College students are paying up to $15,000 for dorm makeovers — and decorators already have a wait list for next year

Extreme college dorm makeovers are the latest craze on TikTok. Amber Raiken speaks to designer Shelly Gates about how she’s made a thriving business in the luxury decorating trend

Gone are the days of milk crates for bookshelves and Christmas lights tacked above the bed. In 2025, TikTok is being flooded with videos of freshmen students showing off their extreme dorm makeovers, featuring canopy beds, custom headboards, matching rugs, and designer vanity tables. The trend has become so popular that some parents are now spending tens of thousands of dollars, and even hiring professional decorators, to turn their children’s brick-walled dorms into luxury suites.

One such decorator is Shelly Gates, a mother of three who stumbled into the business five years ago. When moving her daughter into Mississippi State University, Gates gave the room a top-to-bottom facelift — adding wall art, custom bedding, bright colored ottomans, and throw rugs — before posting the results on Facebook. “It gained a lot of traction and people were very positive,” she tells The Independent. “I love design, and I thought, ‘What a great summer job.’”

Shelly Gates’ business took off after she decorated her daughter’s dorm in 2020 and shared the results online (Courtsey of Shelly Gates)

What started as a side hustle has since exploded. Gates has now designed more than 30 dorms, 13 of them this year alone. Her company, Mary Margaret Designs, has built a following on Instagram and TikTok with viral clips of 18-year-olds tearing up as they see their drab rooms transformed into warm, curated spaces.

Parents usually book Gates months in advance of the first semester, with students sending Pinterest boards and inspiration images. “The girls start sending me ideas and I pick up on their vibe,” the interior designer explains. “From there, we come up with a theme for the room and start working with fabrics. We then discuss all the different aspects of the room, but students have a say in everything. I’m not shaving a design down their throat. We collaborate the whole time.”

Decorators are charging up to $15,000 for the room makeovers, with new furniture and decor included (Courtesy of Shelly Gates)

Her projects typically range from $1,000 to $15,000, with every piece included in the final price. Demand is so high that Gates, who recently quit her job as a fourth-grade teacher to focus on her business full-time, now has a wait list stretching two to three years.

“I didn’t just leave a job — I followed a calling,” she wrote on Instagram recently. “Teaching was such a gift, but my heart knew I was meant to create something different. Every smile, every hug, every tear of joy reminds me why I do this. It’s not about the furniture or the fabrics—it’s about giving these girls a space that feels like home, a place to begin their next chapter with confidence and love.”

Shelly Gates says her busy is about easing the transition of moving from childhood home to college dorm (Courtsey of Shelly Gates)

For many families, that investment is about more than aesthetics. Gates says mothers often reach out to her looking for a way to ease the transition of leaving a daughter at school. “It's really hard to leave your kids at college. And it's hard for the girls to leave home,” she explains. “I want to be that bridge to help them cross this path.”

Shelly Gates has designed over 30 freshman dorms since 2020 (Courtesy of Shelly Gates)

However, the trend has raised concerns about the wealth divide at college, and just how obvious these renovations will make it. "The divide between the haves and have-nots is getting bigger," one critic commented on one of Gates’s videos. "Can we normalize dorm rooms again?! Let the teens do it! Hang up some posters, get some Rubbermaid! Let them get creative," added another.

Dorm renovations include new bedding, matching rugs, vanity tables, and more (Courtsey of Shelly Gates)

@marymargaretdesignsdorm My favorite part of any job is getting to see my clients react to their new space. And I adore watching my moms excitement for this new chapter in life!!! @Premier Fabrics Ridgeland,MS @SleepyheadUSA @Amanda Ray Foxx Art @Elaina Baugh #dorm #dormlife #bamarush #bamarushtok ♬ original sound - marymargaretdesignsdorms

Whether critics see it as overindulgence or simply a sign of how far “move-in day” has come from futons and twin XL sheets, one thing is clear: luxury dorm rooms are no longer just the stuff of viral TikToks. For some families, they’re becoming the new college norm.