apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well, it is small.

well it is small..

Huh?

What's up w/ the comments being diabled?

My reaction was "Huh?" when I browsed through the pictures. And then I read it carefully and realize this might be a college dorm room. Okay, make more sense. It does have the "anthropology style" but geeze!! What a mess!!! Things are everywhere and I just could imagine all those antique smell mixes with the air diffuser stick fragrance...

why it's posted exactly?

I love it! So cute. I just graduated last June and I think what you've done with your tiny space is great - the color and the furniture are awesome.

I love the clotheslines!

Very nice dorm room! Why is everyone so harsh on the young people?

I went to Vassar, I remember those rooms.

Get that stuff off the pipes! I'm telling your student fellow!

I don't get it -- it looks like college dorm rooms across the country. small, cramped and cluttered with a lot of unnecessary bric a brac...

these comments above reminded me why I get to hate deco magazines blogs waspy & judgemental Had to create an account to comment ...etc...it is posted coz its cute and when this young lady gets a bigger place maybe she'll do wonders with an amex and a cleaning lady. For me I see all the relevance this post as in using small space and makin it a cute CLEAN nest.
Ciao ladies

agree with biba, i think this is obviously posted for a reason. yes, it is tiny, and of course it is crowded, someone is living in a room that is 7 feet by 10 feet with all their things. i don't think it looks like any other dorm room across the country at all, if people don't have nice things to say, maybe they shouldn't comment.

I think some of you haven't seen a typical dorm room in a long while...there's not even any ikea that I can tell. And flowers! And curtains! And nary a an unframed poster in site. Nice job.

Wow, looking into that room took me down memory lane. I instantly knew it was one of Vassar's quad dorms. Nice use of space and I love the orange and white pillow.

P.S. Vassar is in NY, not NJ.

I think it's funny because she says a small space helps her declutter but all I see is clutter. I don't get it? There's stuff everywhere. Nice laundry basket.

That's fun...but isn't Vassar in NY, not NJ? Or are there two Vassars?

i really like it this way. but that's what i always told my mother when she told me to clear up my room too.

Uhh...this is not a typical dorm room. Yes, it's small, and the university-provided furniture is (presumably) awful. But she's doing the best she can, and the results are colorful and darling.

Anyway, I figure that if a dorm room is just cluttered and crowded, rather than junky and gross, you're doing a good job....

okay, I usually don't post on this website, but I can't help but saying something.

This person is probably 18 years old, and all of you guys are giving her a ridiculously hard time. Commenting on her laundry basket?? It's a laundry basket! And her room is absolutely tiny, it is the width of a twin bed!!

I think that yes it is cluttered, but cluttered doesn't mean messy.

The dorm room is not typical at all, and it's a nice use of space and color, you guys should stop judging so much, if you don't like it, you don't have to comment and make her feel bad about the space she lives in. She obviously did something great with her room, or else it wouldn't have been posted.

all and all...be nice or don't post.

THANK YOU !! THANK YOU !!! ...for having stuff! I finally get to see a REAL person who lives in a REAL house with REAL Stuff. Sometimes, at night I lie awake in my insomnia state and I just look around at all the s**t I own and feel like a slob because oh no, those people on AT they dont have deodorant or hair products or magazine scraps hanging out spewed across their tables (my gosh, something other than a carefully arranged photo shoot/magazine shot ready home).

It's nice to see someone who is actually showing us their real setup. Having real stuff doesn't always = clutter.

That's way more awesome than my dorm room ever was!

It may not qualify as a "home" because it has no kitchen or bath. But it certainly IS a home, for Taylor.

A tiny bit of a room has to hold everything near and dear, without new additions, new built-ins, and be not just a place to sleep, but a place to work/study. To entertain. To relax. To show off bits and pieces of personality.

Since there's no big space, or other rooms, check it out.
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/042908EastSCCTaylor/floorplan/medium

THREE SURFACES to display your entire life and your own meaning of life. One of which is a school desk with mismatched chair, that obviously can't be covered with a lot of personal items:
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/042908EastSCCTaylor/3/medium

That leaves ONLY the dresser...:
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/042908EastSCCTaylor/1/medium

...And the small nightstand...:
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/042908EastSCCTaylor/2/medium

...To have any kind of display. There is some space on top of the shoes:
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/042908EastSCCTaylor/8/medium

What you see there on the left edge is the edge/end of the desk.

No, she doesn't get to put up shelves. So things have to be stored somewhere and the best bet is under the bed, which is often underutilized. She has baskets and just what many homes and apartments have, a laundry basket.

Oh yes, she does have to store laundry items in there, as I'm pretty sure they don't give you free pick-up laundry service. So her soaps and softeners all have to be stored there too.

There's no water there. So if she WANTS to have water or beverages in her room, she has to find a place to store her cup or mug or glass.

All those things that we with "full" apartments take for granted, like our own bathroom, she has to share.

And lack of funds and the ability to redo the space with built-ins hasn't stopped Taylor from doing EVERYTHING with the space she can.

Therefore, I expect to see Taylor being a serious contender for Small, Cool contestants in the future. Dorm room training is serious stuff, it's like boot camp.

Give her a few hundred square feet and the option of choosing her OWN desk, and you just wait and see what she'll do with it.

Because everyone knows it takes a LOT of guts to enter Small, Cool or to even post on this site. Oh yes...

She'll be back.

You didn't pare down! You included vignettes! You...

Just kidding. Cute post!

cute desk!! man, i took for granted how nice and big my dorm was.. you've done a great job.. super cute.. and i love your desk.. did i already say that?? :) and your sisters frame is adorable.. reminds me of an old pic i have of me and my sis.. well done.. ignore these other snobs.. u have a cozy home

Why isn't this considered a "Home"? Because it's small?

She lives there 9 months of the year (maybe over the summer too?), she pays rent and receives mail there - So what's the big deal?

And for a 7'X10' dorm room, I think she's done a great job making it cozy - all without using any IKEA!

yes Vassar is in NY but I would guess she is from NJ and picks up items when she is home on breaks. I think it looks great. I have seen a ton of junky, messy, cookie cutter dorm rooms in my time.

PS. Others are right she shouldn't have things hanging from the pipes. Lets home none of the hall staff looks here and recognizes it.

In MOMMIE DEAREST, Joan Crawford (as played by Faye Dunaway) walks into Cristina's village apartment, looks around and says, "I had forgotten what it was like..."

My sentiments exactly.

I like how you have the curtain pulled back. It gives the place a casual look.

Study hard, graduate and go out and make tons of money.
You are so lucky to be young, young, young!

Good on you, Taylor!

so much more pulled together than any of my dorm rooms ever were! well done!

P.S. For the naysayers:

What exactly would you all do, if faced with the same challenge?

You get the desk, the chair, the dresser, and the bed to work with in a 7' x 10' room.

You don't get to paint, put up shelves.

Everything you want to keep has to fit in that room.

Including all your bathroom toiletries and cosmetics and hair styling things and razors. All the "girl supplies" too have to be stored in one's room.

And all your laundry needs, such as a place to put dirty laundry, and your soaps and things to wash clothes.

You won't be needing your kitchen items at all, as you can't cook there, and no, you can't bring in your coffee grinder and make fresh coffee in the morning (gasp). All eating will be done out, except for maybe snacks or meals you can transport home.

You'll be doing some serious work there, studying, reading, etc.

And you will have an extremely limited budget.

So, what is it that folks here would do with that space?

Makeover ideas are swell, but only if someone else is paying for them. Ha! Oh, and start with my place first, if you all are buying.

love this...great job, and bonus points for creativity

Beautiful!

I too like the fact that the space looks lived in. We should create space that we enjoy living in, and not just great to look at. What's the difference between that and spreading clutters, as long as the space is not being used?

pfft whatever, just because she's young doesn't mean she gets a break! I'm young too and when I lived in the dorms we had a 10x10 room for TWO people, our closet was a pole on the wall behind the entry door and we still had less stuff laying everywhere than this place. Sorry I also didn't notice the 'colorful' its kinda drab, she could have at least gotten a bright rug instead of brown. Bins under bed could have all been the same and covered in cool paper or painted. I mean there really isnt much done here at all except throw all her stuff in a tiny room. I wish I had taken pictures of our dorm rooms, because I've seen many smaller cooler than this.

I wonder what will come next when people are finished worshiping at the Ikea alter or how people would cope with not having money to burn on new, modern furnishings.

I think this room looks cluttered, but homey and has a lot of well-situated decorative elements that are uncommon in dorm rooms. The furniture is great. I love the desk, dresser, and window treatment.

Good use of space Taylor. There are a lot of people in your position where money is so tight that trendy furniture is out of reach. But ya still gotta live well in your small space. Elevating the bed is brilliant.

For a small space, there are layers of details to catch on multiple viewings. I also like the "welcome" main photo, showing keys in the door lock, a(n awesome) purse/tote flung on the bed, and the drape drawn back so it's not like stepping into a closet.

My dorm room in grad school was about that size, so I understand the challenge. Taylor's storage under the bed is brilliant. I love how the desk lamp is a bit elevated due to its design, freeing up surface space by not having a wide base.

The "Life" framed image would keep me from feeling claustrophobic.

So sweet! Thanks for the nostalgia, too. I love the old woodwork and door. Hell can be a cinder block walled dorm, room, but this room has cozy charm. And I love, love, love the floral prints on the coverlet. Is that a one-of-a-kind, Taylor, or did you buy it somewhere> (I want one.)

Aulaire, the quilt is probably from Anthropologie, she says her sister works there and gets a discount. Check out some of the designs here:
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/category.jsp?popId=SLEEPING&selectedProductSize=&navAction=poppushpush&navCount=2&pushId=SLEEP_BEDDING&itemCount=-1&id=SLEEP_BEDDING_QUILTS&selectedProductSize1=

They have that kind of old-fashioned crazy quilt look that is very appealing. Nostalgic.

And as they use big chunks of color, just rotating your quilt can give you different colors facing out.

These items, however, are WAY out of my budget. And unless sister's discount was like 95%, it wouldn't help me.

Here's the great pillow that is shown on the bed:
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-8342990267067209870&id=770043&parentid=DECOR_PILLOWS_GRAPHIC&pushId=DECOR_PILLOWS_GRAPHIC&popId=DECOR_PILLOWS&sortProperties=&navCount=80&navAction=poppushpush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=tom

This room has more character, personality, style and integrity than most of the apartments shown on AT - its a space with numerous restrictions on what she can do to it and yet she has still managed to impart her own personal style on it - she hasn't styled it to appeal to the AT readers and made it a clone - she has filled it with things she loves and carefully chosen items that are both practical for her current needs and within her budget and are also stylish - in short, this room has SOUL - keep up the good work Hon - I LOVE the bedspread!

Decorating a dorm really is a huge challenge, your entire life has to fit into that little shoebox! I think she did an amazing job.

Yay for recognizing dorm rooms as the ultimate Small Space! Ah college, where you have to make room without being able to nail anything to the wall. That is some seriously nice furniture for a standard dorm.

And listen folks- when you're in college, that's about as tidy as you can get when you're given an 8 x 10 room.

For a dorm room, I think it looks great!

very cozy - a perfect nest to relax in at the end of the day. we need more examples of real rooms in this contest. i admit, this is not my style of decorating, but there is no need for the negativity. love the vignettes - you're giving me ideas for my own photos. that's what i look for in these contests - inspiration. thank you for posting your SMALL space!

Stuff, stuff, stuff. Lots of interesting stuff in your place. Looks like a typical dorm room; it's the real thing. Good job.

I'm speaking from personal experience when I say that these dorm rooms yield A LOT more design potential than what's shown here... I had to put up with the same linoleum floors, white-washed plaster walls, oak woodwork and hanging pipes -- so trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

I don't want to sound too harsh, but I just hold my fellow Vassar peeps to a higher standard. ;)

Since this is a college dorm room, lets not forget that Taylor's probably pretty young. Not everyone is born with a sense of style (my best friend was, I definately wasn't!), and I'll bet that a good portion of her time up til now has been focused on getting into college, and now getting thru college to graduation.

Let's give her some time to define and develop a look she likes, and hope she checks back in here when she has the time and money to do her own thing in a space where she has more freedom to make some changes.

It's much more good-looking than the dorm rooms we had in college, and I think she's made it very homey.

Cute! The desk looks like a cozy place to study, with that sweet little lamp. Love the bedspread. Now I'm having college-dorm flashbacks...

love the desk area

Do your thang, girl!! Kudos to you.
This is sooooo much cooler than what we did in college. Great job!

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