College-bound students won’t be hitting the books just yet, but the smart ones have been hitting stores all summer long to feather their dormitory rooms.
Think of it as a crash course in Dorm Decor 101.
Although plenty of dorm rooms will still be “decorated” with beer signs, Buddha shrines and cover girl posters, the tide appears to have swung to furnishing a shoe-box-size dorm room with a modicum of good taste. From space-saving loft beds to easy-to-assemble furniture and colorful bedding, a dorm room can be hip and homey.
Savvy retailers such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Wal-Mart, Pottery Barn and the Container Store are only too happy to help with online and in-store merchandise specifically geared to dormitory living.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), college students and their parents will spend a whopping $34.4 billion returning to campus this year.
Armed with graduation money and cash from summer jobs, the average freshman plans to spend $1,151.68, largely on electronics ($540.35).
“The spending power of college students is something that retailers are just now beginning to grasp,” says NRF president and CEO Tracy Mullin.
Some retailers are offering dorm room collections.
Amy Colella, Wal-Mart’s director of corporate communications, for example, says, “At Walmart.com, our dorm-room collections include Bright Young Things for the modern lifestyle, Flights of Fancy for the feminine yet chic side and Prep Cool, a ’70s-inspired relaxed style for male customers. These collections allow our customers to easily visualize the merchandise, and pull together a variety of products in a stylish way.”
If you’re about to move on campus, you’ve probably received a list of must-haves from the university’s housing department. Those items include the obvious (sheets, alarm clock, hamper) and the not-so-obvious (surge protectors, first-aid kit, portable fan).
In between, there’s a host of goodies that may or may not be necessary but sure could make life easier, including appliances (TV, refrigerator, blender, microwave) and furniture (computer chair, CD rack, TV stand). And there are some no- no’s, such as candles, halogen lamps and hot plates. Don’t even think about taking your pet, unless it’s a goldfish.
This fall’s trendy new dorm items include multifunctional platform beds, novelty lamps – a pearl-beaded chandelier from Wal-Mart is Audrey Hepburn-hip – elliptical “egg” chairs, sleek desks and tables, cube-shaped mini-fridges in bright colors, storage ottomans, over-the-bed metal storage units, fluffy cuddle pillows and faux suede back-rest pillows.
By the way, college students are responsible for keeping their rooms clean, so a supply of cleaning aids is essential.
Or as Reid Attaway, a sophomore at James Madison University in Virginia, puts it in “How to Survive Your Freshman Year: By Hundreds of College Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors Who Did” (Hundreds of Heads, $13.95), “Guys, keep your rooms clean, because there will be girls in your room, and they’ll be turned off if you have disgusting rooms.”
