Idea for dorm furniture: what do you think? (long)

College Life
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<p>I came up with an idea for a structure that would go around my dorms twin bed that holds all of my stuff. It is customizable (paint it any color you want, etc), has locks on the door to get inside, has soundproofing so that people cant hear you blast music inside (atleast, not as much), and keeps other people from going through anything, let alone stealing it. I would like to know if you would tolerate your dormate having such an idea, or would ever consider such a thing for yourself. </p>

<p>All of the electricity comes from 1 or 2 extension cords/surge protectors hooked up to outlets that are in the dorm. Inside, I'd have the following appliances: microwave (with hose attached to cooling fan that lets the hot air out), mini fridge (same thing), laptop/printer, 13-20" tv, stereo, and several low watt/low heat lighting fixtures. Also, there are air vents in the ceiling to help with air circulation inside. </p>

<p>I've also got black lights attached to the roof which adds a cool effect to the paint colors. The cabinet doors are attached with the hinges that use hinge pins and arent permenant, so if you pull them out and flip the cabinet door over, you can paint that side for a completely different effect, or even varnish on small posters/pictures, etc. </p>

<p>The frame of the structure is made of 2 by 4s and hardboard. Each wall is 4" thick and between both sides, there is soundproofing foam. The walls are made of painted hardboard. Since the "unit" will be in a corner, those sides that are up against the walls will only be 4" thick. The other 2 will be 2 ft thick. The unit would be 9' long by 5' wide by 6' tall. the 2' thick parts of the walls would come apart in 4 sections for movability and re-arrangement of the peice and where each set of cabinets would go. Section A. would be for the desk and tv, section 2 would be cabinets, stereo, and countertop/desktop, section 3 would be for door and shelving/cabinets, and section 4 would be for microwave, minifridge, and cabinets. This is really hard to describe on paper, and is probably even worse to understand. Sorry...hope theres someone out there who gets the picture. By the way, my dorm is huge: 12 by 18, so this thing doesn't even take up 1/4 of the room, and its EVERYTHING I have!</p>

<p>Most people probably wouldn't like such an idea, since it makes for less open space and such. I'm more of the closed in, private, do NOT touch or borrow my stuff kind of preson......so for me, its perfect, like having your own room while having a roomate at the same time. </p>

<p>anyways, if anyone out there bothered to read this novel or maybe, if I'm lucky, understand it, would you ever consider something like this for yourself? Just curious. Since it might seem to be a little weird to my roomate, I figure I'll go ahead and offer this incenitive to shut her up: I get this 1/4 of the room, you get the other three for dealing with this box looking thing. </p>

<p>what do you think?</p>

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<p>It's a dorm room. What do you really need besides a computer, bed, fridge, microwave, and desk?</p>

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<p>hey, everybody dances different</p>

<p>coming from detroit, I'm not about to make the biggest investement in electronics and appliances in my life and then let it get stolen....maybe other people can afford replacements, but not me</p>

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<p>sorry, i didn't read all that. I need a picture.</p>

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<p>doubleyou tee eff</p>

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<p>yeah, I'm working on it...should have one up within a day</p>

<p>I know, thats a LOT to read.</p>

<p>I'm getting on the picture though, hold on tight (I dont have an actual photograph, but I can show you drawings and floor plans)</p>

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<p>Mr. Pink: see my first reply, to elpope</p>

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<p>That sounds great.... if you want to alienate yourself from your roommate. Your roommate will definitely think you're a nutcase, Unibomber-esque perhaps. It also sounds like a ridiculous amount of work. I don't know if you're gonna build that thing inside or prefab your walls, but it's going to cost a decent amount of money and a ton of effort just to move that stuff into your room, let alone build it. Not only will your roommate think you're crazy, but everyone seeing you lug in a ton of 2 by 4s will think you're crazy too. I'm also not sure how sane you'll feel yourself about being in that box every single day.</p>

<p>I understand you're from Detroit and value your stuff (I'm from Long Beach FWIW), but that seems like way too much effort to protect maybe 2 thousand in electronic equipment. There are much saner and easier ways to keep your stuff from being jacked.</p>

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<p>hahaha, i just realized you are a female, which makes it more interesting. BTW, no one is going to jack your stuff, believe me.</p>

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<p>It will be pre built, as it comes apart in 4 sections. yeah, it is complicated to build, but I think I can handle it as I was working with my father constructing houses by the time that i was 6. Coincidentially, I also work for North American Van lines for 3 years so I think I can handle moving what is basically, 4 bookcases...it'd be different if I was using drywall or something. </p>

<p>I've lived with plenty of roomates (where we share the room, not the house) before and have had both good and bad experiences. I actually have lived in the back of a semi truck for months at a time (which is even smaller than this thing) and, maybe its the immature side of an honors student, but enjoyed the fort-like cramped up space...</p>

<p>floor-plans are coming soon</p>

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<p>I've lived with roomates (actual ROOMates) before, trust me, it happens...I've done it to people, theyve done it to me. Its a way of life.</p>

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<p>It's also got to be some kind of safety hazard.... let's see, we're going to put a bunch of electronic equipment drawing a pretty decent amount of current inside an enclosed wooden box. What happens if for some reason your exit out of there is for some reason blocked? What happens to you if you have some kind of medical emergency and your roommate can't see you/get in?</p>

<p>I also agree that no one is going to want to steal your stuff. Trust me, compared to your average hood high school (like the one I went to), college feels like the safest school on Earth. I've never even heard of someone having their TV or fridge jacked in a dorm room. The one thing you do have to worry about is your laptop, but that's why they invented laptop locks.</p>

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<p>Basicly your saying, your going to build yourself a box, about the size of your bed, and put all your stuff in it, and stay inside the box whenever your in your dorm room? Interesting... Would it not be easier to build some sort of closet with locks on it to protect your stuff. I'm sure you could think of something that could lock down a minifrige or TV. </p>

<p>The first thing I think about is there wouldn't be any windows to see out of, or let air in from. I love my fresh air. But if you were my roommate, I wouldn't care what you did, as long as it didn't interfere with my stuff. It would make for great stories.</p>

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<p>even if it is just a matter of comfort, it is still worth it to me. It wouldn't be locked while I was in it, and the dean would have a copy of the key. Also, the same appliances would be used weather I had the structure or not...</p>

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<p>Well you'll probably just end up with a single if you do that... because if I was your roommate I would be UNCOMFORTABLE... probably one of the craziest things I've ever heard of.</p>

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<p>well, i like the idea of not being surrounded by yellow cinder block walls, and being able to have a customizable space that I want to be in. Also, I can have lights on when I want to, not worry about people seeing what I'm doing, etc...PRIVACY</p>

<p>Also, I have considered just doing a room divider, and if for some reason this doesn't work out, that would be the plan. I'm thinking about going with a shorter height, but I'll figure all of that out once I come up with an offical floor plan. </p>

<p>On the side that has the 2 ft walls, the inner two sections can be removed while the structure is still standing. In between the 2 sections, there is a structural beam that can support the weight. So when people come by, I can take those two sections out easily, and it would be more open</p>

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<p>Whatever floats your boat. Sounds fine, but I'm not your roommate either. As long as you are getting along and it doesn't push into their space.. who cares? </p>

<p>Alot of people do some clever things to maximize space in small dorm rooms. Maybe yours will help, for others it's four cinder blocks. :)</p>

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<p>were not allowed to use any kind of bed raisers or bunkbeds/lofts (and I've already checked, this doesnt qualify as either)...</p>

<p>Since the room is big, the other girl can have the other 3/4 of the room. I have no problem with that...use the lights whenever, have as many people over as she wants, hang up brittany spears posters, whatever. As long as we dont get in trouble and people dont touch my stuff, I'm straight.</p>

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<p>I have to go for a little while to finish these drawings for you all...for anyone who was wondering/got confused/didnt feel like reading that monsterous thing.</p>

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<p>you crazy girl... good luck with your fortress of solitude hahaha</p>