The dos and don’ts of dorm decor

• Dorm comforter

A comforter is usually one of the first purchases for the dorm room. (Washington Post photo)
• Dorm must-haves

Technology organization stations, trashcans and shower totes are must-haves for a dorm room. (Washington Post photo)
• Lamps add style

It’s easy to add style to a basic dorm room by choosing lamps with personality, like the Stick Lamp, which has a variety of colorful print shades, and the Walking Man Lamp, both from Target. (Washington Post photo)

Talk about it

In the coming weeks, thousands of tiny white rooms on campuses throughout the country will be welcoming their newest residents and their carloads of stuff. Freshmen orientation for the Class of 2016 has actually been in full throttle for months at big-box stores (both brick and mortar and online), at specialty sites such as Etsy, on Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and on Pinterest boards. Incoming students have been stockpiling decorating ideas along with ramen noodle soup.

Although the shaky economy has students and their families rattled about college loan debt and living expenses, they will spend an average of $907.22 this year on everything from comforters to hand-held vacuums, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. That is up from $808.71 in 2011.

“Students want to make their rooms less utilitarian and more like home,” says Sarah Daniels, Catholic University of America’s director of residence life.

While college-issue furniture for an average 225-square-foot dorm room is usually a bed, desk, chair and dresser, trending design topics on dorm blogs include wall decals, felt pillows, monogrammed dry-erase boards and tiki bars. Some students, maybe weaned on a diet of the HGTV cable network, have fauxfur throws and paisley bean bag chairs on the brain.

“For the past 10 years, students have wanted their rooms to look like they came right out of the pages of a design catalogue,” says Maggie Burkhart Evans, James Madison University’s director of residence life. “They have shown up with lounge chairs and futons and crammed them into their rooms.”

But, Evans says, word is getting out that colleges can’t provide storage space for unwanted furniture: What’s in the room stays in the room.

Students are best served sticking to accessories that personalize or organize, such as pillows, bins, lamps or storage ottomans. They can use social media to plan shopping. At Target’s Ustyler, students can design their own virtual dorm room online and then share it with roommates through Facebook, Twitter, blogs and Pinterest. Twitter feeds such as @GW_Housing are great sources of insider information: Will I need a wool blanket before Thanksgiving? Should I bring a rug? What condition do I have to leave my dorm room in at the end of the year?

Interestingly enough, overbuying at warehouse and big-box stores continues to be a problem for freshmen, who arrive with cases of laundry detergent and stacks of bottled water.

“At home you don’t buy enough shampoo for a year,” says Seth Weinshel, George Washington University’s director of housing, so “don’t do it for college.”

Tags: life, updates, decor, dorm, college