THE BASICS OF TRANSFORMING A SPACE
BY: MERON SIYOUM
Is it just me or do bare walls make anyone else uncomfortable? When I moved into my dorm for my junior year, the 7-foot by 11-foot room was hard to be in. One of the walls was completely covered in windows and I felt like the space wasn’t my own and immediately started to regret my housing choices. I knew that once I added some decor everything would be fine, but until then it felt a bit sterile.
Here’s what I knew: I needed more storage, wanted my room to be cozy, wanted to maximize my space for guests, and needed it to look clean. I’m not a fan of clutter so I wanted to hide basically everything while still making it functional. However, the semester started to fly by before I even got the chance to decorate.
I wasn’t too confident about what to add, so I did the most logical thing possible and went to an interior designer. I spoke with Leah Scolere, Assistant Professor in Interior Architecture and Design at Colorado State University to understand some of the basics. When it comes to interior decorating, there are many ways to elevate a room. You can upcycle old furniture, paint walls, or buy decor to fill up empty space. Tackling an empty room can be super intimidating, especially if you are doing it on a budget so I wanted to know what changes would give me the greatest impact.
We walked around the in search of a spot for the interview, and she immediately knew what room to take me to. We entered a classroom that had bold red walls if it wasn’t already covered in floor-to-ceiling windows. Like my room, there was nothing on the walls but the space just…worked.
Scolere explained how light and color are core to interior spaces and used the classroom as an example. “In this room, you can see the red walls,” said Scolere, “it’s also glass so you get this reflective surface.” She goes on to explain that you can bring dimensionality through different materials and colors. I could see why it worked so well.
Staying on the topic of color and light, Scolere recommends supplementing overhead light with warmer temperature lights. For my room, I knew adding a desk lamp as well as some LED lights would help make the space cozier. The overhead light or the “prison light” as I call it, is way too harsh and I needed something dimmer for early mornings or late nights. I started to see how these simple changes were going to have a huge impact.
According to HKInteriors, color can impact your mood and emotional well-being. You can use room color psychology to create spaces that feel right to you. It’s crazy how implementing colors into your surroundings can have such a huge effect on your mood, but it’s true, and there are countless studies going over color theory and human psychology. Here is an article on the effects of color on the moods of college students.
“Blue brings the calming effect you need. That is why you often see various shades of blue used in bedrooms. Blue also has a cooling effect, making it beneficial for sunny rooms. Lighter shades of blue can help enlarge the appearance of a small space.” Click for more about color theory from HK Interiors.
Scolere explained how the use of paint would have a big impact with a minimal amount of effort and cost. Since I’m not allowed to paint the walls, the next best thing would be wallpaper or art filled with color. That’s when I knew a gallery wall would be the perfect substitute to showcase my favorite things and some color. The longest wall in my room has a window corner to corner, so frames would have the same effect the classroom had with all the light bouncing off of the glass.
I now knew what to do with the walls, but wanted to maximize the floor space to make it feel bigger. “When thinking about small spaces, you want to have furniture that can be easily moved,” Said Scolere, “Thinking more about the flexibility and adaptability of a space.”
Using this knowledge, I chose to buy a utility cart to hold some of my daily products. The mobility of the cart allows me to put it wherever, so I highly recommend buying one, especially if you’re in a small space. They work in closets, bathrooms, and between tight spaces.
My room has vaulted ceilings, and wanted to compliment the slant in the ceiling. I knew I couldn’t make everything too square, but also didn’t know how to reach up to the tallest corners of the room.
I asked Professor Scolere about things she would do to small spaces, and she said when living in her first apartments, she would think about how to impact the ceiling plane. “I would usually hang different fixtures from the ceiling to bring down the scale to make it feel homier,” Scolere said.
This was the perfect last-minute advice, I knew I had to hang one of my plants from the ceiling and have more visual interest above normal eyesight. I now had a better idea of what I was missing and just needed to finally put it all together.
After a month of planning, buying, and decorating, my room finally feels like home. I have more of a desire to be in my room (maybe a little too much) and cringe at the before pictures of the room. The gallery wall is filled with some of my favorite things, and I have a space to showcase some of my art. In total, I spent $120 to transform my space and documented the entire process on my Instagram. Check it out to see the reveal pictures and all of my DIYs.
The power of interior design is huge and should always be considered in any space. It doesn’t matter how long you are staying somewhere; invest in yourself and make it a home! If you are unsure of where to start, use this Mr. Kate What’s My Aesthetic quiz to find your preferred style, then use the results to find inspirational pictures. Happy decorating!