Goth my Dorm

[paleghost]

Ok, very soon I will be leaving the comfort of suburban West Virgina to the far distant land of suburban Ohio. I spent a night in the dorm there...the walls are whiter than John Stuart at a Michal Bolton concert. I know if I stay there for the next six months I will go insane.

So I'm asking you guys what I can do to make my dorm room a little less mundane. thoughts?

[Breathless Horror]

Posters muthafucka! there's even sites that help you make multi-sheet of paper posters out of images online. I'd tell you to take drugs and paint on the walls, but they probably wouldn't appreciate it.

[Tam Li Hua]

This book has a lot of inexpensive, easy ways to goth up any space.

Also you may want to check out this site for further ideas. =)

Are you planning to just be there for six months? Or are you planning to be at this school for a while? Do you know who or what kind of roommate you're getting? How big will your part of the room be? [These are all things to take into consideration. For instance, if your roommie is extra-sensitive to smoke like I am, you may not want to layer the place with candles.]

Breathless Horror: Yeah...most colleges frown on students actually painting the walls. Remember, you're RENTING the space, not BUYING it.

[honeythorn]

If the place you're staying has no objection to small nails or tacks being put into the walls, then hang some BIG canvases full of art ( your own or others ) . Posters are another good one, and fabric wall hangings as well - think wall tapestry but less medieval needlework and more cool fabric from a fabric store.

I did that with the section of wall behind my bed. I got some flocked dark red curtain fabric ( a few pounds for several meters from a market) and pinned it up between the bed posts. It's like a feature wall but without having to do any painting or buying that expensive feature wallpaper. Plus if you change your mind about the fabric you can simply remove it and replace with a different piece.

[Saya]

When I lived in a dorm we just had a lot of posters up, chances are its going to be so small that much else is going to clutter it up fast. Our walls were cement blocks and we had to use sticky tack so it severely limited what we could do.

And depending on how tacky you want to go you can hang things from the ceiling. A girl in my dorm had dolls hanging from nooses. It was tacky as fuck but people bugged her less about attending pep rallies.

[Ben Lahnger]

3M makes a product called Command Strips - Official Site

The idea is the different Command Strips attach to a wall, let you hang up whatever you want, and then when it's time to move you can easily remove the Command Strip without leaving a mark.

"Hang it all and save the wall."

We've used them with much success. So that might help you put stuff up without worrying about the dorm rules too much.

Originally Posted by Saya

It was tacky as fuck but people bugged her less about attending pep rallies.

Ahahahahahahahahahaha!

[Solumina]

Just remember that when removing 3M strips there is a right way and a wrong way, the wrong way will have you picking at goo for a bit while you try and get it all off, the right way is nice, clean, and easy. I never had a problem figuring out what to do but some of my hall-mates didn't bother to read instructions.

For me, personally the best thing that I ever did to a dorm room was to put fabric on the ceiling, it really helped the space look less institutional and more comforting, especially the sheer bits over the florescent lights.

[Ben Lahnger]

Ooh! That does sound good. I bet it warms the place up. I bet it also is easier on the eyes when you're laying back in bed staring at the ceiling.

[Catch]

Originally Posted by paleghost

Ok, very soon I will be leaving the comfort of suburban West Virgina to the far distant land of suburban Ohio. I spent a night in the dorm there...the walls are whiter than John Stuart at a Michal Bolton concert. I know if I stay there for the next six months I will go insane.

So I'm asking you guys what I can do to make my dorm room a little less mundane. thoughts?

First, to prepare you for the experience a video addressing dorm life...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCpoZgmJCHI

Now, white walls. How much room do you have on decorating: nails, no nails, curtains and so-on? Most people settle on taping posters all over their walls. Another solution is to look at it as white space and select a small number of pictures, making sure they are hung in an obviously geometric pattern.

If you can have curtains, something Elizabethian your roommate can live with is probably better than pink skulls or whatever.... Here is some info on curtains, not all of it yet...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeBp-AhXxZI

Small adjustments like picking out a great comforter is all that's needed.

[ape descendant]

Paper bats. At least, they look pretty spiffy on my living room walls.

Also, if you have time, hit up some yard sales... you can find some AWESOME shiz there... like nifty dark candle holders for the wall, or weird paintings. Most people are rather happy to get rid of the macabre and eccentric things that sneak into their possession.

[MaggotQueen]

Find some interesting stuffed things and pin them to the walls. Cover up as much white space as you can with posters.

[ape descendant]

Or staple a couple of super paddy quilts to the wall.

[korinna5555]

Originally Posted by paleghost

Ok, very soon I will be leaving the comfort of suburban West Virgina to the far distant land of suburban Ohio.

Off topic, but where in Ohio? Cinci and Columbus both have somewhat decent goth scenes.

[paleghost]

Originally Posted by korinna5555

Off topic, but where in Ohio? Cinci and Columbus both have somewhat decent goth scenes.

Granville, which is pretty close to Columbus. Any information on the goth scene in Columbus would be awesome thanks