Fun, sophisticated and fashion-forward dorms are hard to come by when students are limited to the dull décor provided for them by their university. Dormify, an ecommerce website created by CHS parent Karen Zuckerman, offers a solution to these problems.

 After her oldest daughter, CHS‘09 alumna Amanda Zuckerman, went to Washington University and wanted to decorate her dorm with stylish items, Zuckerman decided to create a business to design college dorm rooms

 According to Karen, she was uninspired by the Bed Bath and Beyond bedding and bought products from all over campus in order to create a lavish dorm room for her daughter. She decided after having to go to many different stores with her daughter that they were capable of making their own business where people can go to one place to buy trendy items and dorm necessities.

 Public relations managers and CHS alumnae Stephanie Hayman and Nicole Gardner work side by side to keep track of everything in the Dormify market.

 “A dorm room is the first place that you are going to meet a lot of new people and you want it to make a great first impression that expresses your true self,” Hayman said.

 With style advisors from about 15 colleges and high schools, they post a new message at least four times a week about design tips and interior design.  The style advisors also give people ideas of how to decorate their dorm room.  Seniors Janey Asher and Adeja Greig and junior Alexa Zuckerman are all style advisors at Dormify.

 Amanda, Karen’s daughter, was one of Dormify’s first bloggers and style advisors.

 “I know all about the horrors of that stark white, boring closet of a room we all have to live in,”Amanda said. “However, that definitely wasn’t going to cut it for me, and Dormify was born.”

 Dormify employees believe that dorm rooms should reflect the college students who live in them.

 Products available online include bedding that comes in a variety of prints and designs. There are also letter prints in 17 different vibrant colors, Greek letters for sororities and fraternities, laptop cases, fun notebooks and many pillows and throws. 

 According to Karen, her favorite pillow is the “Call your Mother” pillow she bought for Amanda in order to remind her to call her mom.

 “Our philosophy is to enable people to take things that you would not necessarily think would go together and make a dorm room that is your own,” Hayman said.

 Dormify offers creative, modern and high quality designs made exclusively for college students.

 While the Dormify audience is mostly female, they have plenty of prints and accessories geared towards males as well, such as skateboard and bicycle wall decals.

 “New A-Z prints, as well as Greek letter prints, add a solid pulse to any room and are offered in hues that are male oriented,” Hayman said.

 The Dormify Style Advisor program counts as a remote internship for high school students. A remote internship allows a student to have a job experience without having to go into an office. Interning for Dormify includes posting and viewing opinions on topics pertaining to fashion.

 “The partial schedule senior year allowed us all to step out into the workplace and get internships and have a taste for what the real world is like,” Hayman said.