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Make dorm room cozy with bright color, creative storage

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So, your child is going to college. Hope you've been shopping. Making those dorm rooms homey, hip and functional may be overwhelming. "I have been buying a little at a time for a while," said Janet Masterson of Nashville, whose... See more » So, your child is going to college. Hope you've been shopping. Making those dorm rooms homey, hip and functional may be overwhelming. "I have been buying a little at a time for a while," said Janet Masterson of Nashville, whose daughter, Grace, is heading to the University of Mississippi in Oxford. "We really started right after graduation." The Mastersons got exact dimensions of Grace's room from the school's Web site. Grace, like many students, has communicated with her future roommate, helping to coordinate ideas and eliminate duplication. Coordinating colors and fabrics was at the top of the list of dorm decorating tips from University of Tennessee student Hilary Dulin of Nashville. She was chosen for a room makeover last year by television's DIY Network. "Dorm rooms can be so small that all the bright colors they brought in to do our room for the makeover was great,"Dulin said. "It really made the room look bigger. We had, like, four basic fabrics and they were used throughout the room. They made a bedskirt from the fabric and covered our headboard. Most college bed headboards are brown and ugly. They padded and covered ours. "It all made it look like we were at home," she said. "Everything fit. You want to make it yours." Many universities make it easier to bring supplies together to fit into one dorm room. Belmont University, for example, has a list of suggested items, links to companies that will deliver products to the school on moving day, and virtual tours of rooms on its Web site. Jamie Shaffer, assistant director of residence life at Belmont, said students make every inch count. "They bring in a lot of furniture," Shaffer said. "They bring in futons, big chairs, like old recliners that their parents don't want anymore. We tell our students how to get to Target and Wal-Mart on the first day." Shaffer also suggested Bed, Bath & Beyond, Linens 'N Things, Sears, J.C. Penney, Lowe's and Home Depot for a variety of useful dorm products. Or hit the Internet for sites such as Pottery Barn's back-to-school Web site, www.pbteen.org. Here are some other tips: • Start by looking at the list provided by your college or university. Most provide lists of necessary items as well as banned items, such as toasters and toaster ovens. • Next, take a look at the bedding, then coordinate functional items with similar colors. Make a desk chair slipcover. Coordinate curtains. Some closets don't have doors and can be covered by coordinating curtains hug on tension rods. Cover bulletin boards with fabric or use colorful dry-erase boards. • Add comfy seating. Linens 'N Things carries popular butterfly chairs for $49.99, said district manager Jill Smith. They come in a variety of colors and fold up for storage, and they include an ottoman. The store also has Moon Tones chairs with built-in speakers for $49.99. • Consider raising the bed for extra storage space or lofting it high enough for a futon underneath. Try sliding a coordinated foot stool under the bed for extra seating. Some stools are even storage bins. Smith said Linens 'N Things sells basic bed risers for $14.99. They can be stacked on top of each other, but "don't go overboard," she said. • Constantly think creative storage: closet organizers, plastic stacking crates, narrow storage containers for crevices and corners, back-of-door hooks, pegboards and under-bed bins (some have rollers). The Pottery Barn site has cool straw Stow Away Baskets from $19 to $75. Grace Masterson plans to use various sizes of hat boxes for storage on a visible closet shelf. • Drop in an area rug, which can make the room homey. • Don't forget additional lighting. Besides funky floor or desk lamps, holiday lights and paper lanterns could work. Consider a clip-on directional lamp so as not to disturb your roommate. Small desk lamps can range from $9.99 to $14.99 at many stores. Lava lamps also are popular again. • Combine those small kitchen appliances to save space. Microfridge makes a three-in-one appliance (refrigerator, micro-wave and freezer) starting at $259. Check out www.microfridge.com. Or See less »

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Make dorm room cozy with bright color, creative storage

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