The rules for interior decorating are different and much less fussy for guys in college. Posters still pass as “pieces of art” and torn-out pages of Rolling Stone are acceptable ways to cover up some space.
Picture and poster frames? Those are for young urban professionals. We’re college students shacking in temporary housing. Your art has to be as portable as your plastic drawer.
Funds are just about the only constraints; the rest is up to the individual to get creative to make their living space inhabitable.
One should start by amassing a few larger pieces that will be the focal points of your design. The subjects of your large posters should be diverse; too many Radiohead posters will scare people away. Instead, get a poster of your favorite band, movie, book, actor/actress or sports team. You’ll look like a more well-rounded individual and come off as somewhat versed in the arts.
Strategically place large pieces around the room, and be mindful of the spacing between them so as not to overload one wall with too many posters. For example, I always tack my Hunter S. Thompson poster right above my desk so I can channel the good doctor during bouts of writer’s block. My Halloween poster always hangs right above my pillow so the tip of Michael Myer’s butcher knife appears to violently interrupt my peaceful sleep. Scary? Yes, but it highlights my off-kilter sense of humor perfectly.
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Once the posters or flags are in place, start planning out the placement of your smaller posters. A good source of secondary art is inserts in CD’s, magazine covers, band T-shirts and maps. Like your large posters, these pieces must also represent some facet of your person.
As much detail should be given to hanging as selecting the art in the first place. It’s the precise details that bring a room together. Be mindful of shape and size, and be sure to complement the space between large posters by hanging smaller works at staggering heights. As a rule of thumb, most wall art should hang at about eye level.
Too many guys fall into the trap of hanging a beer pong poster and calling it a day. You play enough of that on the weekend that it doesn’t need further advertising. Posters from your favorite bar or beer company are also red flags. You wouldn’t want your sleeping quarters to smell like Kam’s, so why decorate it like a pub?
_Joe is a senior in Media._
