Decked-Out Dorms: Natalie Held
New BU Today series showcases sharp student rooms
Click on the circles above to see more of what Natalie Held displays in her dorm room.
In “Decked-Out Dorms,” BU Today’s new series, students show off their stylish and unique dorm rooms and apartments, dish on where they found their bedding and decor, and talk about the trinkets that remind them of home. Is your room worth sharing? Email orourkej@bu.edu.
Name: Natalie Held (College of Arts & Sciences’21)
Address: A three-person room in Danielsen Hall; she shares the triple with roommates Abigail Brewster (College of Fine Arts’22) and Sana Rana (Sargent College’20).
Short bio: A poli sci major, Held hopes to become a writer after college, with an eye towards combining her interests in political activism and marketing. She’s getting plenty of practice now as a writer and member of the social media team for the BU chapter of the online magazine Her Campus.
Fashion credentials: When she’s not writing, Held volunteers for the Victoria’s Secret street team and works as a brand ambassador for several fashion companies.
Working with the space you’re given: Sharing a room with two roommates, Held says, space is tight. But the room has a number of unique features: a boarded-up fireplace, a large closet, and built-in bookshelves. She set up her bed under a bookshelf and strung Christmas lights along it.
Where she shops: Target, HomeGoods, Five Below, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie. The last two chains are more expensive, so Held holds out for sales or gets discounts through friends who work there (“that’s obviously illegal, so I won’t name them to protect their identities,” she says with a laugh).
How much did all of this cost? The hanging lights above her bed are a Five Below find for $5 per string. The jewelry tree was $15 at HomeGoods, and the jelly bean lamp was $10 at Target (jelly beans not included). The bar cart that doubles as Held’s nightstand is another Target find ($40), and her bedspread and shams came from Urban Outfitters, on sale ($120). The greenery was anywhere from $5 to $25 per plant. Held says she rarely buys things at full price.
A popular trend she shamelessly follows: She doesn’t hesitate when asked—millennial pink. “I didn’t even like the color pink when I was little,” she says.
Where she finds her decorating inspiration: “Instagram, going through hashtags or accounts that I follow. I save things that I like. A lot of it also comes from my own life and what I’m passionate about, like my Polaroid pictures and my Feminist pillow.”
Random tip for those trying to decorate their rooms: Held says it’s important to make the most of your space and make it feel like a home. “We have a small triple, so we needed to make it comfortable for us to be in together,” she says. “Depending on where you put things, you can make it feel more homey.”
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