I was known at college for my insanely decorated dorm room – if Target's newest dorm collection had been available to me back then this is what I would have bought

Target dorm essentials, including a cream tufted comforter, blush and floral throw blankets, and gingham sheets, all styled on a twin sized bed next to a window.

Hindsight is 20/20, and while I like to think I’ve always been at least somewhat style-forward, there are a few early design decisions (read: mistakes) I now side-eye with my seasoned editor brain. My dorm room, though, isn’t one of them. Not-so-humbly: it was a tour de force. Sure, my style has evolved, but I made my half of that tiny room feel like home.

I did the most. Stick-on molding. Vintage magazines from flea markets, carefully framed in even older antique brass. I sketched out my pillowscape, which I ultimately ended up upholstering myself. Partly because I’m a control freak – but mostly because, back then, chic dorm room ideas were hard to find in stores.