The biggest problem with dorm decor is the 95% chance the place is a mess and looks like a tornado "after."

The second biggest problem is that you cannot get rid of the furniture you are given, and it takes up all the space. You can cover the bed and even the headboard, but it still leaves you with 2 ugly chairs, desks, bureaus, and, often, a fridge.

And then there is the fact that most dorms have cinderblock walls and commercial windows. There are exceptions of course. The dorms at Bryn Mawr, some with fireplaces, are TDF

Another problem with dorm furniture is when room mates change.

The dorms DD and my niece lived in (different universities) had everything built in. Only the desk chairs were ”loose” so it wasn’t hard to decorate.

I like some of the looks in the original articles, but I see them more of a look for an off campus apartment. I don’t think our dorms have much in the way of flexibility.

As a broad generalization, I think dorms in the Northeast are the worst. So many school are in urban areas where land costs, preservation, and zoning make it hard to do much with what they have.

Are there really any dorm residents who keep their room all tidy and pristine like those photos?

Prnceton has some lovely old dorms with fireplaces too. Dorms have improved since my kids were in college - part of the competitive nature of the selection process.

For the tuition we paid I think my DD's rooms were among the worst. Her freshman dorm at Columbia had a large window - except there was a brick apartment building across the narrow alley and all she saw was red brick and never got direct sunlight. The room next to hers was so small that the student could not even open her door completely because it hit the bed frame - until her parents notified Housing that it wouldn't pass the Fire Code. Her sophomore year she had a huge room that had been a student lounge but they crammed 4 girls into it. She opted for single rooms after that.

The most annoying aspect though is that some kids had beautiful rooms, functional, bright and a few even had private bathrooms - yet we all paid the same.

In all our college visits, the best looking rooms were those that had pretty much just the standard dorm furniture, fairly simple linens, a nice lamp or two, and maybe a small extra bookcase for the video games and food. Oh, and the small fridge. Maybe pull-out storage for under the bed. Anything else was clutter. And just had to be schlepped home at some point. The guys always moved in and out quickly, in one car or van. The girls were shipping, two van trips, maybe rent a U-Haul. Crazy. and lots left behind in the ”donate” pile in the lobby.

My second college‘s dorms had all built-in furniture. Made life easy. The first one had old-building character, sloped ceilings and actual millwork, but no AC. The third college, well, it had a balcony overlooking the Alps. Sigh. Who cared about the furniture? (standard college furniture, anyway)

IMO those pictures are not based in reality either from my dorm years (and believe me I did decorate!) or anything my sons, their friends male and female, or my great nieces and nephew who are current dorm dwellers did or are doing. I find the description of "functional and comfortable" to be laughable and the inference that this is/should be a goal as another way to measure people. I'm in a mood so take it or leave it.

I'm in a mood so take it or leave it.

LOL

My 2 cents - it's a shame so many dorms are ugly and cramped and dark. I think it is bad for productivity and mood. But kids don't have the time in college to be rearranging throw pillows, either. It gets a bit silly.

Maire, at my DD's boarding school, they built a new dorm, all singles IIRC. White marble bathrooms! Her first year it was for seniors only. Her senior year, they changed it to freshmen only. ::: eye roll ::: Still she did somehow get a large single corner room on the ground floor with windows on two sides, large enough to move in my chaise.

That's just awful Mtn. I'd be royally annoyed. I am so glad that I no longer have to deal with dorms - or listen to my kids complain about them. The year DD roomed in the converted lounge she had the best view - corner room with loads of windows on the 6th floor overlooking Broadway on one side and a view to mid-town on the other.

I never lived in a dorm. I was 16 and my parents wanted me to live at home. So I have always romanticized it. DS likes it, DD1 would rather have a suite at the 4S, DD2 is already talking apartments.

DLM, trust me, those pictures, while certainly staged for the article, are based on reality. A friend of mine and I were at our sorority house for an alumnae meeting. She wanted to show me her granddaughter’s room. It was gorgeous and quite similar to the pictures in the article. I don’t know if she knew her grandmother was going to be there that day or not, but the room was spotless - every pillow in place.

bbstx I can totally see that in s SH - not most dorms. My dorm was a beautiful 20s vintage building, plaster walls, claw foot tubs, high ceilings and beautiful, traditionally decorated sitting rooms and parlors but that's not the norm anymore. My freshman year I was in a suite (2/2) that included an end room on the wing, almost a solarium with all the windows! We decorated and thought ourselves quite accomplished but the style was early garage sale/resale store and KMart modern mixed with the provided beds and desks. Sophomore year I opted for a single, made yellow gingham curtains from sheets, eyelet pillows and brought a vintage wicker barrel chair with me from home.

The decor in the rooms shown in the link just isn't affordable on a typical student budget. When I see a room like that in a college setting, it makes me question how independent the student really is from their parents.

At my own college, one of my friends observed accurately that when clean, the college apartments looked like living rooms from 20 years ago. That was thanks to the students sourcing castoffs that their families no longer wanted... which stayed long after the original donor family's students had graduated. I'm not getting a vintage vibe off any of these rooms.

how independent the student really is from their parents.

Answer - not at all. Why/how can one expect an 18yo to be financially independent?

Especially nowadays, college admission is so competitive that kids spend all their free time and summers on things that enhance acceptance, not on the jobs our generation had as kids. (or at least that is true where we are). I will be very happy if my kids are independent at 24 (ie after grad school).

At my own college, one of my friends observed accurately that when clean, the college apartments looked like living rooms from 20 years ago. That was thanks to the students sourcing castoffs

I think you are confusing sorority houses or at least lounges with dorm rooms. Dorm rooms have the assigned/required furniture and usually no room at all for anything else. In the past 4 years I've toured colleges for 3 different kids, and IME a dorm room is not very customizable at all.

I think we had discussed before about the wealthier families hiring interior designers for dorm rooms of their children (mostly female children, I never see guys’ rooms in these articles).

Some examples in this article.

https://styleblueprint.com/everyday/sec-dorm-rooms/

^^^ Those are over-the-top crazy.

"Wow--this is so much nicer than I remember..."

hahahaha

I haven't been in a dorm room since I was in college 100 years ago. We have no kids. We did go with some friends to visit their daughter at college but she was in a sorority house at that time. The common areas looked decent - her room not so much. Looked like a few days old dirty dishes lying about. With my limited experience I can't begin to imagine spending much time or effort on dorm room decor. Maybe it's more common these days and/or if you have well to do parents or go to a school with other kids who do. I was financially independent in college so decor was the furthest thing from my mind. I think that has kind of carried over to the present though I do pay more attention to it now....

My DD’s freshman dorm (in the Texas A&M system) was a cold cinderblock closet with bunk beds. Awful, nasty bathroom/showers shared with the entire floor. I cried all the way home after moving her in. She never complained once, it was me being a baby about it.

Next year, nicer room, but with three beds. Early on, the other two roomies moved off-campus, and she had the room to herself.

Her senior year, she had a nice on-campus 3-2 apt with balcony overlooking the football fields. It was fun to help decorate. :).

I was married when I attended college, so never got to experience dorms. I always pictured Animal House.

Dorm rooms can be absolutely ridiculous. Our DGD had it good, much better than most her freshman year. She was required to live in the dorm freshman year and had a room with one room mate and a large bathroom they shared. There was a large refrigerator, microwave and two fairly large closets plus the usual raised beds, desks and bookcases. They furnished it simply and it looked nice but not over the top and even managed to rearrange it so they could get a futon in the room.

Sophomore year she lived in the sorority house, another requirement. Last year she was in an apartment with sorority sisters and loved it. Next year it is on to a house with same 3. The house is being renovated so will be like new. I hope it will work out for them, as they are very excited to have their own parking spaces. Its the little things.

I don't get it, where do they put the furniture that comes with the room? In the BS and U's I know of, you may not remove what is there. With that as a constraint, there is very little you can do.

I love "it's a lot better than I remembered." Ha!

I feel bad for the kids whose parent's designer redecorate their dorm rooms. My DD and I had the best time ever scouting deals and finding just the right thing at Ikea and Sally Ann to make the small space liveable. And then, the next year, she rented a house with four roommates and they were hilarious shopping online for used furniture and trying to get it home on the bus, dragging it down the street, etc. I remember her calling all excited that they had found a cast iron pan just like mine. IMHO, that's how memories and friendships are made. Not by watching your parent's decorator choose fabrics. However, like DLM2000, I'm in a bit of a mood.

I've never heard of anyone doing this and neither have my kids. I wondered if it was a Southern thing but didn't want to ruffle feathers; turns out the article mentions just a handful of yes, Southern, US schools.

https://www.denverpost.com/2014/08/29/dull-dorm-parents-hiring-decorating-pros-to-transform-college-rooms/

Southern feathers aren’t ruffled whatsoever, just showing it can happen all over. :)

I tried to find a balance of my DD finding her independance, but helping if she asked. I never saw anyone at her uni hiring decorators.

I would agree dorms have beat the decorating bug by insisting NOTHING leaves the room and they provide all the "needed" furniture bed/desk/dresser. Cute/FUN/Chic only matters before you move in. Once in the decor looses it's interest quickly. Utilitarian is embraced quickly.

Hope youll forgive me for butting in with this somewhat vaguely connected issue. How does one furnish a college apartment that’s 3,000 milrs away? Only a bed is necessary for move-in day, though a sofa would be nice. Will things in stock today be available in two months? Has anyone dealt with this?

BTW, this will be her window, and happy to have it!! Hmm, pic not working. it's the side of a brick building with a nice slice of trees snd street view.

Ah, Bryn Mawr College. I went to school across the street and spent lots of time walking around their campus. We also held graduation in Goodhart Hall there. Not surprised their dorm rooms are lovely-comes with the territory, except for the "new dorm" which was a modern eyesore when it was built.

ETA: Neither I nor anyone I knew ever felt our dorm rooms were awful. We were all thrilled to be there and actually spent little time in the dorms.

Ok, Southerner here! 😂 And i have a rising Freshman, but alas she is doing a ”travel/study year” (with full college credit-she’ll be a sophomore in fall ’22) so I don’t get to do this yet. I have been involved with process with some of my friends, though. And it is done at many Southern unis and colleges, but it is especially rampant at the big SEC schools. There are designers eho will do this custom for $$$$, but there are also retail shops with standard options in various fabrics and colorways who are less (still silly, but not asinine-stupid.😂)

Since most rooms come standard with two twin beds…they focus on making the bed/bedding/headboard/voluptous dustruffles the ”star.” Also full curtains. This plus cute accessories and rug can usually do it. If you are really wanting to part with more of your cash…they can cover the ugly chairs with slipcovers. And they sell all aorts of attractive storage items. These companies know the layouts and furniture in each dorm at most universities in these parts. 😂 And of course it is extrordinarily helpful to already know your roommate beforehand, bonus if the moms are already friends. 😂 It is probably crazy to many, but if the moms and daughters enjoy decor…it can be fun. Of course, boys don’t do this…when ds was a rising freshman I asked him what color comforter his roommate was gettting. Ds: ”How would i know?” Nini: ”I don’t know, perhaps ask??” Ds: ”Why would i ask that?” Nini: ”So your colors coordinate.” Ds: ”What?” 😂😂😂

Nini, DSIL’s mom’s advice to my sister when my nephew moved into the dorm “make sure nothing matches!”

My mom was way ahead of her time. My freshman year, I was with 3 other roommates with a bathroom in the middle of a huge corner room. No special decor there-two roomies were from Canada and one from Arizona, I had no idea who they were and they were nice enough, just not my cup of tea. Let's just say they weren't into the cheerleading scene AT ALL. Getting to the point here, lol, my Sophomore year, a fellow cheerleader from my high school was my roommate with only two of us in the dorm room and my mom had carpet laid (back in the day) and matching bedspreads, etc. -all peach and brown-this was back in 1981-82. No one else had a room like ours in our dorm. They always showed our room to hopeful future female students. I will be lucky to even pick out my son's comforter when he goes to college.

I worked at a southern university. I worked closely with many of our students and saw pictures/heard lots about dorm rooms. 1) we had many more students living off-campus than on and 2) the only rooms I saw that were over the top were the rooms in the new little sorority house "village" where even the houses were over the top. Expensive houses with each exterior a different style. Like @nini804 mentioned, I do know of a store in the big city with bedding, etc. for dorm rooms. Monogram everything! I also can understand the comment made about "financial independence". Especially when I saw the many luxury cars in the student parking lot near the building I worked in. I will say that within our department/campus, I knew many hardworking students who did hold down jobs and were paying for part of their expenses. Even a few who were putting themselves through college. It always made me sad to see those who were taking out the student loans, especially our veterinary students as that can leave one with a lot of debt to start out with.

It always made me sad to see those who were taking out the student loans, especially our veterinary students as that can leave one with a lot of debt to start out with.

When one of my kids was looking at McGill in Montreal, i noted that they charge different tuition for degrees in different fields. This seems to make a lot of sense to me; the degrees have different monetary values, and I would also imagine it is less expensive to staff some departments than others.

The other thing that makes sense to me is that student loan repayment should be based on a % of income, so that it is not overly onerous. I think the UK does this.

Ok, not only am I Southern, but the company the OP linked is in my hometown. While I do not know the owner personally, I dear friend does. I also know families with girls (LOTS of girls) that each and every daughter had one of these dorm rooms. All were in sororities. Have you seen the sorority houses at Alabama and Auburn?! The rooms look Just. Like. The. Photos. Over the top, couldn't get another thing in the room look. I always wondered how long the rooms stayed that nice looking. But since I know some of the parents (and their homes), I'd say the girls did a good job of keeping them up. If they didn't, the mom's helped clean and straighten when they visited (which is too often, IMO).

Most interesting that this is a regional and sorority thing! bbstx, my college had dorm rooms and student apartments. Most students preferred the apartments because then they could cook for themselves, which was much tastier than the school cafeteria!

The rooms came with standard furniture, but it was possible to move the furniture out and store it in campus storage for the year. One popular move was changing out the standard XL twin bed for a futon for more space. Another was changing out the standard desk chair for something more comfortable. At the end of the year, students were responsible for moving their own furniture out and returning the standard furniture to their rooms.

The dorm rooms in the link ARE super cute.

it was possible to move the furniture out and store it in campus storage for the year.

So they actually have a place to store it? I can just imagine that at say, Columbia!

I think I would like the decorated rooms better if I saw a book, paper, pencil or computer.

My dorm was a horrible late 60s cinderblock people warehouse. And it did affect my mood. Finally Mom came up and went shopping and splurged with me on some nice bedding and some wall art and a decent area rug. Served me well. The beds were extra long, I guess to ensure they worked for all, including tall people. But you had to get custom sized sheets. Not sure they do that anymore. Also had to coordinate style with a roomate. I still have the bedspread and studio couch pillows I got to create a daybed out of my bed. The carpet was kind of a bust. Had I known then what I know now, I would have gotten a bound carpet remnant, which is what I got for my tiny apartment later on. The cheapie plastic area rugs they sell everywhere curl, and curl fast.