The Art of the Dorm Layout

Are you a freshman who just got assigned a dorm of dubious legal status (multiple-occupancy rooms in Massachusetts are required to contain at least 50 square feet per resident), or a senior in the Quad who has to take an Uber to the other side of your single? Either way, everyone has school-provided, bulky furniture used by generations of students, awkwardly arranged in a room that does not seem to mesh.

Free yourselves from the doctrine of the default dorm layout! The typical arrangement of parallel beds for doubles (or a bed tucked into a corner for single rooms) reeks of conformity. The furniture is made of particle board for a reason, and not just because of budget. It is made specifically for students like you and me to rearrange and push the limits of our creativity.

Why should you take my word for it? My roommate—we will call her SP for privacy—and I spent a week designing the layout of our 168-square-foot double on planyourroom.com. The results were incredibly rewarding: not only do our friends gasp and shout in celebration of our interior design genius when touring our dorm, but we also have never felt more… intellectually stimulated by furniture.

I realize your room will not look exactly like mine; nonetheless, here are a few tips to get your creative juices flowing.

Desks

Have you ever wished that you could bring the comforts of Lamont Library back to your dorm? Well, it is easier than you think. If space permits, simply push two desks facing each other, and you are done! Even better, you could furnish the desks with lamps that only work sometimes.

However, most doubles will not have the space for such a luxury, including mine and SP’s. Instead, we opted to place our desks side by side. Studies on child development show that parallel play, in which children play near each other but engage in their own activities, has many benefits. You and your roommate can greatly boost your fine motor skills and empathy, and learn to set boundaries within interpersonal relationships.

Unfortunately, if you are over the age of three, you may have already passed the window for these benefits. Nonetheless, parallel play for adults has been shown to strengthen relationships, especially between roommates.

Wardrobes

“Can you turn around while I change?” Everyone dreads that awkward question. To reduce awkwardness, arrange your wardrobes so they are staggered and open in opposite directions. Make sure that when both sets of doors are open, they overlap, creating a private changing space for both residents. Never accidentally flash your roommate again.

This does mean the somewhat unattractive back of the wardrobe is exposed; however, in my case, I have compensated by slathering it with pictures of Paul McCartney’s face.

Beds

This is the section that everyone has been waiting for. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of our dorm room layout, our beds elicit reactions such as, “What even is this?” and “This is not the move,” which only shows the magnitude of our genius and innate talent for interior design. Many artists were ridiculed in their day but were recognized as visionaries after their deaths, such as Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Andy Warhol.

Our artistic vision prioritized comfort and privacy. Arranging the beds in parallel formation is suboptimal for several reasons. First, the precious real estate between the beds goes to waste. Furthermore, sleeping against a wall makes a twin XL feel even more cramped. By allowing yourself room on both sides of the mattress, you can feel the luxury without having to spend hundreds of dollars on Harvard Student Agencies’ bed extenders. Also, in traditional Chinese feng shui, sleeping with your feet pointed toward the door is considered extremely disruptive. Before you dismiss this as superstition, a study showed that living in an environment that follows feng shui rules does have psychological benefits, including decreased stress and other negative emotions.

Based on these factors, SP and I decided to arrange our beds in what we call a “Z” formation. By orienting them feet-to-feet with the beds offset, we have minimized the feeling of being watched while we sleep. The only times I have seen SP’s sleeping face are during her daytime naps, which I dutifully document through photography for future blackmailing purposes.

Even if you were lucky enough to get a single, I would still recommend these tips. My bed is currently against the wall with a window, like a larger version of a cozy reading nook, which everyone knows is the pinnacle of relaxation. Moreover, I get to wake up to natural light, which is scientifically proven to be the best way to start your day.

Before everyone starts rioting (in celebration of our genius, of course), know that whatever we did with our room is not nearly as egregious as Thomas Jefferson’s bed at Monticello, which required him to climb over his bed to get to his office.

Concluding Remarks

I hope I have opened your eyes to the infinite possibilities of dorm interior design. It pained me (my soul and my lower back) when, upon moving the furniture in my room, I found that it seemed to be stuck to the hardwood from years, or even decades, of staying in the same exact place.

Some have called us “the brightest and most creative students in the world.” However, most do not realize that our creativity can and should extend to the most mundane aspects of our lives. My recommendations are merely points of inspiration for more efficient and avant-garde interior design. Remember, arrange your dorm based on your personal needs and priorities.

As alumnus John F. Kennedy ’40 famously said when he moved into Winthrop House, “Ask not what your dorm room can do for you—ask what you can do for your dorm room.”

Ellie Guo ’29 (eguo@college.harvard.edu) encourages everyone to break free from the parallel-bed dogma.