Thursday, July 29, 2010

designBoard: Emma's Dorm Room


A month ago, Emma's mom, Tenia, contacted several of us bloggers about putting together some ideas for her daughter's dorm room - a great idea! I know that when I went off to college, I definitely wanted a cool room, but stuck to the regular big box store offerings since I didn't know any better.

And although big box standbys are great for their price (and thus can handle some dorm wear and tear without guilt), mixing them up with fun fabrics and accent pieces can really give the room a unique personality.

A tour of Emma's board:

1) The main fabrics in the background were the inspiration point. The green fabric is Robert Allen Les Fauves in Grassland, and the yellow fabric is Robert Allen Cats Cradle in Sunshine. I would keep dorm bedding clean and simple in white, but give the bed a bit of color with a big pillow made with the green fabric backed in the yellow fabric. I would also use the yellow fabric for some very simple curtains. Curtains go a LONG way in a dorm room! (even if you just install them with a tension rod)

2) For the desk, I would choose a classic Parsons silhouette. This one from Walmart is a great price at $50, and I would prime it and paint it a glossy lavender shade, like Plum Dandy from Sherwin WIlliams (don't forget to buy the $5 sample pot, which will be plenty to paint the desk). I would suggest searching on Craigslist for a traditional dining chair, and then painting it and recovering the seat in a green stripe fabric, or perhaps more of the yellow accent fabric. I would finish off the desk with a colorful gourd lamp in green or another bright hue - these lamps can be found at places such as HomeGoods or TJMaxx for around $50.

3) I'm a big fan of white bedding, as I've mentioned, so I would do white sheets and a white down comforter, but I would add color with the decorative pillow from #1, a blue cotton blanket used on top of the bed's flat sheet, a colored throw in a contrasting color and a couple of ikat toss pillows. I lived with white bedding in college, and it worked out great. If anything, I could easily bleach it and not worry about it if I got anything on it.

4) I would also take a trip to HomeGoods (or I hear Big Lots) to find a porcelain garden stool in an accent color - extra seating is always nice for study nights. And, it doubles as an end table for books or a perch for a dinner plate. A golden pouf is also a great place for friends to crash to watch a movie or chat.

5) Curtains and rugs are two items that aren't often used in dorm rooms, but can really bring a lived-in feel to a cinder block room (at least, mine was cinder block). The black zig zag rug is one of my favorites from Nate Berkus' collection for HSN and adds a nice graphic punch to the room.

6) Other accessories include some hip vintage horse head bookends and an original abstract painting - both can be found on Etsy. Skip the Twilight poster and buy some colorful art to bring all of your room colors together! 

Good luck at college Emma! Hope you find some inspiration to get you started!

p.s. Several other bloggers are participating in this fun inspiration board today, so keep your eyes open for some other ideas!

18 comments:

  1. Great design board! Love your fabric choices!

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  2. How fun!! I would've died to have this sort of dorm room inspiration - her roomies will be so jealous! ;)

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  3. The most fabulous dorm room ever - so chic! Those garden stools are also available at Marshall's for around $30.

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  4. This is an amazing dorm room concept. I love all the bright colors and that is is still grown up looking.

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  5. Terrific inspiration board for Emma and very do'able by most students living in a dorm. I love the color palette and the idea of ottomans; small, functional and moveable. Great job & I suspect Emma will quite fancy too! I will be passing along to my incoming Freshman too.

    Cheers ~ deb

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  6. I love your choices. Emma is one lucky girl!

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  7. Anonymous7/30/2010

    What a lovely blog,so inspiring, I'm going to read it cover to cover this weekend

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  8. Love you picks! They are so much fun and inspiring. I just graduated from Tulane and when I was going into my freshman year, my mom and I had a pink and green theme...now I need some new inspiration for my new apartment!

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  9. What great ideas! I can't believe that the desk is only $50 at Walmart. What a great find! And I love the idea of painting it lavender. I also am a big fan of white bedding with a few colorful accents!

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  10. Now this is a dorm room I would have LOVED to live in!!

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  11. Oh, what a lucky girl she is!

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  12. It sounds really inspiring. Thanks for the article!

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  13. Cherish you picks! They are so much fun and moving. I simply moved on from Tulane and when I was going into my first year, my mother and I had a pink and green theme...now I require some new motivation for my new loft!

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  14. Love this blog.Inspiring for everyone.

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  15. It's just a Wow!. Thank you DANIELA.

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  16. Wow! Thanks for the great post xD

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  17. Nice! Thanks for an interesting article.

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