Figure 1.--Here we see one of the upgraded dorm rooms complete with study desks. Note the neat geographic duvet. |
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The furniture in prep school dormitories during the 1980s tended to be very basic. The principal item of furniture in the dorms was of course the beds or bunks. The standard bed was a basic medal head stand bed, Usually this was a single-level bed. Some schools used bunk beds. This of course enablr the schools to fit more beds in a given space. This was a major consideration because creating more dorm space essentially mean construction--a very expensive proposition. Normally the boys had a chair by their bunk to help dress and lay out clean clothes for the next day. These were commonly the only furniture. This was the situation at most schools through the 1970s and into the 80s. Some schools had begun to upgrade these dorms adding furniture allowing the boys drawer space. This was much more common in the senior schools. Generally the girls had more elaborate dorm rooms and this is probaly one reason why the shools were also upgrading the boys rooms with niceties like furniture and rugs. The problem of adding furniture of course involved more than the cost of the furniture. Adding furniture also mean that more space was needed which involved more costly investments than the furniture itself. Improvements in the boarding facilities are some of the major changes made at the schools during the 1990s. This process has since gone quite a long way at modernn boarding schools, especially at the senior schools.
The furniture in prep school dormitories during the 1980s tended to be very basic. The principal item of furniture in the dorms was of course the beds or bunks. The standard bed was a basic medal head stand bed, Usually this was a single-level bed. Some schools used bunk beds. This of course enablr the schools to fit more beds in a given space. This was a major consideration because creating more dorm space essentially mean construction--a very expensive proposition. Normally the boys had a chair by their bunk to help dress and lay out clean clothes for the next day. These were commonly the only furniture. This was the situation at most schools through the 1970s and into the 80s. We noticed very few exceptions in our school visits, at least for the boys. Girls tended to have more elaborate dorm rooms and several schools were in the process of upgrading the boys' furnitur and facilities.
Generally the girls had more elaborate dorm rooms and this is probaly one reason why the shools were also upgrading the boys rooms with niceties like furniture and rugs. Parents seem to expect more for the girls and the girls seemed more concerned about such nicetities. After going coed, however, schools could not have better fav=cilities for the girls thn the boys. So the trend toward coeducation was a major factor in upgrading the dirmitories.
The problem of adding furniture of course involved more than the cost of the furniture. Adding furniture also mean that more space was needed which involved more costly investments than the furniture itself. Improvements in the boarding facilities are some of the major changes made at the schools during the 1990s. This process has since gone quite a long way at modernn boarding schools, especially at the senior schools.
