Room Reno #73: Dorm Decor

Welcome back to Room Reno #73 here at The Sims Resource! Today we’re helping a Sim who wants to turn her sad, standard dorm into a room she actually wants to live in. Let’s meet the Sim we’re helping!

Meet Alicia!

Alicia is a sophomore at the University of Britechester in, well, Britechester! After a year of living in a really sad and boring dorm, she wants to upgrade and have an on-campus living space she actually wants to live and study in, as opposed to sleep in and nothing else. Her dorm building has a buffet in it, as well as microwaves and other kitchen appliances, so she doesn’t need any of that stuff to take up a bunch of the very limited and very precious space she has in her dorm.

She’s looking to turn her dorm from where it is now (depressing) to something with a similar color scheme and vibe to what she’s currently going for. She loves greens and neutrals, and she wants more wall art that brings out her love of the natural world. She also loves plants, and while her dorm doesn’t get enough sun to have plants of her own, but fake plants will still add some greenery and life to what can otherwise feel like a very sterile and sort of sad space. She also wants storage, especially for her growing collection of shoes–under her bed is made up of drawers, so she doesn’t know where else to put her many, many pairs. She does have a school-issued dresser in her current room, but I think I want to swap that out for something that’s hanging-clothes friendly along with having some drawers–hanging clothes is a great way to save space and prevent wrinkles. Let’s see what we’re working with!

The Before

This is actually a pretty nice dorm. I know, if you’ve never really seen a dorm outside of TV, that sentence might sound insane, but trust me. Most of the dorms I’ve seen are nothing but cinderblock, tile, and disappointment. This place having nice walls with molding is practically unheard of. The weird, sad furniture in the worst shade of yellow is very real, though. Why would that be the shade of wood chosen by every single higher education institution known to man? We may never know, but I’d like to speak with the person who started it.

I haven’t seen a DIY bookcase like the one in this dorm, though I will say that a lot of buildings ban students from bringing in their own furniture and forcing them to use the school’s cruddy furniture instead. I’m shocked the RA here even let Alicia get away with it, but then some RAs care a lot more than others. The desk chair does have wheels, though, and that’s pretty cool. It looks more comfortable than a lot of sad school chairs I’ve seen. I do wonder how Alicia manages to roll it around on carpet, though…Sims physics really do amaze me sometimes. Time to get into planning!

The Planning

Planning in a limited space like a dorm can be challenging, especially when a lot of the pieces are predetermined. The only standard piece I omitted here was a dresser, and that was mostly because I replaced it with the TV stand–in real life, I would have probably just put the TV on top of the dresser. But Sims don’t actually need clothing storage (which I wish was a reality every day), but having a dresser for outfit customizing purposes is nice, so I put a tall armoire against the wall near the door–this also seems like a pretty standard fixture of most dorm rooms, allowing for some hanging storage and even some shoe storage if you’re handy enough.

I chose to add some shelving for extra shoe storage, because this is absolutely an issue I’ve dealt with, and tripping over your shoes all the time is not a life that I would recommend. Having a TV at college is absolutely something I would recommend, though! Especially with all the modern functions of TVs nowadays, they can be used to game, watch streaming services, or web content. Totally useful for chilling out and relaxing between classes. Let’s get building!

The After

Okay, I gotta be honest. I had a really nice, cozy dorm at one point, but this dorm might really be nicer than that one. And I don’t say that lightly! I had a daybed in that room, and a perfect TV watching setup and my gaming PC! It was ideal! And yet this Sims dorm is really making me wonder if I could have improved upon that room. First, we were never actually allowed to swap out desk chairs for nicer ones, but god I wish we had. Dorm desk chairs are awful and are somehow worse than just sitting on the floor. A nice, pretty desk chair is truly nicer than any actual college dorm chair and I stand by that.

I think having a TV across from the bed is a great idea for any dorm room. I couldn’t find a dresser that was quite low enough to actually make sense for a TV watching spot, but the general idea works here with the accent table! Plus, adding storage underneath that table is super easy and means there’s room for more stuff (how is there always more stuff in your dorm than you think? it’s neverending). Another key to this room feeling so bright and cozy is how many plants I added. Even if they’re fake plants, the illusion of greenery still tricks your mind into thinking they’re real plants. It really adds life and prevents the dorm from feeling really barren, which is a common issue I see in real life.

Thanks for checking out this edition of Room Reno #73! If you liked this blog, check out Room Reno #72: Whimsigothic or our Gilmore Girls inspired lookbook. Looking for something else? Read about my thoughts on the Pastel Pop Kit or about the latest game updates! Have a great day 😎