Today I'll share with you my dorm room. I'm pretty excited about it. I worked hard to add new touches and bring things from home to create the perfect environment for my writing and relaxation. Black and white, Elvis, Ted Dekker books, Africa... and my room is complete.
When I left, my mom's van was packed full of my stuff... and I even had a few more things in the back of my own car! I've been asked to elaborate a little on what I used for storage. Honestly, my ways probably weren't very conventional. We used paper sacks, random duffle bags and suitcases, and a few Wal-Mart boxes (you can get them for free if you ask at night). We also got two large tubs and filled them with a school year's worth of toiletries so I wouldn't have to worry about buying them as a poor college student. ;) Basically, if something I owned could hold some of my belongings (like a trashcan), then that's what we used for storage. No big plastic tubs for us, although that might have been nice!
It's a strange feeling to see everything you own stuffed into the back of a car. A little bittersweet.
Moving in was pretty easy. At first when I caught a glimpse of my dorm room, it seemed small and cramped, but after we moved the furniture around a bit and put the cabinet under my bed instead of up against the wall, I was amazed at how much the little room opened up.
Obviously, the most important part of my bedroom is my bed. I got my comforter and pillow case from Bed Bath and Beyond. I brought two normal pillows and a body pillow. I also have a decorative pillow, but I usually keep that on my beanbag. The fuzzy blue throw also comes from Target. It's very soft and comes in several different colors. I got my curtains from Target. Since my room faces the east, I need dark curtains to keep from being forced awake by the bright morning sun!
As you can see, I did some Elvis decorating over my bed as well. Thanks, Ali, for the Elvis records. The poster is from Universal Studios in Florida. At the end of my bed, I keep my guitar case, my laundry basket, and a trashcan, where nobody can see!
Next to my bed is a really neat nightstand. It's circular, so it doesn't have to sit against a wall. It's from Bed Bath and Beyond and I believe it was about twenty dollars. It's small, but big enough to hold a lamp (from Bed Bath and Beyond), an alarm clock, and an iPod dock. On the bottom stand, I keep a journal, a Bible, and a couple of devotional books. Above my nightstand, I keep my Elvis calendar!
My personal favorite item in my room is my beanbag. I'd been searching for beanbags online and in my hometown for the past three or four months. Everything I found was either too big, too small, uncomfortable, or wayyyy too expensive. While we were shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond for some last minute room supplies, we stopped at a store called Pier 1, which had some furniture and house decorations. Plopped on the floor was a big, squishy, fluffy BEANBAG! It was a hundred dollars, which is a pretty good price for a beanbag of that size. The only downer was the fact that it didn't come in black, only brown.
However, the color difference was worth it. I had a beanbag! We purchased the beanbag, carried it out in a giant box and then had to end up cutting the box away because it wouldn't fit in my car! I was happy as a clam. I purchased a small decorative torquoise blue pillow to blend the big brown beanbag into the rest of my room.
The rug is from Target. It's extremely soft and comes in two or three different colors, so be sure to check it out. It definitely brightened up my room and makes sitting on my beanbag especially comfortable whenever I decide to put my feet on the floor.
The awesome black wall decoration is from The Container Store, which has a lot of great dorm room accessories. The "faith, hope, and love" wire words were from my mom. To the far left of the picture is a black and white bulletin board of sorts which holds pictures of my friends, family, and from Africa.
My desk area is pretty hectic, so I took a few close-up shots so I could highlight a few items. But here's the entire area. Pretty crazy, I know. This was taken the day I was still moving in, so my desktop wasn't completely sorted through yet.
The bookshelf is another one of my favorite things in my room. We ordered it off of Overstock.com. It's called a spine bookshelf and it's made to look like the books are in a giant stack rather than placed in actual shelves. I love the look and this is my new favorite bookshelf of all times. I'm still waiting for a few more books I ordered to come in and after that, my stack will be complete!
Actually, someone came into my room the other day and said, "Girl, I need to get you a bookshelf so you won't have this big stack!" And then she realized that it was a bookshelf. Perhaps I'm too easily entertained. :)
Above my desk are my typical decorations. The giant wire letters that say "EMILY" from Pottery Barn, the Elvis Presley Blvd road sign that used to hang above my bedroom door at home, some more Elvis and Beatles records... And you can also see the "film strip" picture holder hanging from the wall. I had that back at home too and I love it. The cute little TV is from my Nawnie.
What's nice is that the back of my desk is magnetic. I had already gotten several little magnets, so I was able to hang some Elvis postcards and pictures of friends on the back of my desk. The little containers are from... where else? The Container Store. Since this picture was taken, I also got a wire magnetic cup holder from Target.
The fan is from Target. It was inexpensive, easy to work, and lightweight. I love it so far. If you're living in a dorm room, I definitely recommend a small fan like the one I have. It's helped out a lot, whether blocking noise or cooling off a stuffy room. As you can see, I've gotten myself a little friend from Petco (I'll write a separate blog post about him on Sunday), so he sits on the corner of my desk. We chat frequently. I also keep pictures of all of my siblings on my desk. The neat pictures/picture frames are from Shutterfly.
Okay, the other side of my desk looks incredibly messy, but it isn't that way anymore. I didn't currently have a jewelry holder, so it all sat on my paper holder, which now contains all of my blog calendars and notes. The black strip is actually magnetic and very handy for holding keys and pictures and notes. I got it at the Container Store. I made the calendars at Shutterfly. The lamp is from Target. Yes, I do have a Bobble and I've quite enjoyed it. And I think that's just about all on that side of the desk.
Finally, here is a glimpse of my room in all its entirety (well, minus the bed). From this angle, you can see the mirrored closet, the map of Africa, my acoustic guitar, and my other laundry bag hanging from the door. I now have my necklaces hanging from a hook on that wall, along with my fuzzy robe. When winter comes, I'll probably hang a coat on that wall as well. In this picture, I'm posing with my grandma, who came to visit me on move in day. (Not the most flattering picture of me, but oh well! Keep your eyes on the room!) ;)
That is an AWESOME room Emily. Just...everything. It's really cool. And now I am gonna have to get one of those bookshelves.
ReplyDeleteSo, you took my bedding and my bedside table! Nice!
ReplyDelete