Two freshmen collaborated to design and create a one-of-a-kind dorm design in Sterry Hall which now smells of apple-cinnamon candles and is covered in in fluffy white and grey decor. The transformation has garnered media attention across Texas and the United States over the past week.
New freshmen Skylar Bantz’s and Adeline Vela refer to their new set up as their  “home away from home”.
The 16’ x 16’ dorm room was redone by a team of eight people. In ten hours the traditional style room was transformed into a lavish home, with matching items on each side and removable paper on the walls looking like grey brick.
“We thought it would just make it look better,” Bantz said. “The walls before were off-white, and there were tons of holes and paint chips in them, but luckily the wallpaper is just a sticker so it will come off super easily.”
Bantz and Vela met each other from a group chat two months ago, and started planning after meeting for the first time. The two also discovered they had the same birthday and have been a team since.
“We’re basically like the same person and its kind of weird,” Bantz said. “People always ask us if we knew each other before.”
The roommates said they split up who bought what, and each person would buy certain things in sets of two, so the room matched. Vela’s mother also made some of the items, including large pillows and curtains.
“I figured the room would be really, really cute but I didn’t think it would turn out so perfect,” Vela said. “We managed to fit everything we needed to in our dorm. It’s pretty small but I think we used our space well.”
The estimated total accumulated to $1,200 on each side, which, for Bantz, was split among several people, including herself, her mom, dad and stepdad.
“To me, the total sounds like a lot, but spread amongst all the people, I can understand how it adds up,” Bantz said.
Several students have been to admire the room, including Bantz’s friend Stormy Brooks, who said she would not have thought to cover the desks and walls with decorative paper and admired the girls’ creativity.
Bantz has a YouTube channel called proofisinthepretty and recorded a dorm haul video featuring several of the items displayed in the room, but said she was unable to record the move-in experience.
“I really wanted to vlog it, but I couldn’t find my camera. I lost it in all of the stuff and then I found it after we were done,” Bantz said. “But I’ll do a dorm tour once the couch comes in.”
Bantz and Vela have a no-shoe policy because of a white shag carpet at the front of the room, but friend Daniel Allen said it is the one thing he does not like.