Auburn's Office of Residence Life announces winners of room decorating contest

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Many freshmen bring a hint of home into their residence hall rooms, but occasionally students find themselves going above and beyond with their efforts.

After move-in was complete and classes began, the Office of Residence Life gave students the chance to be rewarded for converting their rooms into cozy campus retreats.

"The Residence Life Room Decorating Contest offers students a way to showcase their creativity in transforming their residence hall rooms," said Aly Bolin, administrative graduate assistant with Residence Life. "In only its second year, the number of entries tripled!"

Alex Swilley and her roommate Avery Henson were awarded "Community Favorite Room" for their decorating in Dobbs Hall. Many of the room's items were hand-crafted by their parents, including monogramed pillow cases to cover their desk chairs.

"I have always had an eye for placement and design, so I decided to use my dorm room as my very first interior design project," said Swilley, freshman in pre-business. "I simply wanted to test my ability to create and visually see my inspiration come to life."

By utilizing online resources like Pinterest and Google images, Swilley was able to create an inspiration board featuring greys and blues, rustic wood and galvanized mirrors that she brought to life.

The winners of "Best Female Room," Julianna Dinsmore and Meredith Watford, decided to put a unique spin on Auburn's school colors in Glenn Hall. With a pop of gold highlighting the room of varying orange and blues, the girls draped holiday lights to display pictures.

"We didn't want to have the same side as the other, but we did match certain things with our theme," said Dinsmore, freshman in pre-business. "We tried to complement our individual personalities."

This year, Residence Life partnered with the Office of Sustainability to include a sustainability checklist in the entry forms. Half of the entrants completed the checklist, with several winners earning a "Green Room Designation."

Matt Hultstrand and his roommate Wilson Harris were awarded "Best Room in the Hill" as well as a "Green Room Designation" in Graves Hall. Decorated with simplicity, navy and orange created a classic Auburn theme for the room.

"The only thing we planned to match in our room was our rugs, but both of us ended up liking the same things," said Hultstrand, freshman in pre-business. "Recycling is easy, so we made sure our cardboard boxes we used during move-in were recycled and we're reusing our silverware and plates."

Residence Life worked with several campus and community partners to sponsor prizes and select winners, including Pizza Schmizza, the Office of Greek Life, the Women's Resource Center, UPC, the Student Alumni Association and Campus Recreation and Wellness.

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