I don’t know about you, but my college dorm room was pretty pitiful. Of course, I made it nice and cheerful, but there really isn’t a lot you can do with ugly tan “wood” furniture crammed into a tight musty space. Long gone are those dorm days. You would not believe the decoration transformation that can take place when you put the dorm decor in the hands of the experts. There is one company that knows the layouts of the college dorm rooms, what you need to make it functional, and how to make the room down-right dreamy.
Typically come spring, the Birmingham based company, Dorm Decor, will be bustling with mothers and daughters (sons too) that are looking for some guidance on what they need to make a dorm room look fabulous. From the layout to the bedding to all the accessories (see below). They have created the PowerCube, which is the perfect way to charge all your devices since many dorms don’t allow extension plugs. They also invented panel bed skirts, which is an easy way to hide all your storage under the bed. There are a plethora of more things that your college student didn’t know they needed, but are game changers!
I reached out to Dorm Decor to get some insight into how they craft up these delightful dorm rooms, and to partner with them for an upcoming college freshman. See below for some of Dorm Decor’s past projects, the details of our design process, Dorm Decor’s college checklist, and their top products. You’ll have to forgive the picture quality of the zoom screenshots, that is reality of our long-distance world right now. Stay tuned to see the finished project come August!
The process:
A long time family friend and girl I used to babysit, Juliette, is heading off to Auburn in the fall. While she wanted some dorm advice, I decided the best thing would be to partner with the experts. So, I called up Dorm Decor and we got to work.
Typically, Dorm Decor would visit major cities and show-off how they make dorm rooms beautiful and functional. Due to Covid-19, they have been doing virtual trunk shows. I listened in on my first trunk show and was just in awe of all the different and fun ideas they have for the dorm. From a very cushy euro sham to monogrammed bolsters, to creative ways to hide a fridge in the room- I was ready to go back to school!
We then scheduled a zoom with Dorm Decor, Juliette, her mom, and myself. It was so fun to go through the process of what it could look like. Their whole Birmingham showroom is set up in true dorm fashion. It was fun to watch them switch out the fabrics for a headboard, pillows, and bedskirts. It was even more fun to see how inviting and warm a dorm can be with soft carpets, pretty lamps, and stylish monograms. Their dorm shelves are very practical and genius for these small spaces.
The best part, and apparently it happens all the time, is that the first bed they created for Juliette was completely different that the end result she ended up settling on. We went from a fun glittery gold and white to a soft gray cheetah with calming blues and whites. I’m super excited for how cute and fun this is going to turn out- just match Juliette’s personality!
What is so wonderful, is that they will ship all of Juliette’s items straight to Auburn. As far as pricing, you will probably spend just as much between Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target… may as well take the expert guidance from Dorm Decor and make it functional and darling!
The Checklist:
The Must-Haves:
These bedskirt panels are WONDERFUL! Can hide storage under the bed and easy to tie on underneath the mattress.
The Bed Cubby is a wonderful way to provide extra vertical storage.
According to the girls at Dorm Decor, this is the ULTIMATE MUST-HAVE! Universities can be very strict on power cords, but this PowerCube has 4 outlets and 2 USBs. The 10 foot cord is heavy duty AND it comes with a clever mounting plate so you can mount it wherever you need it.
The Bed Shelf allows you to add another storage component to your room without taking up space. Since it goes in-between the wall and your dorm bed, it also helps to keep pillows, phones, laptops, water bottles and other small items from falling down to the side of your bed. There are also small cut-outs where you can attach your PowerCube to charge your electronics with ease.
I wish I could feel this Huge Dutch Euro in person. When I was watching them describe it during the zoom calls, it looked VERY comfortable. They also said it was the yummiest thing in the store. I may be way out of college, but I think I want one for myself!
