College Dormitory Rooms Getting a Modern Touch
As college students return to school this fall, they are bringing sophisticated wall decorations, area rugs and electronic gadgets to supply creature comforts to dormitory rooms otherwise characterized by their austerity.
At design schools such as the Rhode Island School of Design, students are apt to make elaborate loft beds and to build in other pieces of furniture as part of school projects.
At the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, some students have gone so far as to remove the university’s furniture in favor of their own, said Allen Longendyke, assistant dean of student life.
Fairfield University in Connecticut will soon be supplying loft beds as standard issue furniture, and the furniture now on order for the campus dorms will be stackable, said Jeanne DiMuzo, director of orientation.
In fact, at least one of the campuses in New York State is already stocking a ready-made loft bed, and a six-foot-high platform sells for about $200 at State University of New York, Plattsburgh, according to George Layman, manager of the college store.
Rugs, Pillows, Bolsters
Other furnishings Layman carries for rooms include area rugs, floor pillows, corduroy bolsters for the beds and school emblem blankets. Most popular there and elsewhere around the country, though, are the brightly colored plastic milk crates students use to store records, tapes, books and even dirty laundry.
Those who have been out of school for many years might be surprised to learn that many schools now allow quite a bit of leeway when it comes to room decoration. Schools are now often permitting students to paint their rooms--provided that the colors meet certain general requirements.
“The guideline is that when you leave the room, it should be in the same shape as when you came,” said Mark Orbe, assistant director of residence life at the Rhode Island School of Design. If the improvement, such as a mural or perhaps a piece of built-in furniture, is deemed attractive enough, it can be left in place for future occupants, he added.
The University of Bridgeport not only permits students to paint their own rooms, it will even provide paint in white, blue and pastel shades.
“We’re fairly liberal,” Longendyke said of his school’s decoration guidelines, “but lofts have to meet safety rules and be free-standing--not nailed into the wall or onto the ceiling--and nothing flammable can cover an outlet or a light.”
Original Artworks
As for what goes over the painted walls, at SUNY campuses, posters of works by Picasso and others are replacing pinups, travel posters and images of rock groups, although these items are still popular.
At some schools, what’s on the walls is original art. The Parsons School of Design and the University of Chicago both offer programs that allow students a chance to live with originals.
Parsons has a lottery through which winners may borrow art by Josef Albers, Romare Bearden, Roy Lichtenstein, Cindy Sherman, Jim Dine and Andy Warhol, among others.
Chicago makes 500 pieces of artwork available to students for a $10 insurance fee. The selections range from Picasso and Chagall lithographs to Currier & Ives originals. The most important accessory in a college dorm room these days, however, is a telephone answering machine, according to the Electronic Industries Assn. in Washington. Phone answering machines are popular at schools such as Brown, Yale and New York universities, according to industry spokesman Jack Wayman.
Other items of home electronics students covet include portable TVs, personal stereos, compact disc players, bookshelf audio systems, electronic typewriters and computers.
Among the personal grooming products, electric shavers, hair dryers and curlers are top choices.
“Buying it all can add up to about $3,000,” Wayman said, but usually “kids share the electronic toys, which can lower the individual bill quite a bit.”