Dorm room designing is big business today.  Late summer, all the large discount stores like Target and K-Mart have special sections for dorm room decorating.  There is even an interactive web site to design your own dorm room with actual 3d plans from your college.  Stores like Pottery Barn Teen, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters cater to dorm dwellers.   It’s all so different now than it used to be.  When I went to college in 1972, I took my sister’s 3 year old pink bedspreads  (one for me and one for my roommate – hi Helaine!) and one print for the wall.    This summer, we sent a car load of Elisabeth’s things down to Boca, plus numerous boxes via Fed Ex.   I tried to put a sunburst mirror from Ballard Designs in the car, but Elisabeth had a screaming fit and refused to let me send it.  I tried, I really tried. Max was lucky and was able to paint his dorm room.  I’m sure he’ll have to paint over it when he moves, but so what?  It’s totally worth it.  

Elisabeth’s would have shot me if I painted her dorm room.   I love this gallery wall. Max even brought all his design books – I spy An Affair With A House by Bunny Williams and another book on Elsie de Wolfe. This dorm room is famous for being Edgar Allen Poe’s at the University of Virginia.   Great wood floors and beautiful antique furniture.   So unlike the dorm rooms of today. 1880s Princeton dorm room had beautiful wood furniture and cute curtains, along with wallpaper. Another cozy dorm room, along with a quilt and lots of pictures on the wall. I love this dorm room – notice the fishing net that holds all the pictures in it.   This room has wallpaper and trimmed out pillows.Notice all the bentwood chairs. This pretty dorm room has matching fabric on the chairs and table and valances.  Here is an historic photograph of James Meredith studying in his dorm room, while an FBI agent talks on the telephone.  In 1962, after then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy brokered the deal, Meredith was the first black student admitted to the University of Mississippi.  

Neatly dressed in a tie, his dorm room is dismal and quite depressing. This summer, My Home Ideas HERE decorated a dorm room.   I sent Elisabeth all these pictures – I had visions in my head of us making those burlap headboards together.   She thought this was really cute, but she had her own ideas for her dorm room. I thought this was another really cute dorm room. They must have liked the purse idea too!clarissa black pencil pleat lined curtainsLove the cow hide rug and the quilted stools.viva curtains vashiMake your dorm room look like a boutique.   beydoun curtains lebanonI can just see all the neatly folded clothes out on display.carnivale blackout curtains

Would you have to buy a wardrobe to match your decor?   T-shirts and jeans don’t look cute on hangers. I Suwannee had a “design a dorm room” contest on her blog HERE.   Lots of blogs made up inspiration boards of cute ideas for dorms.   I only hope their daughter’s let them decorate their dorm room. HGTV’s Rate My Space has over 600 dorm rooms featured.  Most are of girl dorm rooms.  blackout curtains briscoesAnd most girl dorm rooms are black and hot pink with either damask or zebra designs, or both.  curtains sabinillasThey also have either an Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe poster in them.  Another big trend is to cover white walls with sheets, construction paper, or posters.    Most of the Rate My Space rooms are beyond awful, but a few are cute. The typical pink and black – with both damask and zebra, along with the popular chandelier motif.

Another popular color scheme is turquoise with either black or brown.   Lots of damask prints and lots of faux chandelier chic. I thought this was cute – monogrammed poster board paper headboards. Look at the shade – a KWID inspired fabric!   I thought this was cute for a real life dorm room.  Great rug and futon. This one is really cute – a Tiffany gift box inspired bedroom.  Here’s what we started out with – a cross between a classroom and a hospital room.    Her room is huge with two giant walk in closets and its own bathroom and vanity area.  This is her half of the room.   I tried to get Elisabeth’s roommate to “match” but they bought their own bedding.  At least there is no carpet – just lovely gray linoleum.   Lots of beautiful furniture comes with the room. Elisabeth bought the “Chanel” lamp at More Than You Can Imagine” HERE in Houston.   She also bought online those cute vinyl baskets in brown with pink monograms.  

I found the small Dash and Albert rug at Olivine HERE.  I wanted to buy her a large Dash and Albert rug, but she insisted on a white Flokati rug, with matching pillows. The school was started in the 60s, so the buildings are mostly contemporary in style. This is a cute coffee shop on campus. Dark, sexy, smoldering, and filled with the promise of whispered intrigue. For those bold enough to go into the dark, the reward is stunning. Rooms that envelop with the richness of dark saturated walls can bring us to places that, well, frankly make us blush. From the rich damask walls reflected in a gilded mirror to evocative black orchid, these images are not for the faint of heart. All images via Pinterest. A panel behind a sink or stove that protects the wall from splashes. Ooh… if it were only that simple!  Originally this definition probably held true. Back splashes came about simply as a way in which to protect the wall behind our stoves, sinks, and bathroom vanities from the splatters of spaghetti sauce, dish soap, and the occasional misdirected squirt of  toothpaste.

In today’s world of design however, choosing a back splash for your kitchen or bathroom has to be one of the most daunting decisions in any design project. The options are unbelievably endless. Whether it be glass, ceramic, marble, mosaic, or simply a single slab of stone, with the images below and the collection on this weeks Pinterest board, we’re certain  that  “We’ve got your back (splash)”.Since the age of the Greeks and Romans, the bath has played an important role in the regeneration of the human soul.   The heroes of ancient times bathed in warm water so as to regain their strength and invincibility and palaces throughout Greece have been uncovered with elaborate ceramic bathtubs and areas that were solely dedicated to bathing. In Rome, imports from around the world gave awareness to ointments, incense, combs, and mirrors. I can’t even begin to imagine what secrets Cleopatra’s bathroom might have held. In modern times, the bathroom, restroom, powder room, or at home spa is, next to the kitchen, one of the most important rooms in our homes.

For this weeks “Put a Pin in It” we give you some of our favorite pins from our board, “Beautiful Bathrooms”. The insignia of confident, outside of the box designs, the Chevron draws you into a room and says; Whether in bold black and white or subtle tone on tone, this pattern is the focal point of classic design. Sometimes when you see a room, you can tell right away you are looking at the work of an amazing Interior Designer.  The proportions, colors, use of materials and finishes are just right, and somehow your brain just knows it.   Such is the case with this stunning master bath suite from Liz Williams Interiors in Atlanta, Georgia. How’s this for an entry?  The exquisite hand carved doors lead into a serene and airy space, bathed in natural light.  Spare and luxurious at the same time, the  smooth, veined marble chevron pattern draws you right to the generous  freestanding tub. Ready for a soak? The grey washed cabinets, Onyx counters and Vintage Glass splash are stunning! 

Notice the stainless steel leg caps and toe kick. It’s a wonderfully unexpected modern detail, something you can always find in Liz William’s designs. Don’t you love this shower?  The seamless transition from the marble flooring into the shower dispenses with the usual shower dam gives it an modern “spa” like feel.  Notice the way the glass mosaic wraps around the to the exterior of the shower walls  and up to the ceiling, another nice detail The iridescent marbleized glass mosaic is a perfect choice for the shower.  You can see how the morning  and evening light would shimmer of the slightly imperfect surface of the glass. Nothing like glass tile, sunlight and water to start your morning right! As the person who develops product for Walker Zanger,  it’s  always gratifying to see it used so beautifully as it is in this bath.  Thank you Liz for sharing this wonderful space with us! Walker Zanger product used: Helsinki Chevron in Silver Dusk, Vintage Glass in Onyx Lustre