Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food and Recipes
  • Culture and Lifestyle
  • Style
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • Home
  • Gardening Ideas
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Best New Haircuts to Try in 2022

      The Best New Haircuts to Try in 2022

      Here are the haircuts you'll be seeing everywhere this year. Read More
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More
    • 50 Thoughtful Messages for a Meaningful Thank You Note

      50 Thoughtful Messages for a Meaningful Thank You Note

      Not sure what to write in a thank you card? Here's how to show your gratitude with a handwritten note. Read More
  • Food and Recipes

    Food and Recipes

    See All Food and Recipes
    4 Easy Ways to Tell if an Egg Has Gone Bad

    4 Easy Ways to Tell if an Egg Has Gone Bad

    It’s not all in the senses, but they sure can help.
    • Recipes
    • Quick and Easy Dinner
    • Kitchen Assistant
    • Casserole
    • Holiday and Occasion Food
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Healthy and Light
    • Side Dishes
    • Party Food and Drink
    • Appetizers
    • Meat
    • Breakfast
    • BBQ
    • Drinks
    • What's Cooking
  • Culture and Lifestyle

    Culture and Lifestyle

    See All Culture and Lifestyle
    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    Let your besties know how much they mean to you with these unique nicknames.
    • Quotes and Sayings
    • Biscuits and Jam Podcast
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Healthy Living
    • Coastal Living
  • Style

    Style

    See All Style
    The Coziest Winter Nail Colors for January 2022

    The Coziest Winter Nail Colors for January 2022

    The beginning of a new year often has us all feeling like starting off fresh by taking on better habits, getting rid of old ones, and—most commonly—changing up our look. While others are hitting the squats and going into the salon for a pixie cut, why not start slow and steady with a cozy winter manicure in a color that feels new to you? It takes only a little courage to step outside your usual OPI Lincoln Park After Dark or Essie Bordeaux, which is all you need to kick 2022 off on a fanciful foot.  From new wintry takes on classic dark nail colors to unique pops of color that'll have you feeling the opposite of boring, these are the best nail colors to try this January and tick off all the way into spring. 
    • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Fashion
    • Short Hairstyles
    • Nails
    • Medium Hairstyles
    • Skincare
    • Long Hairstyles
  • Holidays & Occasions

    Holidays & Occasions

    See All Holidays & Occasions
    • Thanksgiving
    • Gifts
    • Christmas
    • Mother's Day
    • Hanukkah
    • New Year's
    • Easter
    • Mardi Gras
    • 4th of July
    • Weddings
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    16 Kitchen Design Trends Southern Designers Predict Will Be Everywhere in 2022

    16 Kitchen Design Trends Southern Designers Predict Will Be Everywhere in 2022

    There's no denying how the pandemic fundamentally changed the world—including how we live (and work) inside our homes. An overall trend toward celebrating the history and originality of our homes is displacing ultramodern aesthetics and sharp lines as we all look to create cozier, colorful, more personalized spaces that better suit our lifestyles. We're turning away from big-box stores and toward vintage items—first, out of necessity due to supply-chain issues, and now, for design reasons—to add charm and character to every room in the house, including the kitchen. Here, interior designers from around the South share their predictions for what's trending in kitchen design for 2022 and beyond.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Kitchen Design
    • Before & After Photos
    • Bathroom Design
    • Curb Appeal
    • Bedroom Design
    • DIY Home Decor
    • Color Palettes & Paint
    • House Plans & Builders
    • Inspired Communities
  • Gardening Ideas

    Gardening Ideas

    See All Gardening Ideas
    If You Keep Finding Ladybugs in Your House, Here's What You Need to Know

    If You Keep Finding Ladybugs in Your House, Here's What You Need to Know

    Plus a few strategies for keeping them out-of-doors
    • Container Gardening
    • Gardening Flowers
    • Fruit, Vegetable & Herb Gardens
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Guides A-Z
    • Indoor Plants
    • Fall Plants
    • Landscaping Ideas
    • The Grumpy Gardener
  • News

    News

    See All News
    • Celebrities
    • Local News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. Culture and Lifestyle
  3. Check Out This Year's Most Unbelievable Dorm Room Makeover

Check Out This Year's Most Unbelievable Dorm Room Makeover

Kaitlyn Yarborough, Assistant Editor and Writer for Southern Living
By Kaitlyn Yarborough
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
Skip gallery slides
FB
After the Makeover
Credit: @the_real_lin_shady
The best way to describe a college dorm room at first sight, before any makeover magic happens, is an empty, sterile box. Cement floors, creaky bed frames, plastic-covered mattresses, and some sort of linoleum flooring—these are the calling cards of the basic dorm room. And at many colleges, these relics hail from decades past, making it all the more dismal.Southern ladies don't take this sitting down. Instead, we engage is some much-needed sprucing. We roll out the cute patterned rug, hang those twinkling lights over the windows, and pack as many fluffy throws and pillows as we can fit into that 15x15 box. Some go even further, like Ole Miss student, Lindy Goodson, who's turned into a bit of an expert. (Her freshman dorm room went viral in 2016.)This year, Goodson and her roommate kicked off junior year with a dorm room makeover that made us do a double, and then triple, take. Where are the creaky wooden lofted beds? The sad gray walls? Apparently, hidden strategically behind some genius design sorcery. Check out the full transformation below, and find Goodsons' related blog post here.
Start Slideshow

1 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Check Out This Amazing Ole Miss Dorm Room

We don't often think of college dorm rooms as being "fancy," but there are two students who've put together the fanciest dorm room we've ever seen. Abby Bozeman and Lindy Goodson are freshmen at Ole Miss with an impeccable eye for interior design. When the two girls (who were strangers prior to becoming fellow Rebels at the University of Mississippi) saw their cinder block walls and dorm mattresses, they immediately went to work turning their cramped space into an elegant retreat. With tufted headboards, mirrored furniture, and matching monogrammed pillows, this dorm space is truly a work of art. Following the dorm rules of not putting holes into the walls, the girls resorted to hanging everything in their room with Command Strips. Using T.J. Maxx, Marshall's, and antique stores as their guide, Lindy and Abby transformed their dorm room on a budget. The girls did spring for custom-made headboards, pillows, and bedskirts to complete the look. Abby mentioned that she did consider interior decorating at one point, and it's something that's she picked up through the years. "I feel like it's a skill that we just acquired from our moms," she said.

We joined Abby and Lindy at Ole Miss to take a look at the room that's gone viral since Lindy posted it on Twitter. “Some of them were like, ‘I can’t believe you painted the walls,’ but we didn’t!” Lindy said. She also mentioned that other girls have reached out to ask Abby and Lindy to help them decorate their own dorm rooms (a request to which the girls enthusiastically agreed!). We're not sure what career paths that Abby and Lindy have chosen, but Chip and Joanna Gaines had better look out – these Ole Miss freshmen have the talent to take the decorating world by storm. Take a peek inside this incredible room with a tour from the decorators themselves.

1 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Before the Makeover

Before the Makeover
Credit: @the_real_lin_shady

We weren’t joking. Found in the Phi Mu sorority house, the teeny tiny room leaves a lot to the imagination. It’s bare, it’s boring, and it needs some loving.

2 of 8

3 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

After the Makeover

After the Makeover
Credit: @the_real_lin_shady

Pick those jaws up off the floor. If this dramatic transformation tells us anything, it's that HGTV needs to hop on this wagon. Fast. Forget tiny homes, we're ready to binge dorm room wars on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

"Our main goal: beautiful, cozy, affordable,” Goodson said in her blog. “We re-used a ton of things from my house last year and dorm room freshman year.”

3 of 8

Advertisement

4 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

After the Makeover

After the Makeover
Credit: @the_real_lin_shady

The Ole Miss students show their school spirit with custom lettering paying homage to the Rebels, but it’s the décor dripping in pink and gold that really takes the cake.

"In a small room, the main attraction is really the beds, and the beds are really the single totally customizable part and the one thing that can set you apart from the rest," Goodson went on.

4 of 8

5 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Custom Touches

Custom Touches
Credit: Lindy Goodson

As for her dorm room tips, a custom headboard will make bare frames feel cozier and stylish, which you can find here on Etsy.

"I ended up getting my quilt in the full/queen size to ensure that it had a long enough drop on these raised beds, and to make sure I could reuse it in the future," Goodson noted.

For those who've recently had the dorm experience, the decked-out abode doesn’t seem too crazy. Most dorm décor can be passed down (or in this case, perhaps auctioned off?) to younger siblings, friends, or sorority sisters. It's like passing down heirlooms, college edition.

5 of 8

6 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Get the Look: Bedding

Get the Look: Bedding
Credit: Annie Selke

The cute dorm bedding came from Annie Selke’s Bed 101 collection.

(From left to right)
Buy It: Washed Linen Quilt; $190; annieselke.com
Buy It: Pom Pom Slipper Throw; $118;annieselke.com
Buy It: Bed 101 Layer It Up Set; $208+; annieselke.com

6 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Get the Look: Pillows

Get the Look: Pillows
Credit: From left to right: Wayfair; PBTeen

(From left to right)
Buy It: Mike Square Velvet Throw Pillow; $50; wayfair.com
Buy It: Fringe Border Monogram Pillow Covers; $19.50; pbteen.com

7 of 8

8 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Get the Look: Décor

Get the Look: Décor
Credit: From left to right: Walmart; Barnes & Nobles; Kate Spade New York

(From left to right)
Buy It: Dimond Lighting Castile Table Lamp; $198; walmart.com
Buy It: kate spade new york: all in good taste; $27; barnesandnoble.com
Buy It: ‘Out of the Box’ Jewelry Box; $50; katespade.com

8 of 8

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Kaitlyn Yarborough

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 8 Check Out This Amazing Ole Miss Dorm Room
    2 of 8 Before the Makeover
    3 of 8 After the Makeover
    4 of 8 After the Makeover
    5 of 8 Custom Touches
    6 of 8 Get the Look: Bedding
    7 of 8 Get the Look: Pillows
    8 of 8 Get the Look: Décor

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print
    Southern Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • About Us
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Southern Living
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    MeredithSouthern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Southern Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    Check Out This Year's Most Unbelievable Dorm Room Makeover
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.