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How to Decorate

Ep. 467: Dorm Room Design 101 with Lauren DeLoach

How to Decorate

Caroline McDonald

Arts, Business, Design

4.4 • 838 Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We have a wonderful returning guest this week! Atlanta-based interior designer Lauren DeLoach is back on the podcast to share everything she learned while designing and installing her daughter's freshman dorm room at Ole Miss. As we launch the new Ballard Designs dorm line, Lauren sits down with Caroline, Taryn, and Liz to give the ultimate masterclass in dorm decorating. She explains how she tackled awkward cinderblock walls, the secret to finding the true dimensions of a dorm room, and why "Alien Tape" is a dorm parent's best friend. Quick Decorating & Dorm Takeaways: Find the "Master Map": Don't just rely on the general dorm dimensions provided by the college. Lauren explains that to truly plan a layout, you need to seek out the building's "master maps" (often passed around in college parent Facebook groups). These maps will show you exactly where the architectural quirks are located in your specific room, like vertical plumbing chases and window soffits. The Magic of Alien Tape: To soften the harsh cinder block walls, Lauren used a genius trick to hang full-wall drapery without drilling or damaging the school's property: Alien Tape! It provided enough grip to hold the drapes and create a beautiful faux-fabric wall behind the beds. Pack in IKEA Bags: When moving a kid into college, Lauren highly recommends packing softer items in the oversized, zip-up plastic IKEA bags. They are incredibly durable, hold a massive amount of stuff, and can even be checked as luggage on a flight if you are traveling out of state. Start with the Bed: In a dorm room, the bed is practically the only furniture you have to work with. Lauren and her daughter's roommate coordinated their space using a fresh "Spa and Sage" color palette from Ballard Designs. They started by picking a ditsy floral fabric for the headboards, and then layered the beds with the spa-colored Audrey coverlet and buffalo check duvets. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: 00:00 Welcome & Introduction to Lauren DeLoach 01:30 Designing a freshman dorm room at Ole Miss 02:00 Starting the design with a "Spa and Sage" palette and buffalo check bedding 03:00 The importance of coordinating designs with the new roommate 04:00 Why you need the "master map" to find hidden chases and soffits 20:00 Hanging wall-to-wall drapery with Alien Tape to cover cinder blocks 28:00 Tricks for packing and moving using oversized IKEA bags 36:00 Transitioning quality dorm decor into a future college apartment 45:00 Closing thoughts & where to find Lauren's work (Note: Timestamps are approximate based on the transcript segments provided; be sure to double-check against your final audio file!) Also Mentioned: Lauren DeLoach Interiors | Website  Follow Lauren on Instagram: @laurendeloachinteriors Shop the Ballard Designs Dorm Line - ballarddesigns.com/dormcatalog Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. You can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone. Happy Decorating! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home.

0:09.1

I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn and I'm a product designer.

0:12.8

I'm Liz. I head of the creative team. We're your host. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists,

0:20.9

and other talents in the design world.

0:22.5

Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode.

0:25.4

We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at balauredesigns.net.

0:30.5

Now on with the show.

0:33.8

Okay, so we have a returning guest this week, Lauren DeLoche.

0:37.9

She's an Atlanta interior designer, friends of podcasts.

0:41.4

And we're going to be talking about dorm today because last year you moved your daughter into her dorm room, her very first dorm room.

0:50.1

That's right.

0:50.5

Maybe her only dorm room, I suppose.

0:52.2

I think it probably will be.

0:53.3

Yeah.

0:54.8

And we partnered together a little bit because we were just launching a dorm line.

0:58.0

And we had to bring you back to talk about dorm.

1:00.8

Everything you learned, everything your, you know, pieces you use from us, but from elsewhere.

1:07.8

What does install look like?

1:10.6

You know. It's bringing it all back. Yeah.

1:13.9

The whole download. So, okay. Let's just start at the beginning. Um, you know, what, maybe like,

1:21.5

what were some things early on that you were, you know, focused on for the dorm room.

1:27.7

You have a daughter.

...

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