Dorm Design

the dorm rooms in my residence hall are long and narrow (9'6 by 19'3). any suggestions as to how we can set up the furniture in our room other than lofting both beds? we have two beds, desks, dressers and closets. all furniture is movable! thanks!

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:00:24 -0700

Hard to say without knowing the dimensions of your furniture, but I think the most fair way to divide a long skinny room would just be to divide it long ways and line up the furniture along the walls. It’s not the most interesting layout, but at least then there’d be no dispute over who gets the wall with the window etc.

Here’s a sketch of what I’m talking about….(sorry about the perspective, I didn’t bother putting down a vanishing point):

The illustrator Becca Stadtlander’s studio. Not a dorm,...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:08:20 -0700

The illustrator Becca Stadtlander’s studio. Not a dorm, but good inspo :) Check out her beautiful art!

just for fun: before and after the group effort to clean my...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:02:39 -0700

before

after

just for fun: before and after the group effort to clean my housemate’s room

My housemate’s side of her room! You can actually catch...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:00:11 -0700

the room

another angle

the desk space

one shelf

two shelf

My housemate’s side of her room! You can actually catch her reflection a couple of times in the mirror ;) Follow her at littlefacederika.tumblr.com!

To the anon worried about living with a stranger: don't worry!!! When I was a freshman I had 2 stranger roommates, I became best friends with one girl, we ended up rooming together for 4 years, & I was in her wedding the year after we graduated! (:

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:02:36 -0700

hooray for success stories!

Just wanted to tell the incoming freshman not to worry about styles not matching up. This year, I roomed with girls who were all about pink, they even had pink plugs. I don't mind pink, but it's just not my style. I was still able to put in bits of my personality. It's all about the posters you hang up or the things you bring. Despite the pink, you can clearly tell that I still live in the room because I have Dr Who and avengers stuff. It's really just about learning to go with the flow.

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:01:25 -0700

Hi! I'm a senior in high school right now and really nervous about living in a dorm next year. It just seems uncomfortable to sleep in the same room with a stranger. Also- I don't want to coordinate colors, I want my own space that I feel comfortable in and she wants pink Pottery barn stuff :/ what should I do??

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:38:19 -0700

It’s an adjustment at first for everybody, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll adapt to it! After all, that stranger won’t be a stranger anymore after a couple of days ;)
Also, very very few roommates actually try and coordinate their rooms together. What’s the point if you’re only going to be roommates for a year, right? It doesn’t matter if their style is completely different from you, in fact, I *love* seeing two very different decoration styles in a dorm because it brings out each other’s distinct personalities and makes for a nice juxtaposition :)

DIY: Tapestry headboard

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:24:07 -0700

DIY: Tapestry headboard

Hi! There's a pretty good chance that the apartment I'll be living in next year will have gross linoleum floors. I was wondering if you had any ideas for making my space more cozy? I know I can use rugs, but they look a bit tackier on linoleum than on wood floors...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:08:31 -0700

Perhaps a non-fabric rug alternative would look better? I’m thinking of a big bamboo rug…. but that might not work either depending on what color your linoleum is :( One of my favorite websites, Apartment Therapy, suggests installing a removable rubber floor, but I doubt it’d be affordable to do that to the whole house. So sorry I couldn’t come up with better ideas, good luck!

mlsacano: My Dorm Room A slow and steady stream of...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:44:11 -0700

mlsacano:

My Dorm Room

A slow and steady stream of photography to lighten my night and spirits. I’ve redecorated a bit since these photos have been taken. For example, moved my snowflake lights and bought new white lights to decorate my window. More to come soon :). Will post this collage of photos into a blogging post so everyone can see the whole picture.

I’ve never felt the need to do any type of interior design until I came to school this past year. I needed a place where the walls weren’t so unwelcoming and foreign; a sanctuary to call my own. I’ve grown to love my space and have spent hours pondering on the color schemes and layout of my furniture and belongings. Along with beautiful film portraits Stephen has taken of me, a lovely ocean-smelling infuser from Pier 1 and flowers for Valentine’s Day, I have decorated my room to come back to when I’m tired of the world. This is my personal space in a unfamiliar location in Northern California. I call it my home.

Photo

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:16:38 -0700

kaiami: Finished putting up my prints wall! It’s so fun to look...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:17:26 -0700

kaiami:

Finished putting up my prints wall! It’s so fun to look at!! O: It’s such a good feeling to be surrounded by things I like. I’m going to be so sad when I have to take it all down.

DIY: Rug headboard

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:56:38 -0700

DIY: Rug headboard

I actually have another question about the christmas lights! How do you hang them up without screwing anything into the wall??

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 21:57:44 -0700

I suppose you could tape them if they’re not too heavy, or use adhesive wall clips like a command hook.

Hi! I find your blog so helpful, it's wonderful! I noticed a lot of rooms have Christmas lights. Do you have to buy a special kind of indoor set to do that? And where could I buy a set operated by batteries?

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 13:29:44 -0700

The difference between indoor and outdoor string lights is that outdoor lights are made to withstand harsher weather conditions than indoor lights. Any old string of lights that you use to decorate your tree with will generally be okay to hang up in a dorm as long as you take certain precautions, like turning them off when you leave the room and not lighting them right next to a pile of sawdust. The best type of string lights you could get would be LED lights: they generate less heat so they’re safer to use and they’re more energy efficient than traditional lights! You can find some battery powered ones online here! (I’m not affiliated with said webstore btw).

@Barnard

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:46:38 -0800

@Barnard

This blog is fantastic.

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:41:59 -0800

Thanks so much!

And I might was well use this moment to also thank everyone who has submitted their pictures to the blog! There’s very limited good dorm pics out there on the web, I don’t know where this blog would be without our submissions :)

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Riverview Dorm(submitted by...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:40:19 -0800

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Riverview Dorm

(submitted by gabby, thank you)

My roommate’s half of the room, follow her...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:21:00 -0800

Bed and cat

The duck has succulents planted in it!

Art supplies and knick-knacks

Her full side

My roommate’s half of the room, follow her at ghoooul.tumblr.com!

The cat on the bed belongs to our other housemate :)

Photo

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:33:11 -0800