School of swank: See the $20k dorm rooms of elite…
Gone are the days of merely shelling out for a commoner’s faculty tuition.
Luxury-loving faculty college students — and their well-funded mother and father — are flocking to inside decorators like Mississippi’s Shelly Gates, who charge up to $20,000 to remodel a cinderblock dorm space into a TikTok-worthy examine sanctuary.
Gates is a former elementary college trainer who named her business, Mary Margaret Designs, after her two daughters. And if she appears acquainted, it’s because you might need seen her on social media, where Gates’s “dream dorm” designs have racked up over 26 million views.
“She charges $20,000 for this and does 15 — 20 dorm rooms each year,” entrepreneur Joe Pompliano wrote on X, in response to a post by influencer Will Tjernlund about Gates’s designs. “Pretty good business for a few months’ work.”
In the three minute TikTok, an unnamed blonde freshman in a sizzling pink workout set walks into her new pad in the Presidential Village II dorm at the University of Alabama — yes, the same place that serves as a hotbed for RushTok — clearly in awe of her new, swanked-out abode. The dorm room consists of a cozy storage chair with a pink, ornamental rotary telephone pillow, a handmade sizzling air balloon ornament, and custom-made wall artwork in a combine of cheery pinks, yellows and blues.
Interior decorator Shelly Gates of Mary Margaret Designs confirmed off her staff’s “first dorm room reveal of 2026,” accomplished for a freshman at the University of Alabama. TikTok/@marymargaretdesignsdorm
“This has definitely been the year of color,” Gates completely told The Post, noting her providers are in demand “everywhere from Texas to Tennessee to Tallahassee.”
“We are seeing so many girls wanting pastels, bright colors, fun patterns, and just rooms that really feel like them,” said Gates, who primarily works with younger girls but has a few male purchasers. “Most dorms start out with cinderblock walls and fluorescent lighting, and honestly, they can feel a little cold and intimidating. We love taking those spaces and making them feel warm, happy and like home.”
Gates told The Post that this yr’s faculty college students are all about coloration for their dorm rooms. TikTok/@marymargaretdesignsdorm
She also added that this yr’s new college students are “getting a little more confident in mixing patterns and colors instead of playing it safe, and I absolutely love that.”
Gates’s course of includes getting to know the scholar on a personal degree and understanding their aesthetic tastes, along with their daily routines and their examine and sleep wants.
“We spend time on design calls talking through colors, fabrics, inspiration and really getting a feel for who they are. We also work really closely with parents, because sending your child off to college is such a huge milestone.”
And in the case of an epic dorm room, a milestone with mega-sticker shock — one that not every father or mother can get behind.
“The best business model going in this country, in any industry, is convincing people with disposable income that they need something that is completely unnecessary,” said one commenter on X.
Gates was once an elementary college trainer and based Mary Margaret Designs in 2022. Instagram/@marymargaretdesigns_
“If you aren’t sending your kids to college with a used futon, a hamper and a few posters, then you aren’t preparing them for real life,” another added.
But some defended Gates’ lavish providers, which start months before shifting day, with the busiest months of the season working from May through August.
“Heaven forbid should parents want to love and give the best that they can for their child,” wrote one artisanal wallpaper advocate on X.
Gates says creating a {custom} dorm room helps mother and father really feel more related to their now-independent teenagers. TikTok/@marymargaretdesignsdorm
At the end of the day, Gates, who remembers the “emotional season” of sending her own three children off to faculty, feels that she and her staff present a service that includes “so much more than having a pretty dorm room.”
“You’re dropping your child off for this brand-new chapter… If I can create a space where they feel comfortable, safe and excited to come home at the end of the day, then I’ve done my job. That’s always been what this is about for me.”
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