Jamie Anderson

When some students move into their dorm room, they struggle to fit all their life’s possessions, two bunk beds, a small refrigerator and that new futon into a 160-square-foot space.

While putting together a dorm room can be tough, students do have a resource located just down the hall: the community assistant. These students can often make suggestions on arrangements they have liked or seen.

For example, one arrangement is the standard setup when both beds are lofted on opposite sides of the room with the dressers in the closets. A second idea would be bunking the beds with the dressers underneath to save space.

According to junior history education major Eric Nickelson, the arrangement that allows for the most furniture in a room is one where both beds are lofted in an “L” shape with desks and dressers underneath the beds.

“My bed is lofted and I have a futon under the bed that I sleep on,” said Calvin Watts, a Brown Hall CA and history major. “It is a very thick mattress so it’s more comfortable than my bed mattress.”

For students in quad rooms, that opens the door to even more ideas.

“I lived in a quad in Brown. We had all the beds in one room. In the other room, we had two futons, an orange chair, and a TV,” said Nickelson.

Students who play a lot of video games or watch a lot of TV may feel the need to bring a larger TV or entertainment center. But that might not be the best option for a dorm room, community assistants say.

“I don’t think it’s smart when students complain about space, and then buy a big TV or entertainment center and expect to fit it all in a dorm room,” said Watts. No matter a student’s current arrangement, the community assistants said that with a little creativity and rearranging, the possibilities for dorm design are endless.

#1.881560:1845618369.jpg:Cool Dorms 4.1.jpg: Freshman pre-pharmacy major Ashley Losing and her roommate created a cozy atmosphere for their room in Mathews Hall. :Ryan Robinson#1.881559:1967482781.jpg:Cool Dorms 5_edited-1.jpg:Freshman art major Brigette Nemec uses her laptop underneath a lofted bed in Brown Hall.:Ryan Robinson#1.881558:277400925.jpg:Cool Dorms 2_edited-1.jpg:A comfortable-looking dorm room in Brown Hall. :Ryan Robinson