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- [00:02]
A
Welcome to how to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team.
- [00:11]
B
And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer.
- [00:13]
C
I'm Liz. I head of the creative team.
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D
We're your hosts.
- [00:16]
A
Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world.
- [00:22]
B
Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode.
- [00:25]
C
We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us@podcastallardesigns.net now.
- [00:31]
A
On with the show. Okay, so we have a returning guest this week, Lauren DeLoach. She's an Atlanta interior designer friend podcast. And we're going to be talking about dorm today because last year you moved her daughter into her dorm room. Her very first dorm room. It may be her only dorm room, I suppose.
- [00:52]
D
I think it probably will be.
- [00:53]
A
Yeah. And we partnered together a little bit because we were just launching a dorm line and we had to bring you back to talk about dorm. Everything you learned, everything your, you know, pieces you use from us, but from elsewhere. What is install look like?
- [01:10]
D
You know, bringing it all back. Yeah, the whole.
- [01:15]
A
The whole download. So let's just start at the beginning. You know, what, maybe, like, what were some things early on that you were, you know, focused on for the dorm room? You have a daughter, so maybe I'm sure she had an aesthetic she was looking to work towards.
- [01:33]
D
Right. Well, that was what was so nice about what Ballard offered was that she had so many choices. So you, you know, you could kind of narrow down by color what was speaking to you the most. And it was the spa and sage kind of combination. And she really gravitated toward that. So that sort of started our kind of talking about everything. Y' all had wonderful fabrics, too. And so we just started with picking her headboard fabric, and it was that ditzy floral. I think it was so cute. And picked the headboard and then kind of just started building layers from there. And we pulled. I always like to use a check in my. All of my designs.
- [02:12]
A
Yeah.
- [02:12]
D
And so you have this wonderful spa colored buffalo check. And we used that in the bedding, so we used that for her duvet and her Euro sham. And we kind of accented with deeper, the sage color in her lamps and kind of pieced all the bedding together from there. So we started with color and with all the Ballard line stuff that we wanted to use the monogram pillow, the larger pillow that went across the dorm bed, the bed skirt. And then that was really. That's kind of. And what was really nice, actually, is that her adorable roommate, that they didn't know each other at all. And now they're such good friends.
- [02:49]
A
Aww.
- [02:50]
D
That's the best. Oh, my gosh. We have been so fortunate. That and her mom shout out Bobby and Francis. They were incredible. And they really were so trusting because, you know, I mean, we didn't know them. And so then I'm here. I am saying we're going to use this. This stuff so that they can match, and I hope you like it. You know, and they really. They coordinated and talked, so we knew that they were going to be happy with the colors. But it was just a really. A really nice place to start. It felt very familiar just because the patterns are so friendly. They're very soft. And it just felt like, you know, something that she could feel comfortable with. And so we. Yeah, fabrics is where we started.
- [03:29]
A
It makes sense. You're all starting with a bed because, you know, as we all know, that's kind of.
- [03:34]
D
That's what you got. That is all you've got pretty much. Right. Yes. And so we had gone on a tour when she did kind of her, you know, admitted students day and got to go into one of the dorm rooms. And I think all of the colleges are really good about having dimensions of everything. So we got a packet with all of the furniture measured out, you know, for. From every angle. It's not. Not like it used to be. So even so, the. The room is basically dimension, but not each individual room. And that's something that we learned. There are, like, more master maps of a lot of the dorms that show you where the chases are in the walls and the soffits are in the walls, and you just have to finagle your way into finding who has that master map to know what your exact room like, how it's laid out. I'm so impressed. But, y', all, there's so many Facebook par. And all these things where people pass this information along. So, like, you will find it. It's not. It's not that hard to come by. So we found where she had a chase on the left side that was vertical, and she had a soffit over her window. And so.
- [04:39]
B
So people know what a chase is, because I don't.
- [04:40]
D
Oh, she's. A chase is where on a high rise, plumbing is running up and down vertically. And so a chase is kind of blocked off. It's just a. Where it like eats into the corner a little bit and it runs all the way down, up and down the building. And so it kind of cut into the rectangle of the dorm room. But yeah, so the beds take up the most room and we just kind of had to piece it together. And you can't take any of the furniture out. All of it has to stay in the room. So even if you don't use it, it has to stay in the room like under the bed or wherever you want to put it. So we had to kind of. It's like working a puzzle around and figuring out how it's all going to fit together. So that's kind of. Yeah, that's kind of.
- [05:20]
A
Okay. So talk to us about the anatomy of a great bet. You said there was a. You started with a headboard, you had a Dutch pillow. But like, you know, for someone maybe who isn't you and you're very, you know, comfortable mixing and matching patterns. Like, what would you kind of advise people?
- [05:36]
D
So I've definitely, like the under layer I would get for a dorm, especially a topper that's like a, you know, foam topper or something that can make that mattress a little bit more plush. And then from there, like really good sheets. Just something that will maybe feels like your home, your sheets at home, so that it feels a little more familiar. Madden just used white, just cotton percale sheets. And. And I like white sheets almost on every bed anyway, because they just work with everything. So that's kind of one of my rules. And then I will say for a dorm, you should always order, especially if you're going to raise the beds, order a queen size, a full queen size for the outer things like the duvet and the coverlets, because you're going to want them to look proportionally more appropriate with the length of the bed skirts because they're going to be long. And then the great thing about that is those pieces can go transition with you into your apartment living in a full size or a larger bed, which is great. So then I would say we did a. We did. Is it Amelia. The matte lassee that's kind of like got the little balls on the edges.
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A
Audrey.
- [06:42]
D
Audrey. Audrey. So we did the. It's kind of the. The spa colored Audrey as the coverlet and then the buffalo check duvet and Euro shams. I like to mix the patterns a little bit and I think we had the sage band on the bottom of the bed skirt, but I popped that color like that's represented in the headboard. We did the lamps and we did the monogram pillow up on the bed with the sage. So like, I think when you're repeating that color a couple of different times throughout the room, it kind of brings it all together and makes it feel successful.
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A
Yeah. What I loved about Madden's bed, that buffalo check and all of the different layers. I think some people tend to go white on everything.
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D
Yes.
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A
But the color and the pattern makes the bed more like heavier. Visually.
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D
Agreed.
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A
Which draws your eye there and it just makes. Makes it more impactful, which I think is what you.
- [07:38]
D
Thank you. Yes. Well, that and white is hard. You know, it's hard to live with a white bed when the bed is the biggest part of the room for a whole year. It's everything. You study, you're doing homework. Yeah, yeah. So we were trying to keep, you know, just keep that in mind too, that this had to suffer some wear and tear, so. And it all looks great. I mean, I saw it a couple of weeks ago and it really has held up. It looks. Looks pretty darn good.
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A
So outside of the sheets, everything else you basically got as a fuller.
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D
I did, yeah. And then I figured, you know, next year when she goes to an apartment, we'll piece together more of those Euro shams for her queen size bed and kind of add whatever we need to. But we have the main pieces to start with, which is great.
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A
That's nice to give you a head start.
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D
Yeah, exactly.
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A
That way you feel wasteful when you're going into the. The apartment. You're not having to, you know, start from scratch.
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D
Yeah, right.
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A
All over again. You just bought all the twin stuff, now you're buying all the queens.
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D
Exactly. Yes. So it was. It's been great to have.
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A
Okay, well, I know that there's so much more to the dorm room than just the bed, so. Okay, what's next? You like, what are all the things?
- [08:47]
D
Well, I guess the stuff that you have to use. They had desks, so we ended up putting them side by side. And I, Because I had great dimensions from the school, I had table skirts made to fit over it and then we had glass made to go on top of that. We put them side by side and they used them more as makeup mirrors rather. Or vanities, I should say, rather than desks, though I think there was some studying done there as well. But we.
- [09:12]
A
Or so they say.
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D
That's what. Yeah, that's right. Word on the street. And then they had little nightstands that came with the room and Neither girl wanted to use one of those. They didn't fit, so they tucked those under their beds. But they were good drawer space for storage. And that's all that we. And two chairs, too. They had some ugly, you know, kind of metal chairs that we bought. Cute little Ballard woven rattan, the shield back. Oh, yeah.
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A
Kira, I think.
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D
Is that right?
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B
Don't ask me names.
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D
They're really cute. I know which one you're.
- [09:43]
B
Oh, I can tell you what it looks like. I couldn't tell you his name.
- [09:47]
D
Yeah, so we did those and I put. I made little pads to put in those to make them a little more comfortable for sitting. And anyway, that's what we. We tucked the. The other chairs under their beds also. That's how high they go. I mean, the drop is like. I want to say it's over 24 inches. Everything else was under the bed. And. And then we ended up purchasing a futon from somebody from the year before. And we did a little coffee table from them and then some Ikea kind of like block shelves with the baskets. You know, everybody has some of those lying around. I actually had them in my garage, but we flanked the futon with that. And then I just made some extra pillows and it just kind of like all came together. It was a really cute if, you know, even though it was a tiny room, there was a living space, a getting ready space, and a sleeping space. You know, kind of felt like it was compartmentalized enough that they, you know, was cute. Yeah. So. Yeah.
- [10:42]
A
And we'll repost. We'll probably repost so people can see on this room. But okay, so they had the back to back or the side by side vanity desks on one side. And then that was sort of facing the futon.
- [10:55]
D
Right?
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A
Okay.
- [10:56]
D
Yeah. So each girl at the end of their bed, Aunt Frances had the vanity side and Madden had the living side with the futonic.
- [11:03]
A
Talk to us about the storage because that to me seems probably the biggest.
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D
Yeah.
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A
Conundrum.
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D
It is. So the bed. But there's a lot of space under that bed. So we did start with four of those kind of. I mean, there's a million reels about them, but the rolly Tupperware drawer units. And we zip tied them back to back. So you push them under because that's how deep your bed is. It can accept two depths of. Okay, things. Well, they roll out. You, like lift the bed skirt up and roll them out and then flip them around if you need them and roll, you know, like you can access both sides. You Know what I'm saying? Yes, but.
- [11:45]
A
But you wouldn't be doing that all the time. You might put stuff that you don't need.
- [11:49]
B
No, no, I think that's day to day.
- [11:50]
D
That's day to day. Because we didn't have visible. This is for clothes. Yeah, Visible chest of drawers or anything where they could. That. That was where they stored all their clothes. In addition to the closet, which back
- [12:04]
A
to back is kind of genius. But I would have never thought that.
- [12:06]
D
Oh, why did. I wouldn't have either. Except I saw it.
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A
Yeah.
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D
On TikTok, but saved a lot of space. And so we had two of those side by side, which were essentially four of those little units in addition to the little drawer thing from the school next to it under there and the chair way back in the back corner.
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B
Oh, my gosh. Yeah, we got a lot under there.
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D
We did. And then in the closet we did, you know, like little. A shoe rack and we did some of those hanging cube things. And then she had all of her clothes and then we had baskets up on the shelves. So.
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A
So underneath the bed.
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D
Yes.
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A
You have the cubbies. Oh, this is what I was going to ask. Would you say that this was. This is sort of something that all the dorms do, or were you looking at old mists stuff specifically?
- [13:01]
D
I think all the dorms tend to raise their beds. I feel like it's. I mean, it's rare that you don't see it. So I would say more often than not, Ole Miss is a little bit special in that people really decorate their rooms. So I. And it's. I feel like that's happening a lot in the SEC schools with the girls particularly. But I was. Yeah, I. I think. I think most people will. Could benefit from using that kind of storage under a raised bed. Okay.
- [13:28]
A
I was just curious if Liz will next year.
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B
I was going to say, I know you have someone heading off.
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C
I do, I do, yeah. And we're at the point where we're starting to sketch things out and be like, what do you really need to take?
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D
What don't you need to take? Yes.
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C
So was there anything on the list that she took that she ended up not using?
- [13:52]
D
We were talking about it. I just wanted to get her feel or her take on this all. And she really did use everything that we took. I would say the main thing I came home with were command hooks. I didn't use any of the command hooks. I used a ton of command tape and command Velcro strips, but I didn't use a lot of the hooks. So that was just. But that other than that we brought, we used basically everything that we took. And she says she's has been rotating out clothes and things like that. And when she's come home she's brought some things. But you would be shocked at how much is shoved into that room. And you don't see it. I mean, it really is nicely disguised. Yeah.
- [14:31]
A
Okay. What about the moving in though, before you've arranged everything and you've just got all this stuff. That's something that feels like a real panic moment.
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B
It is.
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D
And I, I wish I had set up a time lapse video because what they do is like for Ole Miss and I'm speaking only because I know that process, but they meet you out at your car and they take everything out of your car and they have these huge almost refrigerator boxes, dollies, they load them all up and then your stuff gets in the queue. So then we went up and. And we're just basically waiting for it to come off of the elevator. And we were fortunate. Our room was right off of the elevator. But what they don't really tell you is, well, they don't tell you that you have to keep all that furniture that they provide in there, number one. And they don't tell you that you can't put stuff out in the hallway when you're trying to set it all up. So yeah, fortunately I had my husband and my 16 year old son, so we had a little bit of, of muscle and so we would slide all the, everything to one end because we did rugs. We had, we did a rug that basically fit the footprint of the room. Roll it all out and then put everything on the rug and then roll the other side out. And it was just like this back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until we got it all to the right place. But, but it was also the, the four of us, my daughter, myself, our, my husband and my son and the roommate and her mom. We were all in that room together. As we're doing this back and forth.
- [16:00]
A
It's a lot of bonding.
- [16:01]
D
Yes. And meanwhile like all these refrigerator boxes of stuff from other people's rooms are coming off the elevator. I mean it was, it's crazy, but everyone is so, I mean everyone's so excited, everyone's working together and it's just like this really fun and, you know, exciting atmosphere.
- [16:15]
B
Was that like the first time they met too? Was like as you're rolling in person. Oh, great.
- [16:19]
D
I love. Isn't that crazy? And again, it was just so Magical. Because they gotten along and they've become such good friends, but, like, they. We all work together so well as a team that day, and it was a lot. A lot, a lot. Yeah. So.
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A
So you're just going bit by bit, like, organizing. Is there a. Other than the rug, do you start with the bed and, like, everything.
- [16:42]
D
My husband made a cabinet to go between the beds, too. So a lot of people do. And I would say that's part of the reason it was so successful, this room. But a lot of people do a cabinet with a refriger. That's like the tall refrigerator with the freezer on top and then the microwave on top of that. So that makes your cabinet really tall. I. And my husband's a builder, and he has no problem, like, working with all this stuff and putting it together. So we kind of drew it out so that it. To keep the height down, because I thought it blocked a lot of the window light, and it kind of made the beds look out of proportion when that cabinet gets so tall. We made it so that each girl had their own square refrigerator. So one on each side and then one microwave. So it kept the height down. So that was. The next thing to go in was once we got the rug in, we had to get that against the far wall and then got the headboards up, beds in place. I think then we dressed the beds so that we could get all of that. Cause that's all in bags. Got that all out of the bags, off the floor, on the bed, and then you could get the bags kind of like, folded up and out of the way. Oh, my go.
- [17:50]
A
It's like playing Tetris in a.
- [17:52]
D
It totally is like Tetris. That's exactly. Yes, that's exactly what it felt like.
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A
But also with, like, six people. Four grow. Well, no, no.
- [18:02]
D
It was six of us in a room that's 15 by. I think it's 12 by 15ish. Yeah.
- [18:09]
A
Wow.
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B
Just like an episode of Friends. That's all.
- [18:12]
D
That's right. Yeah. So true. Yeah.
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A
Okay. But you also did window treatment, so talk to us about the window treatment.
- [18:24]
D
Yes. Well, so I think it was. People would ask me, you know, are you putting your designer hat away for this? And it was like, I can't. I can't. I mean, you give me a blank canvas, and I'm going to think about how I would handle it. And I think one of the main things that I do in all my designs is think about, like, how to soften it and how to bring the room down into being More intimate. And so for me, a lot of times, that is adding fabric, adding window treatments, and covering the walls with things that mean something to me or, you know, make the room tie together. They had one really big, decent size window, I should say, in the middle. And then a soffit was over that all the way across. And so in my mind, I was like, if I could drape that whole wall and make that all the cinder block and all the drywall go away, I felt like it would be just very cozy. So we. And this was, this was something we learned on the job because we. So I bought Amazon drapes and I glued on some, you know, cheap trim on the lead edge. I took a Ballard drapery panel that's in the Buffalo Check and had my workroom make it into a valance, but not on a board. It was just a piece of fabric that was pleated. And so. And then I bought an Amazon drapery rod and we bought clear, like stick on drapery, like brackets. Well, the brackets just would not hold the whole thing up. It just was not happening. So we. My husband actually had the great idea to zip tie the curtain rod to the blinds that are there that are permanently affixed to the windows. They're like the white metal blinds and they're so secure in that window. So we zip tied that puppy window. It was. And then we still used the, the sticky brackets, but you know, when we put a lot of them up there. But these curtains were not meant to move. They were just meant to drape the back wall. Yeah. And so that we just kept. We stuck them all along and we had. I mean, we seriously had alien tape and command tape everywhere just in like, wherever it would touch the walls. We kind of have stuff there just in case and just to let it hold as long as it possibly could. It's still standing. It's still. It's still there today.
- [20:42]
B
That's impressive. Yeah.
- [20:44]
D
Yeah. And then the, the balance across. We just put alien tape up across the whole thing. And what is alien tape? Okay. So I did. I learned this on the job too. It was like our next door neighbor had some because we were having trouble getting things to stick. And it's this clear. I mean, it's just.
- [21:00]
C
It's kind of like a. A tacky, like, stretchy, plasticky thing.
- [21:06]
D
And.
- [21:07]
C
And it has an adhesive that is super strong. But you. At the same time you can peel it off the wall.
- [21:14]
D
Yes.
- [21:14]
C
Rinse it and the. It reactivates the glue. My dad believes in this stuff, hands down. So I Get. I get.
- [21:22]
D
I've never heard of this. You'll be all set then. Yeah, I'm not.
- [21:26]
C
Yeah, I'm like between the.
- [21:27]
D
Okay. Yeah.
- [21:28]
A
I've written down the fan tape command. Velcro, zip ties. Alien tape.
- [21:33]
D
Yes. Yeah, you can file that away for what, more years?
- [21:37]
A
Well, I'm asking for, you know, graduation gift.
- [21:41]
D
That's right. Actually, that would be a good. That's a cute graduation gift. Yeah. And like a cute basket would be.
- [21:48]
A
Okay, so what, what are the other like random things that you would suggest?
- [21:52]
D
Oh, man. Let's think. Well, I would say my daughter did say she wished that we had made, made it so the drapes would close because it, even though those blinds, it's still really bright. So there's just a little hot tip if anybody can figure out how to do that with, you know. I know. Yeah.
- [22:10]
A
You can't close the curves because of the way the Draper rod is.
- [22:13]
D
And I didn't, I didn't. I actually didn't order them to function. I ordered them only to drape about. They wouldn't have been long enough to do that. But in hindsight I could have done that. Let's see other tips. What else did we do? Well, I did instead of. A lot of people do little side bedside shelf unit things. And I was like, we just couldn't figure out how to get that together and.
- [22:36]
A
What do you mean?
- [22:36]
D
Like, they're kind of like shelves that, they're narrow. So basically for Madden's side, it would have covered like the width of the chase, you know, and like come out from that and Anne Francis's side. I think we didn't have enough room to do this anyway, so maybe that's why we didn't do it. But I found these. They're little plastic like L shaped shelves that are probably maybe 12 inches in length and they stuck with alien tape. And so we just put it kind of at the mattress height and ran up extension cords from under the bed. So. And then she had like a place to charge her phone and have an alarm clock or whatever you needed right there by the bed. That was, that was something that, that kind of worked out really well. I also ordered. What do you call them? Well, they're sconces, but they were battery operated sconces with LED light bulbs. And we stuck those on with alien tape and then they just take off the bulbs and recharge them when they, when they want to. And they change like to a million colors. So if they're having people over, they can have purple Lights or whatever. And that was fun. And I found a. A little. Not little, a big poster on Etsy that said, what's the best that could happen? Which I just thought that was like a good. That would be good to see that every day, you know, like, leave the. Leave your room with that kind of message. And my sweet framer framed it for. For her graduation part, like present. And we hung that over it, but framed it very light so it was like, with. I think it was a light. Not even plexi, because it was really light, but something over the frame, over the image. We hung that up. Oh, another thing I did, because I always like to decorate with plates too. That's pretty common knowledge. But I found some adorable melamine ones from anthropology that were like a mint color. They kind of went with all of the. All of the color scheme and they were just adorable. This, like scalloped melamine plates. And I stuck those on with command Velcro around above the picture.
- [24:36]
A
Huge.
- [24:37]
D
Yeah. Like, just another little touch of like making it feel more residential. I mean, I think that was kind of the goal. Just make it as residential feeling as possible. Yeah. And we layered another small rug kind of at the futon too, like, on top of. She had a kind of a big jute rug. And then we layered a smaller, like, colorful rug on top of the rug or the big rug there.
- [24:56]
A
How many extension cords are you using?
- [24:58]
D
Let's think. I think we. I think I bought like.
- [25:01]
A
Like more than 10.
- [25:02]
B
Oh, 10.
- [25:03]
D
I think I brought 10, but I can't say that I used 10.
- [25:06]
A
Okay.
- [25:06]
D
I think we probably. She probably has three going. One for a fan and the light on her side. And Aunt Francis has one for her fan and light and then one up for her phone charger. And then I think there's another one, like over.
- [25:19]
A
Gotta be some of the vanities.
- [25:20]
D
Yeah, there's some over there. Yeah, there's one though, because they're side by side, so you kind of like, you know. But they were both plugged into the same one and into the. Into the wall. Yeah, yeah.
- [25:29]
C
And then zip tie those on up the. The bed frame.
- [25:34]
D
We did. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Zip ties are. I mean, like, I didn't size zip ties. Like minis. No, not minis. Minis won't do anything. But you need probably like the. The 6 to 12 inch. Because some of the big boys you need for, you know, those. Those cubbies we were talking about earlier? Yeah, right. You need. You want heavy duty ones to handle that, and then you can. And then for the curtain rods. You need the big boys, too, to kind of hold them tight. Yeah, yeah. Zip ties are good. This is great. You know, dorm rooms, Best friend.
- [26:02]
A
I know you got a supply list.
- [26:03]
D
Yeah, yeah.
- [26:04]
A
Cords.
- [26:06]
D
All the tapes.
- [26:07]
A
All the tapes, yeah.
- [26:08]
B
Did the closet have doors on it?
- [26:10]
D
No, I used the Ballard, the buffalo check drapery panels, and just. We put those on curtain rods or. I'm sorry, shower curtain rods. Yeah, yeah. Like in between the rods or whatever. Yeah, yeah. And then we. I did have some tassels I had ordered, and we just tied them back with tassels. Yeah, it was.
- [26:31]
A
What about closet storage? Okay. You said there were. Y' all had the long hanging cubbies, you had shelves, you had a shoe shelf, anything. I mean, you know, I think all of us ladies can attest that you got a lot of clothes. You got a really tiny closet.
- [26:47]
D
Yes.
- [26:47]
A
So any tricks. Tricks that you learned?
- [26:49]
D
I feel like I also hung. I did hang some of the command hooks in the closet because, you know, between where the clothes stop and the door frame there was about 12 inches maybe. So we kind of put several hooks there for little handbags to hang or scarves or any kind of accessories were hanging there. What else do we. Oh, she did use. I mean, she uses this all the time. One of those rolling, like, you know, square bags that everybody seems to have.
- [27:17]
A
I saw someone walking down the street with one of those the other day, y'.
- [27:20]
D
All. Yeah, they're amazing with the handles. I know. They roll so beautifully.
- [27:24]
A
It looks like a rolly suitcase, but it's a. But a laundry hamper.
- [27:28]
D
It's like a box bag, and it keeps it shape. So she has one of those slid in, and that's her laundry hamper. So when she. She just drags it out and in onto the elevator rather than like a, you know, like a big Santa bag.
- [27:42]
A
You got one.
- [27:42]
D
You got to. Genius. Yeah, it worked out really well. I wasn't the one that thought of that either.
- [27:47]
A
Yeah, right.
- [27:49]
D
And it tucks in nicely, you know, like, it doesn't take it vertical rather than wide, so it takes up.
- [27:54]
B
Brilliant picture.
- [27:55]
A
A rolly suitcase with just an open top.
- [27:57]
D
Yeah, basically.
- [27:58]
C
Yeah.
- [28:00]
D
Yeah. It's crazy. Yeah. So we did that, and then. And I do think we did pant hangers, the ones that kind of, like, stack vertically down all in one. That. That helped kind of consolidate some hanging space. Oh, gosh.
- [28:14]
B
What about a, like, mirror?
- [28:16]
D
Because I know they can. So we did buy some hutches from someone that fit on top of those desks. Desks, which Ended up being the vanities that had little swivel mirrors, like, mounted in one of the sides of them. So that was where they had mirrors. And then we did do one on the back of their door. The back of the door was mirror.
- [28:34]
B
Because I was like, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta.
- [28:36]
D
Yeah, you need that back, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [28:40]
A
I would think they might have them on the back of the door already.
- [28:43]
D
And I think they may have. But we didn't like it or it wasn't. I think it was short. It was really short and would cut their feet off. You know, they couldn't see their whole skull.
- [28:52]
B
Yeah, you can't see the shoes.
- [28:53]
D
So I think we put something over it. I think we did another one over.
- [28:56]
A
Or the Facebook groups at every college you imagine just like got all the.
- [29:01]
D
We've got all the things full of tips. Have you checked that out yet?
- [29:05]
C
No, I haven't, but I'm going to need to because my kid's going across the country.
- [29:09]
D
Yes. So.
- [29:10]
C
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I need to figure out how to do all of this without loading it into a car.
- [29:18]
D
Right.
- [29:18]
C
And.
- [29:19]
A
Well, Ducky, I got some girlfriends over there, so it's like, hey, Susie, I'm shipping a bunch of stuff to your house.
- [29:24]
C
I might just do that actually.
- [29:26]
D
Yeah, you should. I've also heard through one of these Facebook groups that you can. You know the ikea, the big plastic bags that we all pack stuff in. You can check those bags. So you could pack it full.
- [29:36]
C
Like the big zip ones.
- [29:38]
D
You can check that. Oh, I mean, here I'm like, speaking. Like, I know I just read it online, but so it must be true.
- [29:47]
A
The good news is you're not going to Siberia. No, right. Like, everyone's gonna buy all the things.
- [29:52]
D
Yeah, they're definitely a target.
- [29:54]
C
They do have an Ikea, and I know how to get through those.
- [29:57]
D
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [29:59]
A
Oh, God. I made the mistake of going to IKEA on, like, Georgia Tech's move in weekend once, and I was like, what is happening?
- [30:08]
D
Why is it so crisp? Oh, my gosh, I can't imagine.
- [30:13]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [30:14]
D
Oh, bms. Okay.
- [30:19]
A
Anything else that you took that you didn't use?
- [30:21]
D
No, I really. Other than extra command hooks, we used everything. But I think planning, you have to plan. You have to really think about it and think about each wall and each need and like, really. And I'm not. I mean, I do this for. Gosh, I keep doing that. I do this for a living, but I still don't always know exactly what's going to happen when I get into an install. So this I feel like because you're so limited on space and it's for someone to live for a whole year. I had to, I did really think about each thing and I just ordered away and. No, I think as long as you go prepared or know that you can get through something if you know, if you need it. But that was the main, the main thing. But we used everything. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
- [31:07]
A
I'm sure there are going to be people listening who are thinking, this is a lot of things to order for my child's one year bedroom at college. So if you were going to prioritize the important stuff.
- [31:20]
D
Oh, for sure.
- [31:21]
A
What would you say are like the must haves.
- [31:24]
D
Yes.
- [31:24]
A
And then, you know, maybe the nice.
- [31:26]
D
Well, I think the bedding, I mean, I think because they're living. They're do you know they're living on that bed. So I think getting nice bedding that looks pretty and makes them. That says either something about their personality or makes them feel like it's pulled together. I think that bedding can go a really long way. I also think a rug, I think you, you want your feet to be cozy and not stepping on maybe that linoleum floor that's there. So I would, I would say go for something. And I personally think the bigger you can do for a rug, the better that space will feel. The less of that linoleum tile you can see, the better. You know, I think that would go a long way also. And then I think personalize your art. So bring something from home that, that speaks to you, whether it be framed pictures of your friends or your family or you know, come up with some things that you, that speak to you that, that you really like to look at every day.
- [32:15]
A
Yeah.
- [32:16]
D
And that was, I think those are the main things. Everything else, and I know it was completely unnecessary. And if I didn't do this for my job, I probably wouldn't have seen it. Just an install is an install for me. And so I just treated it as such. But yeah. Yeah. And it's.
- [32:31]
A
I'm sure at some point you're like, if we're, if we're doing this, like we're doing this, we're just gonna do it. Just, we're gonna just go for it.
- [32:37]
D
And it's like, how often do you. I only had this one chance to do this with one daughter that I have. So it was fun. It was really fun. I was glad to have the opportunity and that to work with y' all too. I mean, I thought Ballard did such a beautiful job and filled such a void that had been, you know, just looming there that it's just so nice that you offer so many pretty things.
- [32:57]
A
It's been a fun, I think, like, area to learn about because, you know, certainly when I was in college, it was not.
- [33:06]
D
No.
- [33:06]
A
This was not a thing.
- [33:07]
D
I wish I'd had a headboard.
- [33:09]
A
Yeah.
- [33:09]
D
And I don't know why I didn't think I could, you know, I could have had a headboard.
- [33:13]
C
And the headboard is just so. It's such a nice way to make it feel like home, to make it feel like that it's comfortable and it brings such a focal point into the bed.
- [33:25]
A
And they're really not that expensive.
- [33:27]
D
It. No. And I would. Yeah. Maybe let's add that to the list too, the things that bedding and the headboard. Because I think you're right, that that's something that you really see and it ties it all together. Yeah.
- [33:37]
A
And you're studying in the bed, so you are going to be leaning up against it.
- [33:40]
C
Yeah, it is. It is everything. And it's where you're hosting, it's where you're reading, you're studying, where you're just hanging out, having dinner.
- [33:49]
A
Yeah.
- [33:50]
C
I really love the Dutch pillow, the oversized pillow, too, that we have. That's reversible. It's the full width width of the twin bed, which makes it different. So it kind of takes the place of like those clunky body pillow.
- [34:05]
D
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [34:07]
A
It's almost like a cross between a Euro sham and a king sham.
- [34:10]
D
Yes.
- [34:10]
C
Yeah.
- [34:11]
A
You know what I mean? Like, it's as wide as a king sham, but it's taller.
- [34:13]
B
Like, I wanted to buy one just to use myself, but I couldn't figure out how.
- [34:18]
D
Yeah.
- [34:18]
B
Like, without it just like being weird.
- [34:20]
D
Like, do I anything I was like,
- [34:22]
B
do I do for my kids?
- [34:23]
D
I think it kind of makes it like a day bed, maybe to your point that it. It sits. Sits nicely up against the headboard. And so then you don't feel like you're sitting up against your bed necessarily. It kind of gives you that little bit of.
- [34:33]
C
Or if it's against the wall, you can shift it and move it against
- [34:36]
B
the wall because those walls are definitely. Ours were cinder block.
- [34:39]
A
Yeah.
- [34:40]
D
Oh, yeah, they're cinder block.
- [34:41]
B
So like sitting against a cinder block.
- [34:43]
D
Yeah.
- [34:44]
B
Gives vibes you don't want.
- [34:47]
C
Nobody wants.
- [34:48]
D
Yeah, yeah, nobody wants.
- [34:50]
B
I think the queen sizing for the bedding was you. Just like you.
- [34:57]
D
Yeah.
- [34:57]
B
That was the light Bulb for me because I took that. My twin cover that I had Ralph Lauren stripes, lime green, yellow and orange with a green pipe. Anyway, that came with me to my next place. My next place. And I would use it at the end of my bed folded over just to like. Because I had the lampshade that matched from college. And like, so yes, my apartments were. And then the green with white polka dots, like correlate it.
- [35:22]
D
I mean. Yeah.
- [35:23]
B
Ugh.
- [35:24]
D
It was so good.
- [35:25]
B
My lampshade matched.
- [35:26]
A
Ugh. Oh, my gosh.
- [35:28]
D
You were before your time.
- [35:29]
A
Yes.
- [35:29]
D
I mean, but I didn't have.
- [35:30]
B
But I'm thinking too. I'm like, to your point, having the longer, like, bedding would have been so nice. Would have, like, helped with the scale. Totally. Because we had nothing to hide the
- [35:40]
D
stuff under the bed.
- [35:41]
A
Oh, and the vanity table is crazy to me. I mean, great. But like, you know, when I was in college, we would sit. Everybody had a full length mirror on the back of the door. And we would just sit.
- [35:50]
B
And your makeup bag would fall.
- [35:51]
D
Yeah.
- [35:52]
A
And so everyone did hair and makeup behind the door. And then, of course, someone wants to open the door and then you get the face.
- [35:58]
B
Yeah.
- [35:58]
D
It's not. Not a great process.
- [35:59]
A
That sounds way better.
- [36:01]
D
It looked really cute. And it was more storage, too. That actually, that desk had a few drawers underneath it. So they just had to lift up. I mean, just had to lift up the. The skirt. And then the hutches had some shelving also with some baskets and all that. So. Yeah, I mean, it just, it came together.
- [36:17]
C
It's pretty cute installing the skirt skirts on the bed because they don't. They just tie.
- [36:22]
D
They just tie straight on. So it's in three separate pieces or two. We only did two separate pieces because we. I think it comes in a three panel and a two panel. And we knew they were both going to be against the wall, so very easy.
- [36:33]
B
Wait, no, I'm not understanding. Hold on. The skirt is three pieces.
- [36:37]
D
The bed skirt. Skirt on the bed.
- [36:40]
B
I'm picturing the skirt on the vanity.
- [36:42]
D
No, no, the bed skirt. The bed skirt. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [36:45]
C
So when the bed is up against the wall, you only need the two panels. The long panel that.
- [36:51]
D
And then one at the foot of the bed.
- [36:53]
C
And.
- [36:53]
A
Yeah.
- [36:54]
C
And they're adjustable to whatever height.
- [36:57]
D
You can kind of. You can kind of finagle them because they're under the mattress and you can hide all of whatever you're having to do down there. You can hide it. But yeah, we just. We just tied them all and just made sure. That they were taught because I think that was the thing. You didn't want to look droopy. But it all. They. It was really a smart design to do that and had it made him tie up so great.
- [37:18]
A
Okay, so walk us through how it maddens. Dorm room accoutrements are moving into her new apartment that she'll have next year. And like, what are you planning for the apartment? What's. What's the strategy there?
- [37:30]
D
The question of the day. I'm currently in the depths of planning that, but secured some chairs last week. We do a lot of. We're doing a lot of Facebook marketplacing on this because I'm having to come up with some upholstery this year where, you know, all the furniture was provided for me last year. Yeah. So. So I'm Facebook marketplacing some sofas and I found some chairs last week. What she's taking with her is all the bedding and I'm going to supplement and add another euro sham to match. So she has a pair. The hutch that my husband built. She's. Or the cabinet, she's going to use that. And I don't know where that's going to go yet. It's either going to go in her room or it's going to go in her TV room. And then the pair of durable chairs that were woven, those are going to go just flanking something in the apartment. They don't have space for a dining table. They just have an island with some bar stools. So we'll be securing some bar stools here shortly. And then I think a lot of the storage things, the baskets and the, you know, a lot of the accessories and all the art that we used will be going with her. And we'll just, you know, know, ask me next year after I've had my install day, how it comes together. But. But I'm. We've been thinking about it and there's going to be three roommates. So we've been kind of talking with the girls about, you know, kind of what. What they want within reason. Because Facebook Marketplace is not, you know, predictable. You have to go with the flow. So that's what we're piecing it together.
- [39:02]
B
I think the three is the hard part too. Like the three roommate mix, like you can get on one person on board. I accidentally got put. Not accidentally.
- [39:10]
A
Excuse me.
- [39:10]
B
We planned to. I had picked a roommate, but then we got put in a quad. So we showed up and one side was perfectly matching and the other side
- [39:18]
D
was like rogue
- [39:22]
A
because it was four
- [39:22]
B
people and like we didn't know we were having them fours and aggressive.
- [39:25]
D
Yeah. That is a tough time.
- [39:26]
B
There's a lot of first time friends.
- [39:28]
D
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [39:30]
B
I think get move. This is different where she's picking but still getting coordinated on like what is your living space?
- [39:35]
A
Space.
- [39:35]
D
Right. And it is like, I mean they're, they're all really cute. They've been, you know, they know that this is what I do and they're being somewhat trusting and you know, letting me kind of send them stuff that I find when I, when I know that it will be right. Because I've taken their plan and I've drawn furniture in it and we know how it will lay out the best. So that's so lucky to have.
- [39:56]
A
I know.
- [39:57]
B
I mean, can you imagine?
- [40:00]
D
Well, as you know, I don't, I, it's like I, I, it's, I can't do what's, you know, I can't run numbers and I can't, you know, draw blood. But I can do this because I do it every day. So you know, it, if it makes it easier for other people, then that's, that's great. Yeah, yeah. And I like doing it. So.
- [40:16]
A
Okay, so what's the uphold. I want to go back to the upholstery because is your thought like, let's just get what we can get. That fills the hole. Are you like, I'm going to reupholster some stuff that can live for a long time.
- [40:28]
D
I'm not reupholstering. So I did find some great swivel chairs on World Market. They have these upholstered, adorable chairs. This is really cute pattern. And they were, they were on sale and I got, I signed up for something and I got more off. So that was a crazy good deal. That's what I got for the chairs. I'm not, I really don't want to reupholster anything because as we all know that actually ends up costing as much as another piece of furniture. So I'm really trying to find things that are in good condition that I can clean or you know, that I, or I know the source from where it came or that kind of thing. Because I don't, I don't, I don't. This is still a college apartment, right?
- [41:05]
B
Yeah.
- [41:05]
D
Oh yeah.
- [41:06]
B
We know what fun is to be had, right?
- [41:09]
A
Well, I mostly just am wondering like,
- [41:11]
B
oh, you're eating dinner on that sofa.
- [41:13]
D
Yeah.
- [41:14]
B
Like you are not eating.
- [41:15]
D
Your friends are going to spend the night there because they're coming in from, from out of town. Oh, for sure.
- [41:20]
B
People are sleeping on that sofa all the time.
- [41:23]
D
Right? So. Yeah, there's. Yeah, yeah.
- [41:26]
A
Anything that there that are like leftovers at your house that you're giving them.
- [41:33]
D
Let me think. Well, I do there as a rug, but it's just a sisal rug I'm going to take and that's going to be something. And then I have, I have some extra, you know, I have some extra drapery hardware and some extra things lying around my office that will make their way over to Oxford and show up over there. Probably a pair of drapery panels that will go over there. You know, there's just, just some perks to the business and some perks to having a designer mom that will show up over there. And, you know, I mean, it is. There's. I think it's an opportunity too. And Madden enjoys this, the hunt as well. So. Like going to antique malls and finding things that are fun and unexpected little things that aren't just what everybody else has. I think that's. That's kind of what I want to challenge her with this summer is coming up with some just accessories and some different ways to decorate that because I think that's helpful for your life to realize that not everything has to come out of a catalog. You can go out and find it and make it more you. You know, that's what sets your space apart from everyone else's.
- [42:34]
A
And you incorporate antiques so much into your design.
- [42:37]
D
Yeah.
- [42:38]
A
I think that's what really sets your. Your style.
- [42:41]
D
Thank you. Yeah, it's important to me. I think that's just a good. Just character layer that you need to add bad. So. Yeah, we're gonna be shopping a good bit this summer. Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of shopping. Oh, I'm so sorry for you. I know. It's so sad, isn't it? Do you need a step aunt who just likes shopping? Yeah. Yeah. Come on, let's go. Yeah, it's awesome. It's fun.
- [43:07]
A
Okay, what other. What? Well, we've covered the dorm. What else is going on in your. In your world? You've been doing lots of second home.
- [43:15]
D
Yes.
- [43:15]
A
As project clients.
- [43:17]
D
Yes. And we just wrapped up a really beautiful home we installed in Atlanta last week or two weeks ago now, but for an empty nester couple whose kids are all grown and now they're having children and they downsized a little bit, but then found this beautiful kind of French country home and we renovated it with them and redid the whole thing and that was really rewarding because they're, they're just the sweetest couple and they wanted their house to feel like their home, but, you know, refreshed. And so we used a lot of their, their accessories and placed them around and, you know, when you take somebody's stuff and then mix it up and use it in a different way, it's always really exciting. People really enjoy seeing it through somebody else's, you know, new perspective. And so that, that was. That's been really rewarding. And then, yes, I have, I have two more installs concluding my streak of installs for the first half of 2026. So we'll be in south of Atlanta. We're doing a farm, and then we're doing a lake house on Lake Kiwi in a couple weeks. So. And then we're going to take a big break. Everyone's going to take a. We're going to go get massages. I've already.
- [44:27]
A
I love it.
- [44:27]
D
Our whole team is going to go get a little spa day because they have just been running their tails off. So we're going to. Going to take. Take a deep breath and re, you know, regroup and start fresh. So the dorm room install.
- [44:40]
C
Yeah, yeah.
- [44:42]
D
Apartment. I gotta deinstall a dorm room and re. And then install an apartment. Yeah.
- [44:46]
A
You're gonna have to post on your Instagram about how much tape came off the walls.
- [44:50]
D
Oh, I should do that. I'll do a tape.
- [44:51]
A
Like how many.
- [44:52]
B
Oh, when you're rolling up the rug now you'll do it on the like.
- [44:55]
D
Yeah.
- [44:56]
A
Oh, I could do that.
- [44:57]
B
You can do the like.
- [44:58]
D
Yeah. Okay. Okay.
- [44:59]
B
Have her style it one last time and then that's a good idea.
- [45:03]
D
Okay, we'll. We'll try to do that. Yeah.
- [45:05]
B
You're like.
- [45:05]
D
If I'm like, oh, yeah, I felt like my outfit that day. No, that'll be. That's a good idea. Thanks.
- [45:14]
A
Well, thank you for coming by and sharing.
- [45:16]
D
Thank you.
- [45:17]
A
Her room was just adorable.
- [45:19]
D
Thank you.
- [45:21]
A
So lucky to have.
- [45:22]
D
Thank you.
- [45:23]
A
You do it for her. And we were lucky to get to see your pieces in it. So thank you.
- [45:27]
D
Thank you. I was lucky to work with you. So thank you all.
- [45:30]
A
Tell everyone where they can find you, follow you and see your work.
- [45:33]
D
Oh, great. My website is lauren deloachinteriors.com and you can find me on Instagram @lauren deloach interiors. Also. Yeah, I'm only on Instagram. I mean, I have a TikTok, but I. It's hard. Yeah.
- [45:48]
A
Instagram is already plenty.
- [45:49]
D
Yeah, I think so. Yes. I need younger people to do together,
- [45:57]
A
And that's our show. You can find all of the show notes on our blog howtodecorate.com podcast to
- [46:02]
B
send in a decorating dilemma, email your questions to podcastallarddesigns.net so we can help you with your space.
- [46:09]
D
And of course, be sure to follow
- [46:10]
A
us on social media at Ballard Designs.
- [46:12]
C
Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. And please leave us a review. We'd love to hear your feedback.
- [46:19]
A
Until next time, happy decorating.