If you find yourself missing your home away from home, try some of these redecorating ideas that will bring back memories of ol’ Choate’s campus life. It’ll be like you never left!

Brighten the space with some houseplants

Don’t worry about the plants you left behind. An easy cure for plant separation anxiety is to simply replace them! Line up your houseplants on a windowsill. After that, feel free to relax and forget to water them. That way, once they start dying, you will have a live visual of what your plants on campus must look like. 

Install a display case full of bagels

Putting a glass case filled with bagels is not only a convenient choice, but also an aesthetically pleasing one. For an extra shot of nostalgia, light the bagels on fire to simulate the tragic ordeal of trying to toast them in the dining hall.

DIY: Twin-XL Beds!

To recreate the boarding experience, take a saw and Frankenstein your bed as you see fit. Your final result should be somewhere between uncomfortable and death trap. For a mattress, fill a burlap sack with rocks and call it a night. 

Schedule your WiFi hours

Experience a throwback to your freshman days by smashing your WiFi modem every night at 10:30 PM. How productive this is to remote learning is up to you. 

Give your rug a makeover

Sprinkle your floor with dust balls and crumbs, add a dash of ramen powder for fragrance, and crumple up some forgotten homework to add some texture to the carpeting. For a meditative side benefit, throw your body on the floor. Do not bother getting up. A good rule of thumb to follow: anything you can do standing up is more enjoyable laying down.

Get the waterworks going

In this case, waterworks do not refer to any late-night sobfests. Dig a pit into the ground and turn it into your own pond! Bonus points if you round up some ducks and garnish with a thick layer of algae.

Carve the names of strangers into your furniture

If remote learning is eating away your motivation, engrave the names of those who came before you into your bed frame, desk, and wardrobe.  Looking at successful Choate alumni will either spur you into finishing that essay or help you spiral into a deep existential crisis.