Eclectic Dorm Living in Illinois



On the quiet campus of Judson University is a little student apartment in Volkman Hall dorm that five friends from all around the world call home. The group came together through many of connections over the years, by being classmates, roommates, suitemates, as well as teammates on the volleyball team.

at a Glance
Who lives here:
Bri Simmons from Geneva, Ill., Carolyn Terwilliger from Kansas City, Mo., Eleanor Walters from Albuquerque, N.M., Stine Pflaumfrom Chingola, Zambia, and Kristina Dieselberg from Bangkok, Thailand.
Location: Volkman Hall at Judson University, Elgin, Illinois
Size: 650 square feet

Kaia Calhoun

Left to right: Kristina Dieselberg, Bri Simmons, Stine Pflaum.

Once it comes to decorations, “I’m inspired by things I have,” states Dieselberg. “Everything began with that film with all the yellow and accents of red,” chimes in her roommate, Simmons, as she points into the Chicago cityscape digital print hanging over the couch. The roommates chose to use the image as a focal point, pulling the yellow and red as accent colours for the rest of the room.

Art: Ikea

Kaia Calhoun

Swimming round in a tiny bubble-like enclosure is a lone beta fish called LePoo. The girls’ favourite episode about the hit TV series Friends had been their inspiration to get the fish’s title, as LePoo was title of the personality Rachel’s dog.

The Volkman roommates dreamed of a owning a fish well before the school year began. Pflaum purchased the fish tank, and 2 weeks into the semester, LePoo combined the family. “It was a roommate date, so we moved to Anna Shea’s and then we went to Meijer after to find the fish,” Dieselberg states.

Mounted Fish Bowl: Ebay

Kaia Calhoun

“I discovered the pallet in a Dumpster,” Dieselbeg states. “I was tired of it hanging there so I caught it and brought it inside and began sticking shoes in it.” Now this discovered wooden pallet is a smart shoe shelf which rests at front door.

Kaia Calhoun

Home looks different for everyone. For Dieselberg it is a location with an individual touch, found through her DIY endeavors, or the classic advantage from secondhand things from thrift stores. She made Volkman Hall, a place where painting and structural change are prohibited, feel helpless by “including as much material without which makes it disgusting or cluttered, to conceal the bare walls.”

Kaia Calhoun

Kaia Calhoun

Magnetic scrabble tiles spell out the roommates’ names, and also a crafted paper chain hanging from the ceiling counted down the days to Christmas.

Kaia Calhoun

Kaia Calhoun

A little row of 50-cent stockings and a decorative ampersand came from a neighborhood thrift store.

Kaia Calhoun

A row of miniature records from a neighborhood thrift store adorns the wall above the kitchen.

Kaia Calhoun

Picture frames and art fill the following wall.

Kaia Calhoun

Kaia Calhoun

Dieselberg place her own DIY touch on her seasonal decorations. She states, “I found something online using publication pages from a concordance and Mod Podge. I chose words which were uplifting and intriguing. I first place leaves on it and then I thought it’d be interesting to make it seasonal.”

Kaia Calhoun

“I love antiques and classic, and the used look. I really don’t like the shiny, white, clean appearance,” states Dieselberg. She gets inspiration from easy things like dried roses and DIY jobs she sees online.

Kaia Calhoun

Left to right: Dieselberg, Simmons, Walters, Pflaum, Terwilliger.

Dieselberg’s biggest challenge was not the inability to paint tear the rug, but to create a space where all the roommates feel at home. “I’m trying to make everyone in the room joyful and avoiding tacky.” Creating that dream space for a student is a tough balancing act, as all the young girls have differing visions and aesthetics, but the apartment with its eclectic hodgepodge of found items and secondhand buys does the job of making mutual student housing a house.

Dieselberg, senior, Intercultural Studies major
: “I’m constantly searching for the living room that will make everyone happy, such as a desire to get a fantastic bathroom with a rain shower, TV, hot tub, and big windows.”

Simmons, older, Education important: “My dream job is to work in the center of Chicago as a instructor. My dream travel destination is Australia, and that I dream of a huge glass shower in my dream house.”

Walters, older, Architecture important: “that I wish to enter the design business after my research, whether it be furniture or clothes. My favourite designer is William Morris, 1940s and 50s classic clothes, and my biggest home desire is to get a wall-sized south facing window.”

Pflaum, senior, Elementary Education major: “I consider myself a “farm girl” with no affinity for town I reside in. My dream vacation place is Mombasa, Kenya or anywhere along the Indian Ocean. My dream house would include a huge library with a great deal of sofas and a big pool”

Terwilliger, older, Psychology major: “My favourite designer is Jeffrey Campbell. My ultimate home thing would be a rain shower and I want to go to downtown Chicago in an older apartment complex having hardwood flooring.”

Kaia Calhoun

Volkman Hall has been a component of Judson University’s campus for a student dorm since 1963. It had been named after Bill Volkman, a contractor and former school trustee. The building includes 40 units at around 650 square feet, and each year, 150 students call it home.

More Tours:
Abbey’s Aesthetic Outburst
Paula Coldiron’s Cheap Fireplace
Cozy and Crocheted in the Netherlands

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