As everyone settles into their dorms, students may start to feel their rooms feel bland. Clear walls, uninviting lighting and an empty common area can make living quarters mentally draining — but there are several ways to liven up any Oakland University residential area.
Whether it’s adding posters to the walls or lining the windowsill with plants, a room can turn from cold and drab to an inviting living space.
While many students tend to add meaningful, unique decorations to their rooms, some students make innovative upgrades to their housing units.
Jacob Banooni, an engineering student living in Hillcrest Hall, has roomed with the same roommates for the past three school years. Together, the friends have found clever ways to personalize their living space.
One way the roommates decorated was by using the extra equipment provided with their dorm rooms. While lofting the beds requires the use of the ladder and desk shelves, leaving your bed grounded means some materials are left untouched.
Banooni and his suitemates used these extra pieces of furniture both inside their dorms and out in their common area.
“We made a sort of center entertainment system out of two of the provided shelves,” Banooni said. “It’s nice because it almost perfectly spans the protruding wall, at least for the Hillcrest rooms. We also brought one of the desks that comes from the four suites out. It sort of acts as a little extension to the kitchen, which is good, especially because there’s not a ton of counter space.”
In regards to his room, Banooni shed light on the small things he did to liven it up.
“Because I left my bed de-lofted, I pulled out the ladder, and that sort of adds a little bit of an area of interest to the room,” Banooni said. “It also gives me some storage for things like my headphones — or my cologne — or whatever else I want to put up there.”
Banooni also suggests students decorate their walls and invest money into the shared common area.
“Whether that be with a rug or some furniture, this is your space you’re going to be living in,” Banooni said. “Make it feel fun and inviting because these walls — without stuff on them — look very bare and desolate.”
Banooni then explained the next plans and improvements for the rooms.
“We’re going to make the entire top corner of the room in an RGB light tube that’s controlled via a little remote controller over Bluetooth, and we’re gonna do a bunch of cool stuff with it,” Banooni said. “Let’s say I wasn’t in the dorm. I could turn my section red to say that I’m out of the room or green to say that I’m here.”
While many students have already moved into their dorms, it’s never too late to start decorating and rearranging your rooms. With the right amount of effort and hard work, anyone can turn their dorms into their ideal study or hangout spot.
Please refer to the OU Housing Handbook for information on rules and regulations related to decorating OU Housing spaces. Students with questions about acceptable furnishings can email OU Housing at [email protected] or call the OU Housing Office at (248) 370-3570 during regular business hours.
