Watch out Home and Gardens Television – the Cal State Long Beach dorms now have their own DIY makeover program run by student David Cassarubius.
Cassarubius, a Resident Assistant for the International House, now hosts his own show, “David’s Dorm Design.”
The show will air on Channel 3, a local station for dorm residents, and will demonstrate how to decorate rooms with little or no money at all.
Cassarubius, a junior political science major, said his passion for design, which he has had since junior high, inspired the idea for the show.
“I watch HGTV every day,” Cassarubius said. “A lot of people have told me to be a designer.”
Since he cannot draw, he did not pursue design as his major. He said that he enjoys designing as a hobby, rather than pursing it as a professional career.
The program, which airs in one week, is meant to show residents that they do not have to spend money to decorate their room. During production, there will be no extra cost for the residents who participate in the project.
The show format will showcase Cassarubius’s well-designed room – an example of a DIY project that anyone could do – a clip of Cassarubius surprising the resident with the redecoration and the process of a personal project with Cassarubius showing the resident how to redesign. The show then ends with the resident finishing their room without any extra help.
Currently, there is no funding for the show. The supplies used will either be items that they find, or they will be paid for out of Cassarubius’s pocket. Chris San Paolo, an information and technology specialist for housing, who is in charge of Channel 3, will also try to accommodate the show by personally supplying Casarubius with materials needed for the design, Cassarubius said.
Once the show gets a good standing, Cassarubius said he is hoping to get sponsored by Bed Bath & Beyond and Target.
Channel 3 plays movies that have not been released on DVD yet for dorm residents, with a new movie airing every three hours. In between movies, RA announcements and shows fill the gap until the next movie is played.
“[Channel 3 now has] actual stuff they could use,” Cassarubius said about his helpful program.
Kaitlyn Snyder, a junior dance major, is the first to experience a dorm makeover with Cassarubius.
“The DIY project was super fun and easy,” she said. “David had a cool idea that we just ran with. We only used some paint and boxes he found.”
Cassarubius found a Ralph Lauren gift box and used it to create a wall decoration for Snyder’s room. He juxtaposed the shoebox lids on Snyder’s dorm wall to create a tree-like form. They then flipped the black shoebox lids over to paint white branches with pink and green leaves, taking a modern spin on a classic design.
“It turned out really cute and now my dorm wall has some artwork on it that I could say I made myself,” Snyder said. “It adds a touch of color to the white brick wall.”
Cassarabius said he was also proud of what he accomplished in Snyder’s dorm.
“At the end, it was something I wanted in my room,” said Cassarabius.
Residents can ask to be featured on the show through the Facebook page “CSULB Housing” at http://www.facebook.com/pages/CSULB-Housing.