Written by: Raegan Blake
Warm-toned wooden floors, colorful area rugs, plush decorative pillows, comfortable lounge sets and neutral-colored walls. This is Becky Djernes’s dream for renovating the side lobbies at Southern Adventist University’s women’s dorm.
Djernes, the university’s interior design and real estate coordinator for Financial Administration, is overseeing a renovation of all six side lobbies, otherwise known as the common areas, in Thatcher Hall.
Djernes wanted to create a more comfortable place, both in aesthetics and feel, “like your home living room where you want to hang out,” she said. “It should be a place of refreshment.”
Each side lobby will be designed similarly, but not identically, to provide each floor with a unique feel. Djernes said she is also redesigning the rooms adjacent to the side lobby into quiet study rooms, since students are always asking for more study places.
According to Lisa Hall, dean of students and director of residence life, the idea for the renovation came from an anonymous outside donor.
Djernes does not have a start date for the project, since she has to deal with piping, ductwork, electrical, budgets and other issues related to remodeling, but she hopes to start the improvements over the summer.
