Every August, creatively decorated dorm rooms spark viral tweets with their exquisite décor and comfort, but where do they find everything?
The resident assistants had Wal-Mart as their top choice for decorating their rooms. “Wal-Mart is where I get most of my things. I feel like in this stage of our life, we’re always changing our style. I don’t like to spend a whole lot of money on things because I might not like it in six months,” Abigail Haag, resident assistant at Southeastern Oaks, said.
Southeastern Oak Apartments is located at Southeastern Louisiana University. It features a living room, a fully equipped kitchen area, and a bedroom. According to Haag, she has a full size closet, full size bed, and a dresser in her living space.
Connor Haag, a resident assistant at Ascension Hall, also recommends Wal-Mart for students to shop. “Wal-Mart has the best prices and really good selections,” he said.
Ascension Hall is one of the newer residence halls at SLU. It includes private and shared dorm rooms.
Hailey Tassin, a resident assistant in her first semester, states that she also shops at Wal-Mart. Tassin gets all of her bedding from there.
Comforters at Wal-Mart are sold for $20 to $50.
Resident assistants also recommend online shopping, specifically at Amazon. “Amazon has pretty much anything,” Connor Haag said.
Tassin says she gets some of her items from Ross. “I get most of my decorations for the wall and things for my desk at Ross.”
According to Connor Haag, Bed, Bath and Beyond has items that are unique. “You can find items at Bed, Bath and Beyond that you wouldn’t find at Wal-Mart or Amazon,” he said.
Bed, Bath and Beyond caters to household items. Students can find everything from comforters to irons at the store.
Students living in dorm rooms often deal with a lack of space.
However, students can rely on storage to expand their living space. “I love putting my bed on bed risers to put clothes underneath. You can also find a storage solution for your closet,” Abigail Haag said.
Abigail Haag suggests hooking clothes hangers together to create more space. “It’s about finding a balance of being able to fit all of your things and making it look cute,” she said.
According to Connor Haag, the more storage is used, the cleaner the dorm room looks.
“You can stack your bed and put all of the furniture against the wall, because it will leave space for the middle,” Connor Haag said.
Tassin suggests to place the beds against the wall to create the open space.
Students can find storage containers at Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
His living space consists of an open walkway with a rug and open space. “I have two beds against the wall and my desk together. I feel like if you have the middle space open, it makes the room feel bigger,” he said.
Tassin also has her desks together to create a bigger one. “My beds are stacked and I have two dressers that are placed together,” she said.
Lighter colors seem to be the trend for dorm rooms. Tassin’s color scheme for her room consists of blue, gold, and white. “I like blues. Blue is my favorite color,” she said.
According to Abigail Haag, the colors she’s seen include white and mint. However, her color scheme is pink and grey. “I’ve also seen a lot of pink and grey,” she said.
Connor Haag also likes shades of blues and whites. “Red and yellow are a good color scheme,” he said, “and of course, Southeastern’s green and gold.”
Abigail Haag says her favorite thing about decorating her room is the opportunity to make it a place to destress. “I like making it my own little sanctuary because we stress over everything in college,” she said, “I feel that it’s super important to have that in college.”
To take her relaxation to another level, Abigail Haag has an oil diffuser. “Right now, I have an oil in there called sugar and spice which smells like the fall,” she said. The other oils that she uses include vanilla, eucalyptus and spearmint.
Eucalyptus and Spearmint are both oils that help to relieve stress. Some other essential oils that aid in stress relief include lavender, cinnamon leaf, and lime, according to Up-Nature, a site that caters to essential oils.
"I LIKE MAKING IT MY OWN LITTLE SANCTUARY BECAUSE WE STRESS OVER EVERYTHING IN COLLEGE." - ABIGAIL HAAG
THE LUXURY OF A DORM
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