5/22/2009 - The Post and Courier
Dorm Makeover: C of C Edition
College should be a learning experience, but that doesn't mean students must learn to live with plain white walls, drab desks, featureless floors and boring bathrooms.
That's what an Alabama woman who's been transforming dormitory rooms in several states believes.
Sheri Corey of Birmingham, who two years ago launched a business called Dorm Suite Dorm (http://dormsuitedorm.com/), last week turned two rooms at the College of Charleston from humdrum to how-about-that!
Corey estimates she spent $1,500 of her own money sprucing up the rooms, one each in the Joe E. Berry Jr. residence hall and the Glenn McConnell residence hall. The remade rooms will serve as examples of how nice dorm rooms can be, she said. She said students and their families can get design advice and supplies from her business or can launch their own projects.
With the help of 2009 College of Charleston graduate Laura Gibson, Corey used throw rugs, posters, bulletin boards, prints, shower curtains, desk lamps, table settings and Corey's designed bedding to drastically alter one women's dorm room and a men's dorm room. Much of what went into the rooms was purchased locally and, of course, included towels and other accessories in maroon, the college's team color.
The idea is to make the rooms seem less like cheap motels, or expensive jails, and more "homey," Corey said. She said attention is given not just to beds but to study spaces, desks, tables and chairs, lighting and common gathering areas.
The remakes give the rooms "personality," she said. "They are more peaceful, calming, restful places to be. She added there are many inexpensive options available to those who want to change the look and feel of dorm space.
Gibson attended a boarding school but didn't live in a dorm while in college. She said recalling her boarding school days helped her assist Corey.
"I never lived in a dorm but I am helping make them prettier for people who have to," Gibson said.
Much of what Corey and Gibson added to the rooms they made over were simple niceties such as glass snack jars, napkins and napkin holders, dining utensils, slipcovers for wooden chairs, hued storage boxes, wire trash cans, drink coasters and small photo frames in which girlfriends and boyfriends can be displayed.
Prospective new students will be among those who will see the remade rooms this summer as they make college choices or prepare to enter school in the fall, Corey said.
The makeover took place between academic sessions. Graduation was held earlier this month and few students were at the campus last week. But some students who were working or studying on campus expressed delight with the room designs.
Kayana Hawkins, who graduated this month, said she was surprised by the transformation in the Berry residence. Hawkins, who is customer service director for the dormitory, said students' rooms are usually "so boring," but not the remade room.
"It really looks like a room at home. The (desk) lamps remind me of home. You put a bunch of colors together and it works," she told Corey.
She said Corey proved that big improvements are possible without spending a lot of money.
Blake Singleton, a rising C of C senior and an assistant customer service director in the dorm, marveled at the colors around the room.
"The splash of color is amazing compared to the bare white walls," he said.
Corey said her idea for a dorm makeover business came from talking to parents about sending their kids off to college. Parents of girls, in particular, believe their daughters should return at the end of each college day to a room somewhere near as nice as what they have at home.
Girls are very open to decorating. "Most of these girls have been decorating their own rooms since they were 8," Corey noted.
She said the company has had a great deal of response, especially from families in California and Pennsylvania.
According to information provided by the company, Dorm Suite Dorm in its first year offered six premium collections of college bedding and accessories created by Corey. Girls can register their wish list and preferences on the company Web site's Dream Registry, allowing family and friends to purchase gift certificates for graduation, birthday and going away gifts.
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