Dorm rooms and lofts

[DawnM]

We did another college tour this weekend.  This would be a school my son would need to go away for.  The rooms were small, but tall, probably 12' ceilings would be my guess.

 

But they don't allow lofts or bed risers.  I was a little surprised.  Seems like so much wasted space.  And they only allow free standing furniture to be brought in, and certain sizes.

 

I had thought maybe DH could build some sturdy crate things for under the bed on 4 sizes, so he could raise up the bed, but nope, not allowed.

 

What about your child's school?

[Mabelen]

At my daughter's school one dorm had some rooms with beds in lofts. The rooms are really cute. You have two beds downstairs and two beds upstairs. You go up using stairs that are more like a ladder. The front of the upstairs is pretty open. I didn't want my daughter to be in one of these. She is too much of a klutz, plus even is she were not, how about if you feel sick? I didn't like the idea at the practical level.

[Mabelen]

I think at my daughter's college they were allowed to raise their beds. I don't remember much honestly. She only dormed on campus her first year. She has shared an apartment right next to campus ever since. They are much cheaper.

[DawnM]

I think at my daughter's college they were allowed to raise their beds. I don't remember much honestly. She only dormed on campus her first year. She has shared an apartment right next to campus ever since. They are much cheaper.

 

I am hoping that he makes friends the first year (if he goes) and can do this.   I think the first year (or first semester) it makes more sense to get in the dorms, well, small apartments on campus.

[teachermom2834]

Not sure what the official stance on bringing your own loft or risers is at my ds school. He had one of the smallest rooms on campus and when they moved in the beds were bunked. Neither ds nor his roommate really wanted to be on top so the unbunked them. If left then very little floor space. Just enough to walk between their beds and dressers. That was their preference, however. I will say that both boys had taken a minimalist approach and they had both brought very little. It worked for them.

[Bootsie]

We did another college tour this weekend.  This would be a school my son would need to go away for.  The rooms were small, but tall, probably 12' ceilings would be my guess.

 

But they don't allow lofts or bed risers.  I was a little surprised.  Seems like so much wasted space.  And they only allow free standing furniture to be brought in, and certain sizes.

 

I had thought maybe DH could build some sturdy crate things for under the bed on 4 sizes, so he could raise up the bed, but nope, not allowed.

 

What about your child's school?

At my dc schools some depends on the particular dorm they are in.  DD and DS are both in rooms in which the bed is adjustable so that it can be up to about 2-3 feet off the ground,  The space below can be used for storage but isn't tall enough for a sitting area.  

 

What type of furniture, other than free standing, would be possible to bring into a dorm room?  

 

DSs school has a fridge/microwave in every room; students cannot bring their own.  This cuts down on electricity issues and roommate issues.  And, it makes moving in and out so much faster and easier.  (Moving fridges and microwaves up and down stairs in dorms without elevators is no fun.)

[DawnM]

At my dc schools some depends on the particular dorm they are in.  DD and DS are both in rooms in which the bed is adjustable so that it can be up to about 2-3 feet off the ground,  The space below can be used for storage but isn't tall enough for a sitting area.  

 

What type of furniture, other than free standing, would be possible to bring into a dorm room?  

 

DSs school has a fridge/microwave in every room; students cannot bring their own.  This cuts down on electricity issues and roommate issues.  And, it makes moving in and out so much faster and easier.  (Moving fridges and microwaves up and down stairs in dorms without elevators is no fun.)

 

 

Well, it just means you can't build anything in there, but we wouldn't do that anyway.....but the tall ceilings seem like it would be great for tall shelves or something.....but it isn't allowed.

 

Where I went to school we had beds that pulled out at night, with bolsters along the edge so they became sofas in the day time and you could store things in the bolsters.  And then there were wall shelves built in.

 

For some reason, tall plain walls and no shelving just looks like wasted space to me.  There is almost no storage.

[Julie of KY]

At my son's school, all the beds started lofted with the desk underneath. You were free to lower it as much as you want. My son lowered it so that he could still store stuff underneath, but not be too high.

[JanetC]

The default furniture in DDs school is designed to be stackable. Build your own or bring your own lofts or bed risers is no allowed. Beds can be bunked over each other, but more commonly the bed is raised over the dresser, bookshelves, desk, and/or hutch.

 

This year she is staying in a dorm that used to be a frat house and her room is tiny, with built-in lofted beds. (Lofts maintained by the U are different from building your own.)

 

Under one bed is a built in closet. Under the other, the girls put their desks. The dressers and fridges take up a great deal of the remaining floor space.

 

Maybe the furniture rule came after someone did this?

 

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/2011338-roommate-brought-22-pillows-4-lamps-7-towels-and-a-large-ceramic-pineapple-p1.html

[DawnM]

The default furniture in DDs school is designed to be stackable. Build your own or bring your own lofts or bed risers is no allowed. Beds can be bunked over each other, but more commonly the bed is raised over the dresser, bookshelves, desk, and/or hutch.

 

This year she is staying in a dorm that used to be a frat house and her room is tiny, with built-in lofted beds. (Lofts maintained by the U are different from building your own.)

 

Under one bed is a built in closet. Under the other, the girls put their desks. The dressers and fridges take up a great deal of the remaining floor space.

 

Maybe the furniture rule came after someone did this?

 

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/2011338-roommate-brought-22-pillows-4-lamps-7-towels-and-a-large-ceramic-pineapple-p1.html

 

 

That sounds TERRIBLE!

 

Thankfully, he is going to be in a dorm/apartment with his own room, but it will be tiny.  It would just make so much sense to have the bed raised......oh well.

[Arch at Home]

My DD’s school doesn’t allow risers or lofts but the mattresses at least in DD’s hall can be raised to a height similar to that of risers.

[DawnM]

My DD’s school doesn’t allow risers or lofts but the mattresses at least in DD’s hall can be raised to a height similar to that of risers.

 

and then what would you put between the box springs and the mattress?

[Arch at Home]

and then what would you put between the box springs and the mattress?

 

I wasn't there on move-in but I believe based on photos that the mattress sits on a metal frame with a net of springs. There are no box springs. The frame of springs fits into a series of slots on the bed frame. The higher the metal frame sits on the bed frame, the higher the metal frame/mattress is off the floor.

 

I hope that helps.

[elegantlion]

I figure for every rule, there exists an incident that made it become a rule. The dorm I stayed in this summer for a conference had the bed up enough to store things under it and this old woman to use a chair to get into bed, but not tall enough for a dresser. 

[DawnM]

I wasn't there on move-in but I believe based on photos that the mattress sits on a metal frame with a net of springs. There are no box springs. The frame of springs fits into a series of slots on the bed frame. The higher the metal frame sits on the bed frame, the higher the metal frame/mattress is off the floor.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Oh, yes that is what I meant.  So, then the metal frame and springs......did they take the springs out or put something on top to raise the mattress????  

 

I am not picturing why it would be beneficial to raise the mattress or what you could put between the springs and the mattress that would help with storage, but I am very curious! 

 

Thanks,

 

Dawn

[JeanM]

My ds's bed was a loft with the desk underneath when he moved in. Actually I think all the beds in his dorm are like that. He would love tall ceilings, but unfortunately his ceilings are not high. He is tall, and the high bed means he can't sit up in bed.

 

I posted the story in another thread, but to repeat, his bed (and his roommate's bed) had no safety rails when they move in. After his roommate fell out of his bed, ds talked to the RA and got rails put on both his bed and his roommate's bed. I've been spreading the story to people IRL and online, because I think the loft beds without rails are a safety issue.

[daijobu]

I figure for every rule, there exists an incident that made it become a rule.  

 

I was thinking the same thing.  Specifically, I was reminded of this classic Onion article, Fun Toy Banned Because Of Three Stupid Dead Kids.

[Mom22ns]

Both of my kids dorms had furniture that allowed for lofting. Ds's furniture worked together to form a loft, using the bed desk and dresser I think (he didn't loft). Dd's bed had high posts at all 4 corners and the height is adustable in roughly 6" increments from low, to lofted. She had hers just high enough to put some plastic drawer units and all her luggage underneath, but not so high as to be a loft. She did use a step stool and had to jump from there onto her bed :lol:  Her dorm had super high ceilings which made the room feel much bigger than it was and worked really well for bunked or lofted beds.

[Arch at Home]

Oh, yes that is what I meant.  So, then the metal frame and springs......did they take the springs out or put something on top to raise the mattress????  

 

I am not picturing why it would be beneficial to raise the mattress or what you could put between the springs and the mattress that would help with storage, but I am very curious! 

 

 

I hope that this picture helps. The mattress and springs are raised and they are able to store things under their beds.

[goldberry]

I hope that this picture helps. The mattress and springs are raised and they are able to store things under their beds.

 

That's what DD has, no loft beds or loft beds allowed.

[J-rap]

Lofts are not allowed, but strangely, each bed is about 3 feet off the floor.  It makes getting into bed a little tricky, but there is plenty of room for storage underneath!

 

 

[Brenda in FL]

Oh, yes that is what I meant.  So, then the metal frame and springs......did they take the springs out or put something on top to raise the mattress????  

 

I am not picturing why it would be beneficial to raise the mattress or what you could put between the springs and the mattress that would help with storage, but I am very curious! 

 

Thanks,

 

Dawn

The beds in my son's dorm allow the mattresses to be raised up to 5 feet.  Beds in other dorms can have the mattress and frame raised but not quite that high.  Other dorms still have beds that can be bunked or they allow risers.  So it all depends on the type of beds in the particular dorm.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Kblupino

[gstharr]

I guess you are not looking at Ole Miss.   Be sure to scroll down. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/08/17/these_lavishly_decorated_ole_miss_dorm_rooms_are_an_abomination.html

[DawnM]

I guess you are not looking at Ole Miss.   Be sure to scroll down. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/08/17/these_lavishly_decorated_ole_miss_dorm_rooms_are_an_abomination.html

 

Good grief!  And what happens when yellow/gold decor girls fight and so do black and white and teal girls and they intermix?

 

OY!

[DawnM]

I hope that this picture helps. The mattress and springs are raised and they are able to store things under their beds.

 

THANK YOU!  Now I see.....and yes, it looks like the dorm/beds have the same thing in these rooms, I hadn't even noticed before.  So, I guess they can be raised a bit.  That will be very helpful.

[Tree Frog]

The default furniture in DDs school is designed to be stackable. Build your own or bring your own lofts or bed risers is no allowed. Beds can be bunked over each other, but more commonly the bed is raised over the dresser, bookshelves, desk, and/or hutch.

 

This year she is staying in a dorm that used to be a frat house and her room is tiny, with built-in lofted beds. (Lofts maintained by the U are different from building your own.)

 

Under one bed is a built in closet. Under the other, the girls put their desks. The dressers and fridges take up a great deal of the remaining floor space.

 

Maybe the furniture rule came after someone did this?

 

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/2011338-roommate-brought-22-pillows-4-lamps-7-towels-and-a-large-ceramic-pineapple-p1.html

 

This sounds like my dd's roommate this year. They had together decided what furniture they were going to bring and not bring ahead of time. Worked fine until a couple weeks before move in, the roommate decided she needed a 6 ft futon and she was going to bring a tv, something they'd agreed not to bring. DD had wanted to bring some shelves up, but because they hadn't talked about it, she wasn't going to. However, when she found out about the futon, tv, and small tv stand, she decided she would have room for the bookshelf.

 

My dd has learned to advocate for her space and not be bothered that the roommate gets upset when dd wants space in the room, too. (Our biggest concern about the futon was who was going to sleep on it? So far, it's not been an issue.) I had told dd "less was better" when she was moving to college, so she didn't have very much stuff. (DD could always bring more up when she came home for a visit.)

[katilac]

At my daughter's school one dorm had some rooms with beds in lofts. The rooms are really cute. You have two beds downstairs and two beds upstairs. You go up using stairs that are more like a ladder. The front of the upstairs is pretty open. I didn't want my daughter to be in one of these. She is too much of a klutz, plus even is she were not, how about if you feel sick? I didn't like the idea at the practical level.

 

My dd's bed is lofted about 5', which means her short self can actually walk right under it, lol. We bought a bed rail so we wouldn't fall out. Thankfully, we haven't found out what happens if she gets sick in the night. She has hella much space, she loves it. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

This sounds like my dd's roommate this year. They had together decided what furniture they were going to bring and not bring ahead of time. Worked fine until a couple weeks before move in, the roommate decided she needed a 6 ft futon and she was going to bring a tv, something they'd agreed not to bring. DD had wanted to bring some shelves up, but because they hadn't talked about it, she wasn't going to. However, when she found out about the futon, tv, and small tv stand, she decided she would have room for the bookshelf.

 

My dd has learned to advocate for her space and not be bothered that the roommate gets upset when dd wants space in the room, too. (Our biggest concern about the futon was who was going to sleep on it? So far, it's not been an issue.) I had told dd "less was better" when she was moving to college, so she didn't have very much stuff. (DD could always bring more up when she came home for a visit.)

This reminds me of a relative whose college roommate liked to study with horror movies playing on her tv. Evidently the gorier the better. I don't think they roomed together the second year.

[Tree Frog]

This reminds me of a relative whose college roommate liked to study with horror movies playing on her tv. Evidently the gorier the better. I don't think they roomed together the second year.

 

It can always be worse, can't it?! That would be a tough year!