Art Van: We've Got The Look Blog

Let’s face it. Most of us haven’t been inside a dorm room for… well, let’s just say a number of years. So how can you make sure your daughter doesn’t commit a freshman faux pas before classes even start? Well, we went straight to the source for the latest in dorm decorating: Jessica, a savvy sophomore at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Here are some of the must-have items decking out her dorm:

• Gigantic wall stickers are very trendy—the big dots, the cute words, the glitter stars, etc.
• Polka dots show up at one point or another in everyone’s room, or wonderfully obnoxious busy patterns in outrageous colors. Basically, you walk into someone’s room and it should visually punch you in the face
• A cute vintage poster is absolutely necessary—Audrey Hepburn or the iconic 1945 V-Day photograph of a sailor and nurse smooching in Times Square

Jessica also mentioned that a lot of girls in her dorm take the high-end and trendy advertisements from magazines like Vogue and Elle, and make their own collage over the year until they have a wall of high-gloss lace and couture.

Mini fridges and microwaves are still required basics, but it seems like each girl aspires for a little more. As Jessica so aptly put it, “I think room decor develops with credit status, so check back in a few years.”