kids would do) on a student who gets this done, and I think it says more about them than the person in question.</p>
<p>I read about parents giving their kids expensive gifts all the time: cars, laptops, etc. Just because those things are supposedly more practical doesn’t mean that the more impractical gifts are less OK somehow (I most often prefer impractical gifts - the practical things I can get for myself, and a luxury I normally wouldn’t buy makes a nicer gift, IMO). What if the student in question, rather than getting a new laptop or money for graduation just asked for this? If that’s what’s important to them, why not get them this gift? Again, remember, if it costs, let’s say $1,000, it’s still less than something like a MacBook (and I don’t think anyone who gets a MacBook should be denied a scholarship - and most people don’t REALLY need a MacBook for school).</p>
<p>The point is, just because someone really cares about one luxury item doesn’t mean they are either spoiled or rolling in money (you can’t tell from just ONE thing, which may just happen to be THE thing that matters to them). And it’s great that people on this thread like to be creative. Not everyone does, and that’s OK too.</p>
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<p>Momzie, an equestrian scholarship is, in essence, an athletic scholarship. Need isn’t a factor. Same as with many (if not most) merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Does anyone know where to purchase the plastic drawers with wooden tops that Patrick Schwarzenegger has? Re: post #34</p>
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<p>bawahahaha LOVE that. Very funny.
Wish we had a LOVE/LIKE button for classics like this, thanks for the grin :D</p>
<p>I don’t have a problem with what someone else chooses to do, but I enjoyed helping my D find the items for her room in preparation for her big move. Of course, I felt pretty extravagant purchasing all the plastic drawers and pop up bins that provide storage in a room with no dresser (can’t believe the tiny room was planned virtually no storage). Those drawers add up quickly in cost but are worth it by providing much needed organization. Putting the room together made her feel more settled and allowed her to focus on something other than leaving home, family and friends.</p>
<p>@ hoggirl’s comment: “A pair of roommates who lived in my college dorm back in the fall of 1983 did this when they entered as freshman. Took them a looooong time to overcome the ridicule.” Times have changed a lot since then, but even so, hiring an interior decorator is taking it too far IMO. Aside from being ridicule worthy it also alienates the student from other dorm dwellers, with maybe the exception being schools where basically every kid attending is from a big-spending wealthy family. </p>
<p>I only had a brief dorm experience a long time ago ("99), but still remember this one girl all too well. In preparation for a month-long summer program for 16-18 y/o at USC, the school had sent us a pretty extensive list of the various things we should bring. Advice about how much to bring in terms of clothes and linens was also provided. All of this could easily fit in a small dufflebag or suitcase. So flash forward to the day we all move into the dorms and get to meet each other, and in comes this girl carrying nothing with her mom and dad in tow, who were trying to maneuver 2 HUGE suitcases each; airline restrictions weren’t like they are today, we’re talking trunk size LOL. As it turned out she basically brought her entire bedroom along, 20-piece bedding set, picture frames etc… Even at the University of Spoiled Children, 90% of us were so put off by what we saw on move-in day, laughed about it a lot (great bonding experience for us poor/middle class kids), but made sure we stayed far far away from “that” girl. First impressions are everything, and coming across as a spoiled kid is never a good impression to make.</p>
<p>I think most kids would die of embarrassment at the idea of paying a decorator to design a dorm room! I think it would only be at a certain kind of school that anyone would think of this-- I mean, the whole point is that it’s your first place on your own, and you get to be in charge of the way it looks and feels. Having a designer would spoil that. It would make one feel like a prize poodle, not a young adult.</p>
<p>If we have offered it to D1, she would have said yes, she wouldn’t have been embarrassed. On the other hand, D2 wouldn’t want to be that girl.</p>
<p>In my opinion, it is inappropriate to hire a designer to decorate a dorm room. A dorm does not require “decoration” much past the efforts of the inhabitant of the room. And most importantly, it may create a gulf between other students who have less resources. This is communal living, after all, and an opportunity for everyone, regardless of background, to find a common place. I don’t care if the parents can afford it - that is absolutely not the point. It’s ostentatious. </p>
<p>There are unspoken social norms at work here, and it is more important to fit in than create a display of conspicuous consumption. I like the car purchase comparison - It’s very reasonable to buy a child a car if they need one and its something the family can afford. Do you purchase a very nice, new car…or do you go all out and spring for the Rolls Royce? Is it a matter of what you can afford, or a matter of what “fits” and makes sense? We need to get away from the notion that we must buy the “most” we can afford - it’s okay to live below one’s means!</p>
<p>is this the same as a student shouldn’t let others know how smart he/she is, especially if she is a girl, because he/she would be ostracized? </p>
<p>I have always dressed the way I wanted to at work (within the dress code), wore my jewelry, carried the kind of bags I liked, worked the kind of hours (long or short) I wanted to, and drove the kind of car I wanted to, and I have been very comfortable with myself. </p>
<p>D1 is the same at work now. She works very long hours, but she’ll carry her Chanel or Prada bag to work. She doesn’t care to fit in the norm. </p>
<p>It is ok to live below one’s means, but it is ok to enjoy finer things in life without feeling guilty and always need to justify it.</p>
<p>I would NOT let my kid do this if (s)he were sharing a room; if it’s a single, what’s the harm? I couldn’t afford to do this and my offspring enjoyed decorating the dorm room. But I don’t see the need to get all bent out of shape if this is the way someone else chooses to spend his/her money. </p>
<p>Some kids (and their parents) are “crafty” and artistic. Others of us just aren’t. It might really be worth it if you have the money to have someone do this for you. </p>
<p>Some people teach their kids to drive. Others don’t have the time or realize that the child/parent dynamic would make this very difficult. So, they have their kids take driving lessons. In some places, high schools don’t have driver’s ed classes. So, if you can’t teach your kid, it means paying for lessons. </p>
<p>Are parents who teach their kids to drive better parents than those who pay for someone else to do it? I don’t think so. And, I don’t think someone who hires a decorator to do a dorm room is a bad parent either. Personally, I wouldn’t do it…but that’s because having a beautiful dorm room isn’t high up there on my list of priorities.</p>