Dressing Up The Dorms

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On a hazy September day, Kenley Monson arrived at Ohio Northern University for her first day of college prepared with all the essentials. Like a new computer. And a new pink plastic computer cover to go with it. Then there was the futon, and the mini-fridge. And of course the brand-new color-coordinated bedding ensemble — pink sheets, pink pillows, pink comforter — which matched the pink shag rug and halogen lamp with the pink shade. The storage crates were solid pink; the trash can was decorated with hearts colored — you guessed it — pink. And who could forget the tiki lights every frosh needs? Not Monson. She remembered to pack those too. All told, the 18-year-old figures she spent about $3,000--half of it money she earned working summers and half of it from her parents — styling what is now a super-decked-out dorm room.

And she is not alone.

Attention college shoppers. You too, Mom and Dad. The days of using cinder blocks to loft the bed, remnant carpeting to cover the floor and the oldest sheets in the linen closet to adorn the dorm-room bunk have gone the way of the slide rule. This year the university set is expected to have spent $26 billion on back-to-college wares, including clothes, books, stereos and computers. But fully $1 out of every $10 spent--$2.6 billion — went into decorating the dorm. Today's college send-offs, who have watched their parents refinance and remodel their homes in record numbers and who have come of age watching trendy decorating shows on TV like Trading Spaces, have become a new category of buyer.

Retailers, never shy about hyping a reason to spend more money on more stuff, are falling over themselves to appeal to the new dorm-room demographic. In the past few years, big players such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Ikea, the Container Store, Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens 'n Things have been breaking out big chunks of floor space from July to early September for departments with cute names like Destination Dorm. They have been plying college-bound kids (and their parents) with targeted catalogs and emails, setting up gift registries, giving student discounts, even accosting kids on campus with flyers and freebies — all in an effort to win dorm dollars. The National Retail Federation, a trade group, says back to college — distinct from K12-oriented back to school — is the second biggest shopping season, behind the Christmas-Hanukkah-Kwanzaa holiday triple play. And while Mom and Dad pony up plenty of cash, students are, on average, spending more than $600 of their money on the latest and greatest must-haves, with the average freshman shelling out $1,200 on items ranging from linens to laptops.

That kind of spending, however, allows for some items that are not exactly course requirements. For instance, freshman Jackelyn Burgos, also at Ohio Northern, paid $11 for a Hello Kitty sleep mask, which matches her new bedding, towels, pajamas, alarm clock, night light, TV, coffeepot and other Hello Kitty accessories. All told, it was goodbye $1,500. Deirdre Schwiring and her mother spent $1,400 on everything from ramie curtains to a futon to a flat-screen TV for the junior's 6-ft. by 14-ft. dorm room at the University of Miami, all because last year's color scheme — pink and blue — needed to be updated for this season's trendier palette of greens.

As you might guess, young women are driving the decoration trend, but that's not to say that guys are immune, especially when it comes to gadgets and electronics. Kyle Bixenmann, 19, a sophomore at the University of Denver, loaded up on what he calls "space-saver stuff" ("If you don't have crates, you don't have anything"). He also purchased dishes, pots, pans, a 25-in. TV and a PlayStation2. But once Bixenmann was on campus, what really caught his eye was another student's stiletto-shoe-shaped chair. But he drew the line at another's espresso maker: "I thought that was a little too much of a frill. You know what I mean?" Yes, Kyle, we do.