VN photo by LO DODSON
BY MIJAI LEWIS / VN STAFF WRITER
At the start of college life, most students picture how their dream dorm room will look.
For sophomore Kyri Jackson, now an RA, the aim was chill vibes.
“Just a relaxed environment where I can sleep and study,” she said.
She used a lot of solid neutral colors: gray, white, black and Navy blue.
Jackson doesn’t like crazy patterns, believing they mess up your brain.
“Everything is solid, nothing distracting,” she said.
Her room has some simple small plants – and a feng shui feel.
There also is a little section featuring photos of family and friends as well as inspirational quotes.
Jackson’s mom and sisters helped her decorate when they came to drop her off.
But it took her another month before she was satisfied. She went back and forth to Target and Marshalls as she figured out what she liked and what was going to work – and not work – in her room.
Next year, she plans on having the same energetic vibe.
“I will probably have different pictures and different plants,” she added.
Madalyn Balon, a senior majoring in biology, said that this year she and her roommate went for a homier look.
“Something fun to come back to from classes – and cozier,” she said.
They have art work on the walls and a picture of Balon’s friends from high school.
There are plants in different spots. One is named Fernando.
They also have two small storage shelves and a futon between their beds.
You would think they don’t have a lot of room, but they do.
They have achieved their homey look hands down.
The colors they brought matched even though they hadn’t planned on it.
Balon said that the decorating took some hours even with the help of their RA.
“We had our desks in the hallway and we had our bed slammed up against the closet area,” she said.
They did all this just so they would know what would fit well in each area.
They also decided to have one of the desks at an angle in the corner, which proved to be a good decision.
As a freshman, Danielle Maxwell, now a junior and an RA, had a blue theme to her room.
Though she has gathered some stuff over the years, the room remains a cool blue.
“It’s like a second home,” she said.
Maxwell has two big stuffed animals that are soft enough to lie on. A couple others are displayed atop her fridge.
Healthy looking plants dot the room.
On the wall are paintings and inspirational quotes.
In the corner a lamp rests beside a comfy chair for relaxation and homework.
Maxwell said the look took a good day to create. She did it all on her own.
“I’m going to keep as much as I can,” she said. “I might have to take a picture and remember how things were set up.”
Alek Tasich, a third-year student who is an RA, explained how he tries to put bits and pieces in his room that represent his interests.
Hanging on the wall are license plates that came from his family’s auto-body shop.
There is also a Japanese bunny-rabbit tapestry that he got from a friend.
“I got a couple of random signs that I’ve taken from abandoned buildings in Detroit,” he noted.
His favorite says, “Positively no smoking.”
There are some posters from video games hanging up, too.
“I have the elephant tapestry pinned up by my bed because it looks pretty trippy and elephants are my favorite animal,” he said.
A collection of pop bottles from different countries, including Scotland, Lebanon and Singapore, are displayed prominently, with classic old-school bottles from Fanta, Sprite and Squirt.
Next year he plans on keeping the same look.
Loreal Salter-Dodson is a freshman studying communications.
Though she said she doesn’t really have a theme, she likes the color black.
“I have a black rug and black bed sheet,” she said.
Her room features a loft bed, which gives her enough space to put a comfortable chair beneath it.
Because her dorm room has white walls, she found a way to cover some of them.
“I’m a photographer so I got a whole lot of pictures up – of people I love, my inspiration and pretty photos,” she said.
When she is having a rough day, she just looks at her picture board and it makes her feel better.
When walking in her room, you feel a chill, relaxed vibe.
It took her two hours to organize the room with the help of her grandparents and mom.
She plans on switching up how she decorates her room next year.
She just doesn’t know yet what look she wants.
