On-campus housing provides the opportunity for many students to decorate their space for the first time without limitations. Vanderbilt’s residential requirement, though frustrating for some, ensures that almost all students live very close to each other, thus encouraging the creation of welcoming rooms for others to see. It can be challenging to decide how to arrange furniture and how to turn a dorm into a home. Whether you’re still looking to decorate this year or planning ahead for the next, these rooms can hopefully spark ideas and provide insight on where to live next.
Sophomore Caroline Huntress uses her Lupton House layout to maximize space and create a clean, organized look.
As the only male room in this guide, sophomore Ollie Tuff’s Lupton House dorm proves that attention to detail is important for everyone.
“It’s a different layout which I like because it feels more spacey than other Branscomb dorms,” Tuff said.
Extra items like plants, chairs and wall art make a big impact on the traditionally sterile Branscomb space. Small details are expectedly key in turning a room into a home.
“Lighting was huge for me so I’ve filled the room with as many lamps as possible,” Tuff said.
A Stapleton House double room with matching beds and walls covered in various decorative pieces. (Photos courtesy of Jackie Seifert)
This final Branscomb room in Stapleton House takes details to another level where sophomores Jackie Seifert and Grace Timons worked to fill as much free space as possible with decorative elements.
“We made our room feel like home by decorating it with the people and things we love, and our goal was to cover every inch of the wall,” Seifert said. “Still working on it.”
Similar to Tuff’s room, the creative use of lighting, such as the colored lights, allows for a comfortable feel within the room. Organized, enclosed storage ensures clutter does not detract from the intentional decorations. The wall art and decorations reflect ideas that are personal and important to them, which is the most crucial piece of making a space feel like your own.
Overall, coordination and attention to detail again create a room that reflects the personality of those who live there, which can be a difficult task. Other items like guitars, matching coffee makers and a Coca-Cola fridge combine decoration with functionality, allowing for the most efficient use of a small space.
Beyond Branscomb, Highland Quad offers apartments that include living rooms and kitchens, providing additional opportunities for personalized design beyond the typical bedroom. Sophomore Annabella Koen’s Lewis House apartment takes advantage of that space with an inviting, furnished feel throughout. The neon sign, natural light and decorative shelving provide plenty to admire in all directions.
“We’ve filled the wall by our TV with a collection of decorations and posters we’ve gathered over the years,” Koen said. “Every time we’re in the space, seeing these pieces reminds us of good memories and brings us a lot of joy.”
Those memories are potentially the most important piece of a room. Moving rooms each year marks a change for students who may have lived in the same room at home for much of their lives, making dorm decorations valuable for celebrating memories and maintaining a sense of continuity. Equally important to these decorations is the physical layout, where a simple rearrangement of provided furniture can open up additional space.
“We also customized the room layout, by forgoing the traditional parallel bed arrangement which is common in Lewis doubles,” Koen added. “Instead, we opted for an L-shaped configuration, which gives each of us our own wall as a headboard and maximizes the floor space, making the room feel more open.”
Another room emphasizes decorations as the key to an inviting room. Sophomore Ariana Sierra makes her Moore College room warm and colorful.
“The majority of my items are from Target and it did take a while to set up the decorations, but at the end it was definitely worth it,” Sierra said.
The first time walking into an on-campus room often shows how plain they originally are. The colors and layers in Sierra’s room are a perfect example of what it takes to turn that plain room into a comfortable space. Overall, the recurring themes in room decorations are coordination, lighting and most importantly, items that inspire joy and that residents genuinely like seeing. The blank canvas of a dorm room each year provides an opportunity for self-expression, with countless ways to make it uniquely yours.
