Monday, October 2, 2006 11:26 PM CDT
‘That’s so hot!’ exclaims ‘Dream Dorm Do-Over’ winner
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON -- Naturally, Kallee Block was excited about getting a new stereo and microwave, but she was really surprised by the new decals on her wall.
Her face was in a state of something looking like shock when she walked into her room Sunday morning.
“That’s so hot!” she exclaimed.
The decals covered damaged to the wall, the new stereo with surround-sound speakers included sat on her desk, the microwave was in her closet and most of her belongings were moved to more-convenient places. Block, an Eastern Illinois University sophomore from Lake Zurich, was the winner of “The Dream Dorm Do-Over” drawing the evening before.
“I really love it,” she said. “It’s fun.”
Claire Berger has made her living the last two years doing presentations like the one that took place on Saturday, offering advice on decorating small living areas, and then actually redecorating the room of a lucky winner. She spent Sunday morning at Block’s room in Andrews Hall to “just kind of make sense of her room.”
Berger and Katie Skaggs, special events coordinator for the EIU University Board, which sponsored the event, also brought in new bed coverings, added storage containers and rearranged her closet, something Berger said was “a mess.”
Block said she decided to enter the contest because “my room was kind of dull.”
Roommate Gina Lendi, a sophomore from Lynwood, actually went a little farther with her assessment.
“It wasn’t pretty to look at,” she said.
Berger also gave Lendi a pair of headphones, to help with the privacy she jokingly said all roommates need, and for being “a good sport.”
After she was chosen as the winner Saturday evening, Block visited with Berger to talk about what could be done with her room.
She told Berger things like wanting to have a microwave but not knowing where to put it, and said the surround-sound speakers were “sweet” because she didn’t expect anything like that.
“That was something I’d never thought of for a dorm room,” she said.
Berger, who has a background in comedy and television, admitted she spent the $500 prize on Block’s room “and then some” and added that she’s grateful for her corporate sponsors. She travels across the country doing dorm makeovers and said “all the problems are the same,” too little space for too much stuff.
“All it’s really about is getting kids free stuff and creating that home-away-from home,” she said of her work. She explained that she uses affordable materials to “try to turn a dorm room into a home.”
Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
CLICK TO ENLARGE
 Kevin Kilhoffer (JG/T-C)
Contest winner Kallee Block, left, and her roommate Gina Lendi, second from left, react as Claire Berger, right, shows them the changes made to their dorm room at Andrews Hall on the campus of Eastern Illinois University on Sunday.
|
|
|
