FSU design expert explains how viral dorm room makeovers can affect student mental health

The phenomenon of transforming a college dorm room into a personalized living space has flooded social media, creating a flourishing market driven by fervent online communities. Behind the viral #DormTok trend lies masked benefits and consequences that go beyond remaking an Instagram-worthy room.

In a 2023 study published in “Anxiety, Stress, & Coping,” research showed students whose dorm rooms were less aligned with their ideal vision of a living space reported more depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower overall well-being. The closer a student’s living space matches their desired environment, the better their mental health outcomes tended to be.

Florida State University’s Stephanie Sickler, an associate professor at the FSU School of Design, centers her work on student success in design education and beyond. According to Sickler, personalizing living spaces on campus have both positive and negative consequences for mental and emotional health.

“Personalization of space creates a supportive environment that can be restorative in times of need and activating in times of growth,” Sickler said. “Students benefit when their private spaces are enhanced even in small ways. However, elaborate decorative dorm room appointments can quickly become weaponized as a delineator of perceived worth and value among campus housing residents when the disparity between individual spaces is as vast as the examples being promoted in the media.”

Sickler adds that students may take great pride in portraying a strong personal self-image in how they appoint their space. However, social media can contribute to them feeling like they cannot keep up with the aesthetics required for perceived acceptance, creating a lack of self-esteem.

Sickler, a recent inductee into the Council of Fellows of the Interior Design Educators Council, says research shows that redesigned living spaces can still be correlated to student success because of important predictors like having a campus community to identify with and living at least one year in campus housing.

“Students electing to live on campus are already ahead of their peers as it pertains to their chance for student success,” Sickler added. “Possessions are an important component to protecting one’s sense of self — an aspect students are building afresh with their start to college. Studies have shown that students’ well-being is positively influenced by their ability to personalize their private spaces with possessions that have value to them.”

Media interested in understanding how dorm room redesigns affect student mental health may reach out to FSU School of Design Associate Professor Stephanie Sickler via email at ssickler@fsu.edu.

Stephanie Sickler, associate professor, Florida State University School of Design

What are some of the most impactful design shifts — from a standard university dorm room to a customized living space — that you notice often in these dorm room makeovers? How can these redesigns benefit students?

“Standard campus housing provides furniture for students and a standard window covering such as mini blinds. Students only need to bring bedding, clothing and personal belongings to be able to move into their room. Highly customized spaces now include features such as upholstered headboards, window treatments, custom bedding, rugs and specialized furniture items such as upholstered ottomans and convertible chairs. These items, while beautiful, are luxury items used in private residences. Including them in a dorm room may make certain students feel more at home, if they have such features in their family home, but at the same time creates a false sense of what the world may be like when they graduate.”

“Custom soft goods vary greatly in cost, and since many are only used in the dorm for one year before students move to off campus housing or another residence hall, the expense is high for such a temporary housing scenario. That said, the soft headboard may make it more comfortable for a user to sit and study or watch tv in bed. Window treatments may offer better light control and sound insulation. Soft furniture may make it more comfortable to gather with friends in the room.”

“Some proponents of the trend have posited that students will no longer be using their dorm rooms for the live-work-sleep scenario as before, which seems a waste of the curated features. If the goal is to personalize the space to the point that the student feels they are back at home, it doesn’t make sense to never spend any time in the luxury space that was curated.”