(Tbr Baiiy (Ear Hrrl Creativity is key for cheap decorating DIY good way to spruce up a place BY MARIA WARD STAFF WRITER Many UNC students have found that the best things in University living are free. The key to furnishing dorms, apartments and houses has been finding ways to cut down on spend ing —and still amp up creativity. Some students found ways to personalize their living space by emulating a specific theme. *We didn’t have anything to hang up around the house, and we wanted something that repre sented all of us,” said sophomore Channing Dalton, who lives on Coolidge Street. She and her six roommates decided to draw a group portrait emulating the MTV show “The Real World.” “We drew each one a little dif ferently, according to our person alities, what we each like to do and what kind of style each of us has.” Dalton said. “Then we just added the phrase, ‘Seven strangers picked to live in a house...’ It turned out to be really cute, and the fact that we made it ourselves makes it so much more fun." Other students decorated with items they collected from different places they had seen around the world. “My sister and I both bought some cloths from different countries we have visited, like Mozambique and Bolivia,” said sophomore Emily Frantz, who lives in a near-campus apartment. “They are really beautiful and unique, and we use them for both table cloths and as wall-hangings.” Even those who didn’t travel COLONY APARTMENTS r STUDENT 1 MOVE IN SPECIAL only $350 Vi no application fee J Affordable, very spacious 1 & 2 bedrooms with whirlpool tubs, refrigerator w/ice maker, washer/dryer connection, internet accessible, ceiling fan, built in microwave, and much more! - 2 Sparkling Swimming Pools - - 5 minutes to UNC campus, on F bus line - - Flexible Lease Terms - - Pet Friendly - 919 967.7019 • 1250 Ephesus Church Road. Chapel Hill. NC 27514 "Distinctively Different* Definitely Homs** I 161 MR Qf*n Nmfkm fid imr Mkdmitlrm tmfidd fiwWmSnmdnid ommd Gtmd fim*/&ttk ! Q* fitr M Ht*r Mmmm# AmmmfVtm M* hfim were able to think of ways to add some culture to their residences. “Whenever my friends or fam ily travel, I ask them to send me a postcard,” said sophomore Emily Saunders, who lives in Cobb Residence Hall. “I have decorated my entire door with them, so 1 have quite a collection, including post cards from Jerusalem, Toronto, Barcelona and Indonesia. It was basically free, and it reminds me of the people I love." Some students even built their own furniture. “We knew we wanted a bar, but we couldn’t find a place that already had one built, so we just decided to make one ourselves,” said junior Jacob Hess, who lives in the Stratford Hills apartment complex. “We looked on craigslist and saw that this lady wanted to get rid of her bamboo in her back yard, and that’s how we came up with the idea of making a Tiki bar. “We just tied a bunch of pieces together with rope, added some palm branches and some beach posters to set the mood, and there you go. It wasn't that hard, and it was pretty cheap.” But if you aren't a modern day Paul Bunyan or can barely even draw a stick figure, there are other places to go to find a way to furnish your dorm or apartment cheaply. “We went to some Good Wills and thrift shops and ended up finding some end tables and a few kitchen appliances," said senior Matt Morrison, who lives in the Town House apartments. “We didn’t pay hardly anything for them, and they all work great.” Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu. DTH Housing Guide Higher standards for graduates Focus more on space, less convenience BY TED STRONG SENIOR WRITER For graduate students, housing presents a unique problem: play it cheap or start to get the kind of digs more appropriate to “real life.” It is, no doubt, tempting to go with an undergrad-esque hole of an apartment, replete with peel ing paint in the bathroom, a stove that mostly works, walls thinner than tissue paper and deliciously (Ehr Daily (Tar Hrrl PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS STAFF Customer Service: kitten Bulkns. Nile Hewitt end Brnuny Woodei iwvesenutner Display Advertising. Ryan Cook. Cate Cnsp. Chelsea Crop*. Katheme Eiupatrck. Andrea We. Rosanr* Nitorov Megan RatcMfe and Nancy lan. accuunr Susawu and Advertising: 'nr Schvun:. incurigtnenl mantqe Megan McGWy. sSotnng dree Mr/liu Ree Ne. buu ness manager Mama fed. retail utn manager; Kale PokctmonM rssaunt trams manager EDITORIAL STAFF Assistant Editors Berrien Lamport, arst Ebubeth Ameto. Man Bose. Catama Sauna. air Rebecca Bremer. Amy lonmsend. copy. Moßy lamnon. Mkan Nader. Sara* Neal Simpson. Mekssa Winner, desgr. lame Wdtaro. dneruons. Nate Henrm, tearurer Jonathan logman, cgmon. Stater Ankod, lauen Conor. Oaind Enarson. phorograpnr Mae Ehritti. Bouvet Übmer. Darnel Pire sports, Rebecca Ruttermer, Derm Rooney. Ariel 2n*i