Now approaching the end of their senior year, it’s about time for the upperclassmen to be assigned to their dorm rooms. Decorating your first dorm can be, well, an experience to say the least. You have to keep in mind that you’re actively sharing a space with someone else—for the (potential) duration of the year. Figuring out the measurements, layout, and location of the room may be a bit daunting at first, but finding the right balance between comfort and sustainability can work wonders in a new environment.
To understand the thought process behind cultivating their “perfect space”, I interviewed a few seniors at Robinson to get their input on this matter.
I first interviewed Nichole, a current 12th grader here at Robinson.
During the interview, I asked her 3 questions—(The same questions that I used with other interviewees).
For the first question, I asked her if she had any inspiration in mind, prior to decorating her dorm. To this, she replied back saying “I do. I mainly use Pinterest for inspo”. While taking a look further into her Pinterest Board, I noticed pops of pink, blue, and yellow as the main color scheme, with a more energetic/cozy vibe added to the space. I saw bear plushies/plush pillows (Rilakkuma), symmetrical square patterned rugs, and other hidden trinkets—mainly appealing to the cutesy/cute maximalist aesthetic.
Afterwards, I asked what stores she had in mind to shop for this furniture. In response, she said “Target”, and how “a lot of people shop there for their dorms”.
Finally for the 3rd question, I asked her if she prioritizes comfort, sustainability, or both when picking out items/furniture in a space. She said “probably both, because I feel like comfort is sustainability”
“Anything cozy would help me stay there [for] a long time”.
The next person that I interviewed was Dani.
For each of their responses, they said that their dorm room would be more “[like theirs] but cut in half”, bringing in most of their plushies, collectables, and posters into the space. When asked about their aesthetic, they said that it’s more on the “chaotic artist core” side, keeping up with the monochromatic theme(s) of blacks, greys, and whites.
When asked about whether they’d choose comfort, sustainability, or both they said that they’d feel more inclined to go with “a little bit of both”, and how “ [they’re] bringing a lot of stuff that’s on the comfort side”.
In contrast, others preferred a more simplistic look for their dorm rooms—but still prioritized comfort and sustainability within the space.
12th grader Olivia said that she would have “simpler decorations”, sticking to “neutral tones, with tans and beiges,” while including pops of “pastel colors like pinks and blues”, that would tie into the “clean girl” aesthetic.
She also mentioned how staying in a cleaner dorm would “put [her] in the right headspace” and “allow [her] to be more productive” in the long run.
Similarly, 12th grader Jaden said that he wanted a “relaxed dorm room space”, ditching your typical “LED lights and colorful bedding accessories”, while clinging to “blacks and greys”, with hints of “pinks and blues to contrast”.
However, when asked about comfort/sustainability in a space, his answer varied from the rest—saying how “there aren’t a lot of stores where I’m going, so I don’t want to always have to be Ubering to where I want to go”, “so I’d just want to make sure that the stuff I get lasts”.
Moving onto the last interview, I asked 12th grader Miah about her thoughts for her new dorm room.
For the overall vibe, she wanted a more “outdoorsy” feel added to the space, mixing and matching various shades of both pink and green to make out a more naturalistic environment.
Topping it off with the final question, she concluded that living both comfortably and sustainably throughout the space would be extremely beneficial for her—mentioning how “effective it would be to get stuff done, especially [in] a whole new system”.
Noticing a trend in incorporating comfort + sustainability into a space was most brought up throughout these interviews, piecing together a newer state of mind. No matter what dorm seniors are assigned to, they’ll continue to add certain aspects of what they like (or prefer) into unfamiliar settings—eventually creating a space that they’ll learn to love, or at the very least, be content with. Wherever they choose to go, this dorm will act as their “temporary” home for the time being, so it’s extremely important to make every second count—for their experience, and others to come in the near future.
