Boys’ Dorm Room Inspiration Boards

Hi, Friends! Hope your Monday is going well. 🙂 I’m just getting around to sharing on the blog about some of the items we bought for my oldest son, Wesley’s, dorm room ( if you follow me on Instagram, you have seen posts about items and some inspiration boards already ). Last month, my first born son, went to college. Yes, I have really dreaded that separation for most of his senior year, but shopping with him and including him in the prep process this Summer made it better. Our Summer was a little uncertain and nerve wracking because we realized the dorm deposit never got sent in. OH BOY! We stayed on the process, and thankfully, he got a dorm room, and an awesome roommate, I might add! Loved his Mom and brother, too. We were beyond thankful because we had been praying alot for this to happen. ( THE SUMMER OF STRESS 2014 🙂 ) We didn’t want him to be a commuter and miss out on the whole college experience  ( even though it’s only 30 minutes or a little less from our home ) in this darling little quaint town of Dahlonega, Georgia. The University is nestled in the North Georgia Mountains, and is a beautiful campus. It was originally a military school and the town was the site of the first major gold rush in the United States in 1828. ( thus the gold roof pictured below ) Anyway, just a little background as to why I was very excited about him living up at the college!!

The guys’ dorm hall was already decorated with Star Wars posters and art drawn by Ben, the cool R.A. Each guy had their name and their roommate’s name written in Star Wars graphics on door signs ( sorry, my pic was blurry ). I guess that’s an International Language with guys? Do you speak The Force?! I know the men in my house all love it…..

 

And Lane’s sweet Mom, Melissa, has already sent the boys a care package- Star Wars themed & ALL!! How great is this? The guys loved it.

Here is the original inspiration board for Wesley and his roommate’s room:

We based what we bought on the fact that Wesley’s roommate, Lane, had a black comforter. That was actually very helpful, and helped me look for bedding that would look masculine/neutral and help me begin to visualize other things for their room. With college students, needs trump looks to begin with. Proper space management, as well as dual function items are not only helpful, but necessary. We started with a mini stainless steel refrigerator, industrial lamp, and black Keurig machine ( vital for all those late night studies…wait, kids don’t use NoDoz these days?! ) Those were the room’s “foundation” pieces that guided me to choose the art and rug for their room. Now you may say, it’s a dorm room, why in the world would you add artwork and a rug?! They are guys, you say. What do they care? And you would be 90% correct until I showed them this:

Umm, yeah. That art. They not only liked it, they requested it. Like several times. I was going to try and DIY it to save money, but then I realized I start with a client this week, and am painting and recovering some chairs for an upcoming Dwell With Dignity installation. No time anywhere, so I ordered it here. Smart Modern Art is a European based company, so of course I had to pay more for shipping and handling, not to mention convert pounds to U.S. currency, but I’m excited for this artwork to arrive! Each section is 20 x 20 and there is this blank, boring white wall in between the guy’s beds. I’m thinking it’s gonna be amazing!! ( hopefully the 3M wall hanging supplies for sawtooth hangers will actually stick to the walls- we hung curtains using the 3M hooks and they kept falling…Wesley and Lane said that they have fallen a few times, but they’ve managed to stay put lately! That would be a nice wakeup call, wouldn’t it?! ) lol

I found this pillow for Lane’s bed at IKEA. Y’all may remember Wesley’s studious deer pillow we found?

Haaa!! I just couldn’t resist because Wesley has glasses like the deer has on, and he just laughed and threw it in the shopping cart. Hmmm, not sure how that impulse buy is going to look with they Mighty Storm Trooper wall art. Didn’t really think that one through, did I?! Wesley would have no part in the deer head statues, so I bought them for a future project. Too good to pass on, right?!

We added curtains for some extra privacy and warmth, but as I mentioned, had a tough time keeping the 3M hooks attached. I think if I had sanded the area lightly, they would have worked better, but my son kept reminding me I couldn’t mess up the walls….lol 

And do y’all see the ugly white roller shade? I bought some removable Easy Stripe 3″ khaki wall tape to add to those babies, but so far I have gotten a big NO. Ugh. I think it would add SO much more to have khaki horizontal stripes going down the length of the shades! I always make sure I ask Wesley and Lane before I plan anything for their room, but I’m just a big believer in the fact that the aesthetics of a room can help the dweller(s) function more optimally and can enhance the quality of a person’s life. I also think an attractive well functioning space encourages a person of any age take pride in their surroundings. I really don’t think you can underestimate that. Even with college guys. 🙂

 I’m usually a long term thinker when it comes to rooms though. Can they use it next year? In another space? Eventually in an apartment? And as far as the Star Wars art and the rug: yes, yes, yes. Thus, the investment. The other things are easy to change.

Finally, I have some inspiration boards I need your help with! Mohawk Carpet was so nice to email me to review an area rug, and I thought this opportunity would be a great one for the guy’s dorm room to complete the look of the space. Originally, I loved this rug with the room….

 

…but it has been discontinued 🙁 Boo!!

Moving on…..

OPTION #1

This is called the Mohawk Versaille Tangled Rope Rug. Pretty cool, huh? This is OPTION 1.

OPTION #2

 

 

Sorry the image is a little blurry, but this is the Mohawk Cachet Honeycomb Shitake rug. I like it, too! I just cannot tell if the tan is a tan or a green, at this point. I have emailed inquiring….

And last, but not least, Option #3…

OPTION #3

 

This Mohawk rug is called the Terrace Freeport rug. although it’s an indoor/outdoor rug, so I’m wondering about comfort? As far as easy to keep clean, I think it would be a hit for college guys.

I think they need a few really large throw pillows or cushions that they can store under their beds or on their beds when they’re not using them. It would give them some extra seating when friends drop by. One more thing that Wesley took from home that is really cool is an industrial aged box similar to this one:

Source

It was my husband’s at Georgia Tech and is a more rectangular/longer shape and the wood is darker aged, but it makes for really great looking storage for food, blankets, books, etc. I’d like to find another one for the other side of their room.

So…which rug option do you think looks best in the guy’s dorm room? Option 1– the black tangled rug, Option 2– the honeycomb rug, or Option 3– the square/grid on black background rug? I would LOVE love to hear your thoughts!!

Have a terrific rest of the week!! Thanks for stopping by today 🙂 

xo