16 jayplay.
thursday, august 21, 2003
do it yourself SWITCH IT. CHANGE IT
By Erica Brittain and Tabatha Beerbower ebrittain@kansan.com and tbeerbower@kansan.com Jayplay staff writers
Being away from home can be scary, but moving into your residence hall room can be even scarier. The stark white walls, a cold tile floor and glowing fluorescent lights make any residence hall room seem like a prison rather than home. Add a tight budget and any student can find themselves in a living space nightmare. Fear no more because for under $100, you can transform the room into home sweet home. With these easy do-it-yourself projects, you can add color, dimension and style to tight quarters.
Project one: Wall coverings
Supplies needed:
Two 9-foot fabric sections of your choice ($11.82)
Velcro strips ($2.49)
Sharp scissors
Stepladder
We used navy blue burlap fabric that we found for $1.97/yard at Hobby Lobby. Any fabric will work for this project depending on what style works best in your room.
1. Attach Velcro strips to the top of each wall you are hanging fabric. For our project, we attached one in each corner and one in the middle. Depending on the weight of the fabric, you may
need more strips.
2. Attach Velcro strips to fabric in coordination with strips placed on wall.
3. Using the stepladder, attach the Velcro on the fabric to the Velcro on the wall.
4. Trim off excess fabric at the bottom of the wall, according to personal taste.
Total price for project: $14.31
photos by Sean Smith/Kensan
Project two: Valance
Supplies needed:
Leftover fabric from wall coverings
3-M adhesive hooks ($2.49)
Stepladder
For this project we used the left over fabric from the wall coverings to give the room a more integrated feel. You can also use different fabric, but we used the left overs to stay under budget.
4. Attach fabric to hooks.
Total price for project: $2.49
1. Attach adhesive hooks across the top of the window. We placed the hooks so that they would line up with the wall coverings, using two in each corner and two in the middle.
2. Fold fabric so that the bottom layer hangs four inches below the top layer.
3. Cut small holes in the fabric, lining up with the hooks.
Project three: Bulletin board
Supplies needed:
Measuring tape
Fabric ($5.67)
Stapler or clear thumbtacks
Sewing pins ($.99)
When covering the cork bulletin board, we used a different color than the wall covering. We used a red, soft cotton fabric we bought at $1.89/yard at Hobby Lobby. This project might be easier with two people when attaching the material to the bulletin board.
1. Use measuring tape to measure the length and width of your bulletin board. You can also cover small bulletin boards to hang separately on separate walls to create a theme.
2. Laying fabric out on a large flat surface, measure off the dimensions of the bulletin board on to the fabric, marking off an extra inch on each side for the length and width.
3. Cut the fabric with a straight edge and sharp scissors.
4. Pin the fabric back an inch on each of the four sides. This gives the bulletin board clean, smooth edges, preventing fraying.
5. Start attaching the material in the top left corner of the board, with one person holding the rest of the fabric tight. Make your way across the board stapling or pinning thumb tacks every two to three inches. Do the same down the sides and across the bottom.
6. The rest is up to you. Your new bulletin board can be decorated with photos, fabric paint or pens, or just be used for reminders.
Total price for project: $6.66
Project four: Patchwork carpet
Supplies needed:
Tape measure
Staple gun
Carpet samples or scraps ($20.00)
Non-skid rubber material ($4.99)
This project presents a warm, fun alternative to the cold tile floor or just plain area rugs. We found carpet samples at Bud Jennings, 2851 Iowa Street, for$1 a piece. We used twenty samples, costing just less than or around the same as a plain store bought carpet found at Wal-Mart, Target, or Kohls. A heavy-duty staple gun can be purchased at Home Depot for $19.98, but you can also borrow one from a friend.
1. Lay out assorted carpet samples in the pattern of your choice in the area of your room that you wish to cover. We created a basic square pattern, four samples across and five samples down, but you can create assorted shapes and sizes.
2. Measure the dimensions of your carpet once you are satisfied with your shape and size.
3. Roll out the non-skid rubber material on a flat hard surface. Measure and cut to the dimensions of the carpet.
4. Place carpet samples upside down, keeping the shape and size desired.
5. Place non-skid material, with the non-skid surface facing up, on the backside of the samples.
6. Staple the non-skid material every few inches around the edge of the samples.
Total price for project: $24.99
Other items that one may add in order to make the room more lively are throw pillows, picture frames, storage containers and framed calendar art. Throw pillows can be purchased at Target, Kohls and Wal-mart for as little as $6.99 a piece. We added three to the bottom bunk bed for comfort and decoration purposes. Picture frames can range in price, but the four-picture frame we used can be purchased at Kohl's for $14.99. An easy way to display art is to use old calendars. You can cut them out and put them in 8x10 frames from Pier 1 that cost $4.00. And for added storage in the cramped dorm rooms, a 4-drawer storage container from Target costs $9.99.
Total price for all purchases: $41.79
A special thanks goes out to the Department of Student Housing for allowing Jayplay's Do-It-Yourself department to redecorate a room in GSP-Corbin.