Students get creative with small spaces

Between brick walls and white ceiling tiles, students at the University of South Dakota have room to express their individuality by decorating their dorms.

The large freshman class that has caused the dorms to overflow has taken creativity to a new level.

“My room is just a big jumble of things, not really a style at all,” first-year Kristie Appley said. “I just thought it would make me feel a little more like home.”

Appley did not coordinate with her roommates when designing their dorm room, unlike first-year Kasey Klatte, who decided with her roommate that they would decorate their room in black, white and pink. They matched bedspreads, and even splattered a white curtain black and pink.

“When we got here it was pretty boring. Me and my roommate like color and wanted to add a little bit of pizzazz to our room,” first-year Morgan Solomon said. “My roommate had curtains in her room at home. We thought we would bring them here and hang them on our wall.”

Behind their beds, they have two separate white curtains with pastel ribbons hanging down to the floor. Connected to the bottom of her lofted bed, Solomon has purple conical lanterns.

For other students, rooms were decorated to remind them of home as opposed to being stylish.

First-year Zack Schulte brought his guitar, which is displayed in the corner of his dorm, so he can practice every night. Band posters cover his walls, and underneath his lofted bed is a comfortable chair.

“It makes me feel at home. It makes me feel like I’m my own person,” he said.

First-year Kelsie Vonhollen is one of many students who invested in light-weight, collapsible furniture that she can store things in.

“It’s small in here,” she said. “We try to make it all functional.”

A new addition this year was the introduction of floor themes in North Complex. Each floor in Richardson and Olson Halls embody a different district from “The Hunger Games,” complete with an upcoming “Reaping.”

Mickelson and Beede Halls have floors themed after movies. The first floor in Beede Hall has a princess theme, the second floor has a “Finding Nemo” theme, the third floor is simply movies and the fourth floor is themed after the movie “Tangled.”

Solomon, who lives on the fourth floor in Beede Hall, enjoys the “Tangled” theme on her floor. Wanted posters for Flynn Rider are displayed on walls and doors, along with reminders to bring along a trusty frying pan.

“We have had a lot of people comment on the door tags,” Solomon said. “Everyone likes them.”

Reach reporter Braley Dodson at [email protected]