As students on campus were rushing around making plans with their loved ones before Valentines day, two students in particular were on a mission as they snuck around campus and peeked in dorm rooms to find out who had the sweetest dorm room on campus. Notes were scribbled down furiously as the habitants of ten dorm rooms rambled off everything cool their room had to offer. And after analyzing, critiquing, and contemplating, we can finally offer you a list of “The Top Ten Sweetest Dorm Rooms.”
Most Homey
The decoupage door of Fern 216 invites its occupants into a warm and calming room, with its hues of purple, blue and green. Subdued lighting softens the atmosphere of the space, as the fish tank bubbles soothingly beside the classy wall decorations. Freshmen Rachel Van Gorp and Karina Smidt have divided their room into three spaces: the living room, the office space and lofted beds. Other homey touches of décor include an old-fashioned window frame set up behind the couch and a mint green cabinet beside the fridge.
Most Artsy
Heemstra Radio echoes from the artsy home of Heemstra 315. Sophomores Andrew Stam, Nicholas Leither and Tyler McKenny have succeeded in making their room warmer and less stark than most male dorm rooms, with its newspaper covered walls and delicate vintage chandelier. Men’s ties curtain the windows and personal artwork decorates the space in a homey, eclectic sort of way, while still maintaining a masculine atmosphere. A large and bubbling fish tank welcomes visitors, while a stuffed wolf alarms them—lurking under the couch loft dubbed “the love nest.”
Best Vintage Vibe
With Norman Rockwell calendars covering, yes covering the walls of Fern 231, the vibe Senior Beth Mouw is attempting to portray in her room is “delicious organized chaos.” It has been cleverly mastered along with two rocking chairs for relaxing and studying, a fish named Luis and a golden lamp named Evelyn. While walking to the caf, onlookers can spot Mouw’s room from across the street and know exactly where Waldo is found.
Clean and Refreshing
Fern 325 is like a fresh breath of spring with its bright colors. Though LeAnn Johnson apologizes for its messiness, the room is nearly spotless. There is a distinctively girlie theme to the room; not only are there flowers, but also polka dots and babies. Johnson and roommate Greta Hayes have dressed up their closets with silky curtains in varying shades of blue, and their house plant “Franz” dwells on the top shelf of LeAnn’s desk. The girls have a vocabulary word each week, archived in fluorescent note cards on the far wall. They also have a “Bucket List” framed on the desk, including goals for cleaning and community.
Most Quirky
Hospers 216 is cluttered in a comfy kind of way; it’s something of a cross between the Burrow and a Bohemian boutique. Junior Anne Philo and sophomore Ericha Walden even have an owl theme. Sewing and art projects are scattered and hung around the lived-in space; a beautiful piece with fabric rosettes and button clusters hangs from the top bunk, and “Sylvester” the sculpture perches atop their home-constructed shelving unit, in which a tea set and a hermit crab hold residence. Old-fashioned hats adorn the shelves and walls, further enriching the quirkiness of their homespun environment.
Best Use of Space
Just like a child’s playground, Heemstra 9 hosts a fort that wraps around the entire room. This enables Jared White and roommate Bob Latchaw to enter their room and never touch the ground. That is until they feel the need to slide down their slide. That’s right, a slide in a college dorm room. It may be poorly lit like the entire hall of Heemstra, but using Beatles flags as light covers sets the mood lighting when White and Latchaw host Fortnight every fortnight.
Entertainment Center
The most striking feature of West Hall 105 is the Nintendo “Cruis’n World” arcade game. Hats hang on the antlers next to the game and posters decorate the walls. Juniors Will Schroeder, Alex Menning and Phil Hegeman also have three love seats and three-man stacked beds. The other focal point of the room is their plasma TV, in a self-constructed entertainment center, which also houses “Leslie” the statue. They have a coffee table between the love seat and TV, on which sit their computers. Their fish, “Peter”, “James”,“Lawrence” and “Will’s illegitimate,” overlook the scene from a bowl on a shelf of the entertainment center.
Calling on Constellation
Why keep your sleep time restricted to four walls when you could rest peacefully under a starlight sky? Juniors Jessica Hooper and Katherine Hielkima have attempted to recreate the beautiful outdoors with the walls decked out in glow in the dark stars and glow in the dark puzzles of nature’s most exciting animals. Because they live at the end of the hall, Stegenga 247 offers more room which has enabled them to arrange their furniture in ways that are completely unique when compared to other Steggy rooms.
Sweetest Statues
West Hall 311 welcomes visitors with a CD-covered ceiling, and a corner dedicated strictly to guitars and musical instruments. Turn around and you’re certain to see a samurai standing erect in the corner near the window. As with any room in West Hall, the arrangement of furniture makes for tight living quarters with a relaxing vibe. But seniors Cody Raak, Caleb Kester and Matthew Skelton will welcome any visitor with a smile.
Most Random Objects
Hospers 10 has never seen so many movie characters or wild animals at the same time. Freshmen Sarah Kugler and Amber Amundson have dedicated an entire corner of their room to stuffed animals from random movies or mini-statues of cats, llamas and pigs. On top of the corner of random objects, the walls and ceiling of Hospers 10 is covered in posters of movies and bands from the Beatles to Watchmen. This room appeases more than your eyes with the ever-present smell of coffee. Tying all these things together makes a room that matches the personality of the young women who inhabit it.