Natwerk Designs

Dorm: Storage, Chairs, Mattress Pad, etc?

I'll be a college freshmen next year, and I'm looking for a little advice with dorm decorating: -Storage: I've seen stackable drawers, containers under a raised bed (what kind of containers?), something that hangs over a door and stores shoes, an ottoman you can store stuff in, etc. What do you think works best? -Chairs: I want to replace the desk chair in my dorm room. Any suggestions? -Mattress Pad/topper: I was considering this: http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Innovations-2-Inch-Memory-Mattress/dp/B002NEG15E/ What do you use? Any advice is helpful. I'm the oldest in my family so I don't have any siblings who have gone through this before. Thanks in advance! I was told by several people in the building I am living in that they replaced their desk chairs and recommended doing so because the ones they give us are terrible. Hence my question. I'm not trying to redecorate, just taking advice.

Public Comments

1. Try your best to make use of what's there and offered before trying to change things. College is expensive so that $50 dollars for the mattress topper thing would be better spent going to your meal plan. You can't buy a new mattress or desk chair because you'd have to store the old one that's already there and you wouldn't have a place to store it. Dorm mattresses/chairs/desks aren't the best but it's the dorms so everyone makes do. They serve their purpose. The room will have a closest and space in the closet but I would suggest stack able storage containers to save space. Not all dorms have the raised bed, that's only a certain style of dorm bed. There's no need for the shoe hanger, it just takes up space and you won't wear most of those shoes anyways.
2. Storage: depends on the set up of your room. I use mostly under the bed containers since I'm never sure of the exact arrangement of the room or what exactly my roommate will want to use. Chairs: a cheap comfy one. My roommate bought her chair at Wal-Mart for $15. You can't completely get rid of your assigned chair though. If your RA comes in and your chair isn't there, they can write you up. Just keep it in the corner. Mattress pad: Just pick a cheap one. $52 is a lot for a piece of foam. I use an egg carton mattress pad and it works just fine. Unless you've got some crazy back problems, find a cheaper option. Keep in mind that you will be hauling this stuff back and forth for the next few years. Stuff can happen in the dorm (a friend knocks something over, your roommate gets drunk, the sprinklers goes off, etc) , so you don't really want too much stuff that is irreplaceable or very expensive.
3. For storage, wicker baskets can add a nice decorative touch to a dorm room. For mattress pads or toppers, it really depends on your comfort requirements. If you want to make your bed a bit softer, choose egg crate toppers. If you want more support to your body, you can try memory foams or latex foam toppers.
4. Melody, remember there are all sorts of mattress toppers available, and for a variety of reasons. Here's a link to a great handyman site that has a section devoted on furniture, and specifically a resourceful page on how to go about getting the right mattress topper (be it foam or otherwise): http://yourhandymanzone.com/Your_Handyman_Zone_How_To_Pages_Home_Improvement_Zone_Furniture_Mattress_Buy_Mattress_Topper.htm Hope this helps! . Source(s): The Internet. Just whatever is available online and what I have on my mind, including the inclusion of relevant sites, like the one cited that came into existence thanks to my creative efforts, which is intended to be useful. Helping people get the relevant info they want is great.