Room Decor

Oberlin students have their own style, and each year that style is reflected in what most of them consider their home away from home.

A picture, bottle of scented oil, instrument case, and candle sit in a grouping on a table.

Two girls in a dorm room with streamed lights

A student hangs a string of white balls from the walls in his room.

POSTER DESIGN

Some students use posters to give their walls life; many of which can be purchased at Oberlin's annual poster sales, in local shops, or picked up at a campus free store called Fresh Swaps.

A girl looks through posters for sale on a table.

A student hangs a poster in his dorm room

A student works on a laptop with large posters on the wall in front of her.

A girl sits on her dorm room bed srrounded by posters on her wall.

ART AND TAPESTRY

Handmade artwork has adorned the walls of many residences halls at Oberlin College. Walls have been used to display personal sketches, paintings, poems, and even ink drawings on paper napkins, as seen below.

Prayer clothes hang from one end of a room to the other.

Drawings on paper napkins are tapped to a dorm room wall.

A landscape photo made into a tapestry hangs over a bed.

Tapestry, large string lights, and photos hang aover a student's bed.

Flags and photos cover the walls of a small dorm room

FLOOR DECOR

Area rugs help pull color palettes together.

THE CENTURY ADVANTAGE

Although they have been renovated over the years, Oberlin's large century homes (now used as residences halls) have retained their home-like atmosphere, while the architecture in these spaces gives residents a decorating edge. Long narrow windows and atypical floor plans, sloped ceilings, and moldings allow for creative furniture and art placement.

Talcott Hall was built in 1886.

TINY TOUCHES

Oberlin College has 10 Identity-Based and Language Communities arranged across campus that cover a variety of interests. Asia House (pictured) is an identity-based house with a capacity of 80 residents.

Two stuffed animals in a sleeping bag rest on a rug.

Shows sit in a neat row next to the door in a dorm room.

Students look through stacks of framed artwork.

THE [ART] OF RENTAL

Art Rental has been an Oberlin College tradition since 1940. The program invites students to live with an original work of art (or two) for a semester for a mere $5 per work.

A boy sits next to two pieces of artwork

Large artwork with framed wishbones sits on a rustic dresser.

SHARED DESIGN

Long before Move in Day, students have the opportunity to select and meet their roommates. Knowing each other's design aesthetic can make for a cohesive space.

Two roommates study in a dorm room. The room is decorated with posters, photos, streamed lights, and rugs.

An antique dresser and retro glass and gold lamp sit next to a bed.

Pictures line the back wall of a room with a string of lights above.

TIPS FROM THE THERAPIST

Maxwell Ryan ’89, founder of Apartment Therapy, shares room decorating tips in the fall 2018 issue of the Oberlin Alumni Magazine.

Room 127 in Barrows Hall after the makeover.

Before

After

Maxwell Ryan, founder of Apartment Therapy, was tasked with making over room 127 in Barrows Hall, a bland, brick structure on the campus‘ north quad that has housed thousands of students during its six decades of use. While the finished room is geared toward a first-year student, the tips he offers are good for most small spaces.