Viewing Before & After photos is so much fun and inspiring.

And what better time to post dorm room transformations?!

Every dorm room I've ever seen has the same stark, bare blandness.
Today's photos show some very inviting alternatives.

Before:

After:

 Source

 This transformation shows that it's possible to
take a large white box and make it livable:

Source

Well, it is a blank slate:

 After:

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Group hug!


Here's an Ole Miss dorm room that received

The Ingenious Freshman Treatment:

Ole Miss Rebels are quite creative, aren't they?

Link


Wall decals can really dress up a room:

Source


Most colleges are fairly strict about what you can and cannot
do to a room - usually no painting the walls, anything you
put up must come down at the end of the school year, and no
permanent structural changes.  That doesn't leave much room
for individualism or unique decor, does it?


This Resident Adviser's single room is a perfect
example of Bohemian Chic:

Source


This room utilizes every ounce of space:
Before                     After

Source


This dorm room went from bleak:

 to sleek:

Who would have thought that this skinny, little
room could have such a HUGE personality?

This room has an interesting shape:

Okay, I get it - this is a guy's dorm room.  With the mantle feature
it could have been so much cuter but it's still better than the 'before.'


Here's a guy's dorm room that uses color to the best advantage:

Link
That's blue tape on the desk drawers!  It completely
transforms its appearance and peels off at the end of the year.


Surprise!  Here's a 'girl's version' of the same
exact room style and furniture:

Link
What fun to see the different treatments of the same room.


The top floor of a fraternity house held bunk beds and dressers.
The members replaced them with custom made mattress platforms
that have storage underneath.  What an improvement.
Before:

After:

Before:

 After:

Link

Unfortunately, I don't have the 'before' photos of these
next few rooms but the 'after' shots are adorable:
(seen one dorm room 'before', seen 'em all!)

Source

 Super cute repurposing of shutters as headboards.

Link
The N.Y.U. dorm room, above, looks so chic and sophisticated.

Removable tape was used on the wall to 'frame'
photos on family and friends:

Link


I absolutely LOVE this idea:

Cover one wall with huge squares of multi-colored construction paper or fabric.


A simple bookcase makes the perfect headboard:

Link

Dorm rooms are so drab and devoid of personality.
Before:

After:

But they don't have to be!


These sweet girls are a little under-whelmed with their dorm room:

Source
. . . . . until their moms got hold of it!
Aren't those bookcase headboards terrific? 


Scandinavian dorm rooms have a lot in
common with American ones:

Link


This chest of drawers was painted when the owner's daughter went to college:

 And then repainted it when the son went to college:

Link

You know me so well - I do save the best for last!

Classy!

I hope these projects will inspire you or someone you know
who is sending a child to college.  Have a great weekend!