Dorm Decor

heck out dorm rooms during the first week of college: They're usually sterile and devoid of personality with the standard-issue beds, bureaus, desks and chairs.

A few weeks later, though, an amazing transformation occurs and the carbon-copy dwellings metamorphose into colorful expressions of individuality.

A recent tour of CC dormitory rooms reflected eclectic personalities: blinking plastic flamingo and palm tree lights were strung around walls and windows; posters and batik wall hangings adorned walls and ceilings; battered stuffed animals competed for space with skis, snowboards, golf clubs, bikes and snowshoes.

Televisions, stereos and VCRs were de rigueur. In 19-year-old Tricia Brock's room, a laptop computer and a portable sewing machine sat side by side at her desk.

Some students went further than others customizing their rooms. Lindsey Whitehurst, 18, and her roommate often are in the room at the same time and found it difficult to open both folding closet doors. So they took the doors down to use as a makeshift table, and hung a curtain rod with a batik bedspread over the closet.

"You can do anything you want, as long as the room ends up the same way as it started," Whitehurst said. "I'm just hoping we can get the closet doors back on."

Ben Aase, 18, from St. Paul, Minn., opted for a "Jimmy Buffet, Grateful Dead, beer sort of theme" in his room. He's especially proud of his $18 coffee tables, a real find at Goodwill.

By browsing through the Salvation Army store and yard sales, Max Minnerop, a geology student from New York, picked up a sofa, table and chair for a pittance.

The students use whatever they can find to give their room a homey, individual feel. Says student Maire Minnis, surveying her and roommate Lauren Saucy's room, "We really like out $8 yard-sale lamp and genuine imitation Persian carpet."

This article by staff writer Leslie Weddell is reprinted with permission of The Colorado Springs Gazette.

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