Elevated (And Expensive) Dorm Room Aesthetics? There’s More to the Story

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Coordinated sheet sets, customized furniture, monograms and lighting schemes: College move-in day looks a little different than it used to.

When most of today’s parents packed up to head off to school, the dorm decor essentials could fit in a few boxes — at most.

That’s not the case anymore. Fueled by social media trends that make move-in day a performance rather than a simple step on the way to an education, the expectations for dormitory aesthetics have shifted significantly for some students.

A recent poll by RetailMeNot found that the average family spends around $600 on dorm essentials for a college student, but others are spending up to $20,000 on consultants and high-end finishes for a room that is a temporary residence.

For these Pittsburghers, preparation for fall classes is all over the spectrum, from Instagrammable spaces to basic spots to study and sleep. Kimberly Hairston-Neal, owner of The Modern Steward, says she sees some local students go all-out for their spaces while others choose simplicity.

“Social media has made students far more intentional about creating a space that feels like theirs, and I love that part,” she says.

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As an organization and relocation expert, Hairston-Neal spends a great deal of time helping people feel good about their space.

“There is something really meaningful about making a space your own, especially when you are living away from home for the first time,” she says.

She adds that national companies, among them Pottery Barn Teen, which has an entire line of college-friendly décor, have leaned into aesthetic student spaces in a big way, too. There are a wide range of products that are stylish and functional to make dorm living easier.

The issue, though, is when trends start to spiral out of control. Students are showing up with more and more stuff, much of which doesn’t survive the semester or make it to the next school year.

“The creativity is great,” Hairston-Neal says. “The sheer amount of stuff is where it gets tricky.”

It’s not just students that jump on the dorm décor craze — parents can get swept up in the social media algorithm, too.

Theresa Gallick calls herself a “reformed dorm décor-obsessed mom.” The Bellevue resident has launched both of her daughters, Libby and Zofia, into the world over the last few years.

When her eldest prepared to head off to college, Gallick joined a Facebook group of parents of incoming freshmen. When Gallick herself went off to college, she packed clean sheets, an old bedspread and some beloved posters.

“Clearly, times have changed,” Gallick says with a laugh. “I went down the rabbit hole of watching videos, reading articles, pinning Pinterest boards to keep up with the expectations of the mom of an incoming freshman.”

Her daughter chose some items, but mostly ignored mom’s throw pillows, coordinating dishes and curtains.

“I even called the university’s Residential Life office and got a schematic of the dorm bed so I could make slipcovers for the headboard and footboard,” Gallick says. “My van was packed to the gills for our trip, and it took four hours to set up the room.”

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While some of the dorm frenzy is driven by parents, many students are invested in creating a space they love in a healthy way.

“I was super nervous going to college,” says Memphis Szakelyhidi, a junior at The Ohio State University.

Heading from Pittsburgh to a city where she didn’t know anyone felt intimidating. That drove her to create a dorm room that felt cozy, personal and homey.

“This helped a lot during my freshman year, because I knew that no matter what kind of day I was having, my room was a safe and comfortable space I could go to,” she says.

Her room quickly became the floor’s hangout spot. Szakelyhidi upcycled thrifted storage containers and jewelry displays to wrangle all of her stuff in a stylish way. While she’s changed the design of her room from year to year, and moved from the dorms to a sorority house, she kept the focus on calm, functional design.

Not everyone is interested in achieving a certain dorm aesthetic. Casey Timpani says that when her son, Manny McGrail, headed off to the University of Pittsburgh a few years ago, it was hard to get him to care about the visuals.

“I ordered him cool art that he would like, and it was brand new in the packaging when he came home,” she says.

What her son did appreciate, says Timpani, is the effort put towards organization.

“At Pitt, he was the first to move in and picked the bed with a view of the Cathedral,” she recalls. “He was very excited. He was more organized because he had a roommate. Every time I saw a photo, his bed was made.”

While the decorative touches that put a dorm over the top are optional, Hairston-Neal says Timpani’s approach is a good one; yes, not everything was utilized, but the items Timpani purchased for comfort and function met her son’s needs.

“My advice is to invest in a solid foundation of durable, functional pieces that can survive multiple moves and still be useful after college too,” Hairston-Neal says.

Items like rolling under-bed storage, over-the-door organizers and washable rugs work for any space, for example.

“These are items that can come home during breaks, go to an apartment later and keep earning their keep,” Hairston-Neal says. “Skip the stuff that only looks good on day one, and invest in the things that actually make the room work.”

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By the time her oldest daughter finished her first year of college, Gallick says she learned to rein herself in.

“Taking the room apart was way less fun than moving her in,” she says. “When we got home, all of this décor ended up in my garage, where most of it still sits.”

Zofia ended up transferring to the Culinary Institute of America and now works for a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City without ever digging into that dorm décor again. Gallick admits she found herself slipping back into the same tendencies when her younger daughter, Libby, headed off to college recently — but she was able to check herself.

She had a little help.

Libby pushed back on her mom’s excitement by returning about 60% of what Gallick bought.

“College is very expensive, and you certainly shouldn’t get caught up in dorm décor expectations unless you can comfortably afford it,” says Libby, a sophomore at Xavier University. “Personally, I wanted simplicity. I hardly ever spend a lot of time in my dorm room except to sleep, so why get hung up on what it looks like?”

Gallick offers that advice to families making college plans that involve living away from home.

“I finally admitted to myself: Not my experience, it’s hers. I need to let her take the lead.’”

If you’re prepping for move-in day, Hairston-Neal says there are a few things your family can do to start strong.

“Décor is about the first impression. Systems are about Tuesday morning when you are running late and cannot find anything. I always encourage families to ask, ‘Does this item have a job?’”

A pretty basket that holds chargers has a job, but a stack of decorative pillows you have to move daily does not, says Hairston-Neal.

“The spaces that hold up are the ones where everything has a home, and nothing requires extra steps to access it,” she says.