Redesigned Conover Room Is All the Rage
Lucky residents kick off the year in style, compliments of local design magazine

By Chris Finazzo


Most freshmen coming to college for the first time have to adjust to living in a dorm room that is plain, void of anything unique or stylish—a blank slate of sorts for people to convert into their own space. For Paul Rance and Wasim Munayyer living in Conover Hall, a local design magazine has given them a head start.

“It was actually my mom; she works for an interior design magazine... [and] they were going to do a dorm ad,” Rance said. “So she thought ‘why don’t we try Rider’ because it’s my school? So, they said they would do it because your son goes there. We’ll just do his room.”

To give the room a whole new look, Pottery Barn Teen and Benjamin Moore teamed up to provide a new retro themed décor for the room. According to Rance, each company donated items specifically for the redesign so that they got some publicity.

The new furniture in the room also makes it more enjoyable to be in, according to Rance.
“The chairs are comfortable and I like the rug because people can sleep on it,” Rance said, adding that his friends sometimes come over to stay in the room and that space is still tight.
The boys’ friends also have their own opinions about the room.

“Some of them think it’s really cool, more than I do,” Munayyer said.

There is one thing however, that both boys can agree on: the lights.

“I like the lamps they (Pottery Barn) donated because they’re all ‘touch lamps,’” Rance said. “You can just touch any part of it and it goes on.”

However, the boys weren’t always so enthusiastic about their room. When they first moved in, it seemed a little too much for them.

“At first I didn’t like it as much,” Rance said. “It’s a bit retro, I feel like I’m in the 50s or something.”

Having no input as far as what the finished room would look like made it something of a surprise when Munayyer and Rance saw their room for the first time, they said. However, just having something different was a welcome change that, in a few small ways, made their room unique in itself.

The painting for the room was done by an art student from Rider and gives the room a more welcoming feel, thanks to its bright green color and abstract orange pattern that covers one of the walls.

“At least someone next year will have painted walls,” said Rance. “They won’t have all the stuff, but it still brightens up the room.”

Usually it is Rider policy that students can paint their walls if they choose, but that they must be changed before the students leave for summer vacation. However, Rance said that because the painting was done by someone else, they might be able to keep it when they leave.

The new look for the room has made the transition to college life easier for the two boys, as they now have a space of their own that stands out from the others, said Rance.
“I think it’s good that Rider did it,” he said. “It’s not that much better, but it’s not as boring.”