Decorating dorm spaces can prove to be a challenge for students on tight budgets, but some Georgia Southern freshmen are coming up with some cost-effective ways to display their memories from their small hometown of Griffin, Georgia.

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Previously friends from back home, these girls decided they were able to re-purpose old room decorations to liven up their drab dorm. “Some stuff we planned out, we’d be like ‘Hey, I’ve got a frame for our living room’ or ‘hey, I’ve got this’” Caroline English, a freshman at Georgia Southern said.

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English and her roommates, Anna Jones, Sarah Pierce and Matison McDaniel all have made the most of their space in Georgia Southern’s Eagle Village.

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Immediately upon arriving at the door, you’re greeted by a hand painted welcome sign hanging by a hook.  After going inside, you’ll notice an iron coat rack off to the right that holds all of their rain coats.

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“That rack is my grandma’s, and it was a big fight to get that into Statesboro.  She is so crazy about her stuff” English said.  “It was in a storage shed when I asked her to use it… it wasn’t going anywhere” English says that the coat rack has been in storage for about five years and it wasn’t in use.

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The roommates agree that displaying their photos throughout the apartment adds warmth and a sense of personality to their room.  Every room had photos pinned up on strings and clips.  The girls also set up a rack on the hallway wall to display pictures of friends and fun times they’ve had.

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“That was just something that I brought I was just gonna put it in my room” Jones said.  “But then I realized it wasn’t gonna fit.  It was supposed to be a curtain hanger, but then I was like, ‘we could just hang pictures from it’.”

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All the bedrooms had heavy curtains in the window to set the mood and block out the brutal Statesboro sun.  “It feels like 2 a.m. in here all the time,” said Jones.

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One of the feature pieces is a wall-to-floor tapestry in Jones’ room.  “I got this from Amazon for like $13.”  Jones said she got the idea from hobby site Pinterest.

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Another focal piece is Pierce’s string lights.  “I got this string from Big Lots and since it was so long, I could put lights on it along with these photos.” Pierce did this to display her keepsakes and memories from her time as a camp counselor.   

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Another re-purposed decoration is the flower vases in McDaniel’s room.  The vases themselves were originally wine bottles painted for her mom’s wedding in 2014.

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These four friends have definitely mastered decorating their dorm in a cohesive and resourceful way, and plan to continue being roommates for the foreseeable future.