Even Willy Wonka would feel like a kid in a candy store shopping this year’s gumball-colored array of college dorm accessories.
Space experts say vivid hues, funky patterns, smart storage and personal touches are today’s keys to transforming the traditional cinder-block box into the ultimate undergraduate retreat.
“What’s so great about having your own space for the first time is it’s really an opportunity to forge an identity,” says Sharon Tindell, chief merchandising officer for The Container Store. But because dorm space is often limited, “Every piece in your room really has to count.”
The National Retail Federation says students and families are expected to spend $47.3 billion gearing up for college, which is why major retailers line up to capture this crowd. The Container Store encourages dorm dwellers to capitalize on closets, walls, doors, desks and even the floor with bins, totes, shelves, hampers and hooks offered in various colors.
Target’s “Brave New Dorm” campaign attempts to inspire the college crowd with an all-blue sky and cloud theme in one sample room, an urban warrior look with a camouflage rug and abstract cityscape mural in another, and a third indoor jungle dorm look with ceramic mushrooms on the floor and stuffed cheetahs on the bed.
Exotic modern is the take on the vibrant color trend at the ever-popular college shopping outpost Urban Outfitters. Its latest linens and home accessories boast vintage-inspired takes on international prints. Case in point: The velvet “Kimono Flower” quilt with its pink and orange floral graphic, or the “Avant-Garde” lamp shade featuring an updated take on Emilio Pucci’s psychedelic florals.
Kmart kicks in some hippie chic with a tie-dye-looking fuzzy beanbag dorm chair. Wal-Mart goes bold with brightly striped and “neo-Victorian floral” print bedding. And Linens-N-Things sticks with its classics by offering such stock items as plush bed rests, chenille rugs and super-soft polyester throws in multiple colors.
But leave it to Lowe’s to remind college-aged customers that dorm rooms, which measure about 230 square feet, require but a small do-it-yourself investment for a big space makeover. Around $150 should do it, according to Melissa Birdsong, vice president of trend and design for Lowe’s.
“A colorful area rug, live plants, curtains, a stylish table and floor lamps can personalize and brighten a small room immediately,” she says.
There is naturally a wealth of online resources for campus do-it-yourselfers. Sites like appeal to the design-minded crafting crowd, while industry barons like Better Homes & Gardens (bhg.com) feature how-to articles and tips on such topics as “Creative Dorm Rooms” and “Small Space Strategy.”
“College-aged youths won’t be able to live without decor they make themselves,” says Elizabeth Hise, spokeswoman for Baby Lock sewing machines, the company behind the youth-oriented do-it-yourself site .
“They are a generation of individuals,” she says, “tech-savvy and curious, demanding what they want, when they want it. DIY gives them the opportunity to create and design projects that make their spaces unique.”
Room editor Elana Ashanti Jefferson can be reached at ejefferson@denverpost.com.
