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Home Sweet Home
story by jamie knodel - photos by erin mcelhinney
Students find ways to creatively decorate and consolidate the space in their residence hall rooms
There are few things on the KU campus that have less character than an empty residence hall room. With cold, tiled floors and cinder-block walls, students often have a sterile and drab first impression of university life.
However, many KU students have found ways to personalize and decorate their living spaces. Students living in the residence halls have limited space to sleep, socialize and study, but many feel it is important to enhance the room's appearance with personal touches that make the room more comfortable.
Some residents say it isn't always easy to work within the restrictions and size of their residence hall rooms, but with additional cinder blocks, chairs, carpet and a little creativity the rooms are very livable.
Interior design student Adam Kezziah, Colorado Springs, Colo., junior, said that students in the residence halls added personal effects to make their rooms their own.
Lawrence freelance interior designer Susie Harwood said that a residence hall room could be made appealing by carrying a certain color or pattern scheme throughout the room. She suggested adding fabric window treatments, throw pillows or an area rug that coordinated with the bedspread.
"Students need to make it their own space just to be comfortable," he said. "They need to make it home to them and a nice environment to live in."
"These are inexpensive ways to have fun personalizing the room." Harwood said.
Luke Brodine, an Overland Park sophomore who lives in Templin Hall, hung a disco ball and CDs throughout his room.
"Why be boring?" he said. "The color brings so much more personality and life to a room."
Many students have transformed their rooms into more than just a place to sleep. Jen Green, Emmetsburg, Iowa, sophomore, added chairs and wire shelves, a table and area rug to make her Corbin Hall room multi-functional.
"I wanted to make a place where I could hang out and entertain my friends in," she said. "I wanted to make it more than just a bedroom."
Lisa Meinen, Baldwin City junior, said that when she moved in a love seat sleeper couch, an armchair and took apart some things, it made her Corbin Hall room seem less like a residence hall room and more like a studio apartment.
"In the corner I have the study with my desk and where the couch is, that's the living room," she said.
Meinen took the mirror out of her shelves' door and used it as a coffee table top. In the cabinets she put her television and stereo, making it look like a built-in entertainment system.
Interior design students said that it was important for people living in smaller accommodations, such as the residence hall rooms, to keep their things organized.
"By not having clutter it makes a room look bigger," Kezziiah said.
He said one easy way to avoid cluttering up a room was by adding bookshelves to organize and display things.
"Don't just jam everything into one corner," he said. "It makes a room look really small and disorganized."
makes a room look really small and disgusting. Harwood also cautions students about getting too carried away.
"You just need to be careful not to make it too busy, because
"Why be boring? The color brings so much more personality and life to a room."
Luke Brodine
Overland Park sophomore
it is such a small space," she said.
"Raising beds up onto cinder blocks is a good way to have more space for storage, or for a living area."
Interior design student Kendall Dittmer, Derby junior, said that many residence hall occupants did a good job of utilizing what space they did have.
She suggested that students buy stackable and under-
Top: Raising one of the beds on cinder blocks gives Lucy McShane, Fairway and Tracy Elliot, Edmond, Okla., freshman, more space in their room.
Bottom right: Themes or color schemes can make a room visually appealing. Elizabeth Johnson, Leavenworth freshman, collected antique license plates and road signs to hang on her walls.
Bottom left: This residence hall room may have started out drab and lifeless, but personal touches, such as this disco ball, spiced up Luke Brodine, Overland Park sohomore's room.
bed storage units to keep belongings organized.
Freshmen roommates Tracy Elliott, Edmond, Okla., and Lucy McShane, Fairway, raised one of the two beds in their Corbin Hall room and put a futon under it facing their television.
They said their room's set-up made it easy for people to congregate.
"Our room is somewhat of the floor meeting place," McShane said. "Everyone comes down here to watch Dawson's Creek, 90210 and Friends."
"Take the junk you don't need home," Dittmer said, "It just clutters up the place."
Dittmer said McShane's and Elliott's futon was practical for the residence halls, because it was a piece of furniture that can be used for several things, such as a sofa or a bed.
Dittmer said that decorating with a theme was also a good idea.
Elizabeth Johnson, Leavenworth freshman, hung license plates and road signs throughout her Gertrude Sellards Pearson Hall room.
"My roommate and I just thought it would be an original idea," she said.
She said that their collection came from antique shops.
Natalie Jayaram, Overland Park freshman, hung a sticky-hack border throughout her Corbin Hall room.
Dittmer said that this type of adhesive, decorative border was a good way to add color and life to a dorm room, while working within restrictions. She also suggested using contact paper on shelves or walls for additional color.
Kezziah said that students' rooms should be inviting and reflect their personalities.
Hashinger Hall roommates Susan Tusa, Omaha, Neb., sophomore, and Tara Tonsor, St. Louis freshman, have a collection of postcards on their side-by-side closet doors.
Tusa said that they tried to cover everything in their room with something. They have everything from butterflies to Christmas lights to Strawberry Shortcake covering their walls.
"We are both art students and that shows in our room," Tonsor said.
Alex Barnett, Chicago freshmen hung his artwork, posters and tapestries to give his Hashinger Hall room an eclectic feel.
"I don't like living in a jail cell," he said. "This just gives me and my friends stuff to look at."
Left: By adding chairs, a coffee table and an area rug,
Jen Green, Emmitsburg, Iowa, sophomore, created
an environment for entertaining.