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When I was at Penn State, my roomate and I had the BEST dorm room. We bought a loft bed from a soph who was moving off campus, and got him and his roomate to install it for us. We got matching rainbow comforters and used primary colors throughout the room. Under the loft bed we had a beanbag chair, a fridge, and a serious stereo system (haha) on milk crates. It was a happening room : )

East Halls, Stone hall rm 222!

Ahhh, that sounds wonderful! Another reason to have a comfy bed: I know that when I was in college (well, and now, too) I spent way, way more time sitting on my bed with my laptop or books than I ever spent sitting at a desk...

(And, uh, for some reason this comment made me think of a Sex & the City quote from Miranda: "I'm trying to change my bed karma. I figure if I can make my bed a place I really want to be, others will feel the same.")

Its really important to make your child feel at home in their dorm room. Its the first time they really have their own space. They want to be excited about bringing friends back to their rooms to hang. There is a certain feeling about coming home to cozy place after a long day. I know my daughter loves being in her room, even to study. That makes me feel good!

If your child is heading off to college far from home there are quite a few things you need to do to prepare. First, print out the checklist! Then try to get online and find any floorplan or photo of what their room might look like. Stalk everywhere including flicker to find it.  Then head to bed bath & beyond and do your neccessity shop. They will have the products waiting at the school's local BB&B. I suggest using dormify.com as a way to choose the style you're going for. And, a way to share with your roomate. Be eclectic and use layering and texture. Make sure you have plenty of things for your walls. Bring a tool kit, and be prepared to shop more when you arrive.

Some guys do, and some of my daughters friends want to be "dormified"! We are focusing on girls to start because it is a bigger need. They are more concerned with style. Boys can learn from our blog, and their moms still want to make them comfortable. But boys don't care as much.

My favorite dormify bedding is the reversible duvets. We have 2 color ways. In gray the butterfly & pinwheel and in brown the moroccan & so oval it. These look great with almost any pop of color. By making it reversible its great for roomates and for switching things up 2nd semester. My fav new product is our hastag pillow #justsayin.

http://www.dormify.com/bedding/pillows/justsayin-pillow

Well, this is a little tricky. Depends on your space. It can become a little messy looking. It would be great if you could find some way to thread it together. This is one of the reasons that we made our dormify bedding neutral, so that you can each have your own splash. I would be happy to look at a photo when you are moving in and help you pull it together if needed. One other thought is to use the dormify letters in the same colors that work with each bed.

Worst case try to use colors that compliment each other.

Love east halls!! Wait until you see the pic. So retro!

College is so, so expensive. And, personally, I think it's better to spend your limited funds out having fun with your friends than on a several-hundred-dollar Anthropologie bedspread... But that doesn't mean your dorm room can't have character.

I recommend concentrating your purchases on the big things that will add pops of color to your room: Your bedspread. An area rug. A huge poster.

(When my little sister graduated from high school, I bought her a funky hot pink, yellow and white comforter. She used it all five years at college.)

And then save money on the little things. Instead of buying new towels that will hide in your closet, snag a couple from home. Instead of buying brand-new dishware, pick some up at a thrift store. (Craigslist is also a great source!)

Also, share as much as you can with your roommate. There's no need for more than one of most things in your room.

And get creative! My sophomore year in college, I cut a bunch of colorful scrapbook paper into squares and "tiled" a wall in my room.

Anyone else have ideas for cutting costs??

I would say bean bags or some kind of pouf. Funny thing is we are creating a line just like that for our dormify furniture launch next year. I wish I had it for you. Target has some tufted ottomans that are cool. And check urban outfitters poufs, or corduroy floor pillow in five colors. I'd love to see 4 square ottomans together!

Oh, great idea!

The key is to not bring too much stuff to campus. The more you have, the more you have to store.

I really encourage students to hold off on buying tons of storage containers until they have moved into their rooms. Chances are, your sweaters might be better organized neatly piled on a shelf in your closet than they would be thrown into a plastic bin under your bed. Move-in. Assess. And then buy.

Luckily, storage containers are no longer dull and boring. Check out places like Home Goods or The Container Store for brightly colored hangers, patterned boxes and organization-stuff-galore. Or cover some of your moving boxes with funky wrapping paper from Paper Source.

Karen, do you have any more ideas?

Well, I know my girls are bringing a lot of stuff. And there is no way to stop them. So how do keep the room un-cluttered. First, underbedstorage boxes, min 2 high. Also, in closet use our 6 shelf organizer to stack all of you jeans, its awesome! There is a rubbermaid shelving unit at target that is GREAT!! Use for scarves, scocks hair products etc. Trust me this is the best use of space. Bring your winter stuff up at Thanksgiving thats a big help : )

You know, I've heard this from a couple of people now and it really surprised me. Personally, I think it's better to watch "How I Met Your Mother" on TV with your roommate or floormates, than it is to watch it alone on your laptop with earbuds in. Plus, where would you play video games?

I get the feeling that this is a whisper campaign started by dads who are sick and tired of carrying televisions blocks from the car and up dorm stairs in the August heat...

(That said, when I was a kid we didn't even have a television because my hippy parents wanted us to play outside. When we finally got one in middle school, we didn't have cable. Going off to college opened my eyes to all of the glorious hours of cable television that I had missed growing up.)

Wall  Decals are one of the hottest trends in dorm room design—they’re chic, easy to apply and really breathe life and color into a space. Now you can have a big, fancy chandelier —without the hefty price tag, or clothesline of picture frames without any tools. Another trend is layering. Using different pillows, blankets and patterns from our duvets are popular.

Again: Only bring the basics. Share stuff with your roommate. And don't pack an entire college career's worth of toothpaste.

In a tiny dorm room, you want to maximize the space that you do have -- so instead of getting a huge bookcase that eats up floorspace, opt for bins that can slide under your bed in otherwise unusable space.

Also: I highly recommend lofting your beds, which opens up tons of space below.

I would say the decals are a great way to add style without damage. Another thing is using the 3m command strips. The velcro ones and the hooks really hold anything. We also have our posters which we recommed very lightweight target 18x24 poster frames for. Extremely easy to hang and remove.

Awww, it depends family to family. Whatever you do, keep it small and sentimental -- a framed family photo that's not posed, a piece of jewelry that your mother gave you, a copy of a favorite childhood book with a message written inside, or a short letter your child can read after you leave.

But -- remember -- you are already giving your child a HUGE gift by sending him or her to college.

I'd get a fridge. I actually reccommend the med size. The tiny ones are too small for anything. If you use a med sized fridge you can use the front as a magnet board and even dry erase sometimes. Use the top as a side table or even bedside table. Its nice to be able to have some food and drink in your room.

I think it depends on the school. At Washu the kids were able to get cable in their rooms. Last year Amanda and her 4 roomates had a big TV that they shared in their common room. They used computers in their own rooms which worked well. Its nice to have a TV if you can. Makes it "homey".

There are so many ways to DIY. On our blog you can get a lot of tips. Anything from using magazines as art, to finding things at flee markets. Choose Something you love as a base and work around it. Its nice to splurge on bedding and find an ecletic mix to make the rest of the room work!

This is easy. Go to Dormify.com and have stuff shipped directly to your room. So easy to add a pillow or a wall vinyl to spice things up. If you don't like your bedding you can put it right inside a new duvet cover from dormify. You don't have to disgard it, just re-use! We also have new products coming in Sept.

I would def give my daughter the Call your mother pillow. Not that they won't call, but a little reminder is nice everyday. Amanda has the pillow prominently displayed on her bed. Also, make sure they have Twin XL Bedding!!

EIGHT!?! Let me just tell you right now: There's absolutely positively no way all of them will agree on one color scheme or style. It's just impossible with that many personalities. And that's okay.

I would suggest going with some basic neutrals (black, white, gray, chocolate, etc) for shared things -- so, maybe a dark colored area rug (like this one) and some neutral couch pillows (like this one or this one).

Then each girl can go crazy decorating her own bed -- maybe someone will go with a preppy look of kelly green and pink, while someone else goes with bold mustard yellow and gray.

Please email me a pic when the room is done! johnsonj@washpost.com.

Yes, my daughter Alexa is a senior! And, of course she has started applying to schools. By the way, the common app is up, I suggest getting started. Alexa has thought about her dorm room design. She actually created her own mood board using the site. She's going to Register on Dormify for all of her graduation gifts. Thats an easy way to get what you want for your dorm without having to break the bank!