<p>I did the virtual tour thing on the housing website of my dorm, HJ North, and it's...empty. I see two beds. And that's it. Maybe my eyes are broken...but don't these room come with desks? What about dressers? How much closet space is there? Is there a shared closet or one for each roommate?</p>
<p>Also, does the closet have a sliding door or one that swings open (particularly south campus dorms)?</p>
<p>I guess that's kind of a weird question..but feel free to volunteer an answer if you know :)</p>
<p>The directionals come with loftable beds (everything needed to loft is included), tall dressers, desk, desk chair (wood with padded cloth seat and back...not adjustable). There are two closets near the entrance door. (It's actually one long closet with two individual doors that swing open giving the illusion of two separate closets.) Closet space is pretty limited. I would get one of those rods that double up the hanging space. Definitely don't take your winter stuff until after Thanksgiving...you'll have no room to store it.</p>
<p>Bathrooms have four drawers (one for each person) and 4 heavy duty hanging hooks for towels. A shelf is built into the wall for shampoos, soaps etc. (No need for bathroom caddies.)</p>
<p>Ok...just to be annoying...</p>
<p><em>two</em> dressers? one for each roommate? </p>
<p>Just want to be sure. That'd be nice... anyone buy one of those things of the tarheel central...the shelving for on top of the dresser? good? bad? they look like they'd help.</p>
<p>i'm trying to find a good website to buy some shelves/organzier stuff like that for over the desk and dresser. amazon's turned up to be no good...</p>
<p>hmm... do u think there'd be room for one of those disk chair things? hard to explain...it's like a big cushion disk that sits on a metal frame and folds up...anyone know what i mean?</p>
<p>yes...two dressers...nice big ones! ;) Even better if you buy the hutches.</p>
<p>We bought the shelving from Tarheel Central and it is made to fit the furniture and closets perfectly. The shelves are very basic sanded wood, so you may want to decorate them.</p>
<p>My d has a fold up papasan chair that you describe. Wonderful for the room...very comfy, folds and stores easily. According to my d, it was very popular, people were sacked out in hers all the time or asking to borrow it...</p>
<p>yay! my own dresser! mmm and i think i will get that chair...theres a really cheap one on amazon. amazon = my new addiction. badddd</p>
<p>ps. ldmom, ur fantastic. thanks for all your descriptions. anything else i should know about the dorm? o wait. i cant decide whether to loft or bunk or what. i think we're keeping our beds separate and i plan to raise mine just enough to slip those plastic bins and storage stuff under. any input?</p>
<p>That's exactly what my d is doing. She lofted briefly and didn't like it.</p>
<p>Couple of other things to consider....
...might look around for bolster pillows. They are nice to place on your bed along the long wall for a sofa effect when you aren't sleeping in it.
....if you aren't lofting, opt for as tall as possible shelving over your desk. I understand building 'up' is crucial when floor space is precious.
....mine had a really loud alarm clock, but she also invested in a very inexpensive atomic wall clock to make sure she was always on time for commitments and classes.<br>
....window treatments are pretty popular. Nothing elaborate or expensive, strictly Target/Walmart curtains on a tension rod...but it helps make the room homey.</p>
<p>Ldmom, how much room is there (in inches) under the bed? I'm thinking of those under the bed storage boxes? Does UNC have any problems with using bed risers to give you more space under the bed?</p>
<p>I'm not sure what the rules are regarding bed risers; I would definitely call housing to ask if they are permitted. They are pretty darned particular about the lofting 'pins' (you check in and check out by turning those things in) and I know you are not permitted to loft except with UNC equipment, so it is possible they have rules about risers. But I will say this.... because you can move your bed up in increments from normal bed level all the way to where you bang your head on the ceiling when you sit up in bed...there should be no need for risers. The pins allow you to customize your bed height.</p>
<p>Just asked ldgirl about actual size of each increment and the corresponding space under the beds and she is unsure of exact inches. But she said you can definitely set your bed up where it is still like a normal bed, but a little higher off the ground (like the height of a four poster bed) and get stacks of storage bins in under the bed.</p>
<p>There's so many different styles of furniture it really gets annoying.</p>
<p>All rooms have 2 desks. Morrison, Hinton James, Ehaus, and Craige have built in furniture. The closet doors are sliding doors. You have 1 large built in dresser.</p>
<p>Every place else has modular furniture with normal closet doors. Some rooms have 2 dressers and some rooms have 1 big dresser.</p>
<p>there's also several styles of desks where some have built in lights and some have book shelfs.</p>
<p>My S and his roommate were in Morrison South (now renamed) and freshman year they both lofted their beds; one on each of the short walls and put their desks and chests under the beds. They put a futon on one of the long walls and a set of metal shelves on the other (wall with door to bathroom) that held their tv, stereo, video games etc. They had another smaller shelving unit on the short wall outside the bathroom (when the bathroom door was open it was hidden) that held their mini fridge, microwave and snacks. The room was very spacious this way.</p>
<p>Sophomore year in the same room his roommate left his bed in the same place, short wall next to the room door and my S moved his to the long wall but left his desk and chest on the short (window wall) and they put the futon under his bed. The main reason for the change was the original way he was right under the AC vent (literally) and also blocked the window.</p>
<p>The rooms are about 12x18 so you have plenty of room and lots of versatility in arranging them. The closets while good sized, will benefit from being double hung (you can buy the rod many places) and using multi hangers that stack shorts/skirts/slacks four or five to a hanger also saves a lot of room. The bathroom and closet doors in the directional dorms are too wide (thick) for many of the over the door type hanging devices so if you are buying one, make sure it has the widest top piece you can find. We had to take ours back and exchange for a wider version.</p>
<p>Make sure to bring long Ethernet cables and coax cables so you can maximize the versatility of the space. Also you can never have too many heavy duty extension cords/surge protectors.</p>
<p>eadad - your son's configuration (both of them) sounds exactly like what my d did before she finally moved her bed to the ground. Being under an a/c vent can be brutal and she ended up with a nasty upper respiratory infection that required several visits to the clinic. If anyone is considering high lofting, try not to sleep directly under the vent...one of the hazards of being close to the ceiling.</p>
<p>can u set up your room one way when u move in, and decide to loft later on if that doesnt work out? </p>
<p>btw, who lofts the beds? that sounds like some serious man-labor!</p>
<p>oh one more question! the problem id have with lofting is...where do u put all those plastic bins for junk that most people seem to just put under the bed?</p>
<p>Lofting CAN be serious man-labor...lol! JK...it's not that bad, but it does take two people. </p>
<p>The downside of high lofting is that you usually put your desk (and possibly dresser) underneath the bed and that means your storage bins are out in the open. The upside is more floor space. </p>
<p>Btw....As long as your roommate is on board with changing the floor configuration, you can change that bed as many times as you want until you get to a layout and bed height you like. (Just don't lose the pins...lol!). </p>
<p>My d kinda had an issue because she ended up high-lofted to accommodate her roomie's couch. The only way for it to work was as eadad described with the beds lofted near the ceiling. My d quickly got tired of being in a wiggly, unstable bed under the a/c vent and smacking her head on the ceiling every time she sat up...but she endured it until I encouraged her to speak up for herself. Initially, didn't go over that well...but they worked it out by turning the couch in the other direction were it sort of divided the room. Very crowded though.</p>
<p>My feeling is the best option for comfort and maximum floor space is to keep the beds low and buy bolster pillows...then you have two beds that can function as couches for hanging out time. If you need accommodations for sleepover guests, invest in an air mattress that can be stowed instead of a futon.</p>