When it comes to her sixth-floor McCabe Hall dorm room, Regina Rubio, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, thinks she and her roommates could use some direction.

“It’s a little dark and dim,” Rubio said. “We could use brighter light.”

And for Paige Briggs, a freshman in the College of Communication and Cobeen Hall resident, her room just doesn’t feel like home.

“I feel like it is more of a bedroom than a living space,” Briggs said.

Three things, however, can make any apartment or dorm room more appealing: a rug, seating and good lighting. You can easily and cheaply turn a plain, gloomy room into a comfortable living space by supplying the three.

Sandy Carlson, an interior designer at Steffen Furniture in Spencer, Iowa, has helped many college students do just that.

“I see a lot of college kids come in asking for help or even calling for advice,” Carlson said. “Our designers make their way to North Carolina every year and pick out cheaper options for our younger customers.”

She said a rug will give any room a pop of color. While they typically cost anywhere from $50 to $100, you can save money by checking local furniture stores for leftover pieces of carpet. Some sell scrap carpet for as little as $25.

But a rug isn’t everything. Having a place for friends to sit is also necessary.

Ask family and friends if they have an old futon they’re willing to sell or bargain a deal for. You can always sew patches of interesting fabric onto a futon to make it a bit more unique, or to hide the mysterious food stains. Pillows make it cozy and add some charm.

And let’s face it. Dorm rooms don’t have great lighting. However, table and floor lamps are an easy way to rectify the problem.

Orry Deyoung, an employee of Rubin’s Furniture in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, said the store sells lamps from a company called Lightforce, which caters to younger buyers.

“The best time to purchase items for a dorm room or apartment is during the early fall,” Deyoung said, “because the demand for products is so high.”