What’s Happening: Enthusiastic before-and-after clips of dorm room transformations are doing the rounds on TikTok as back-to-college spending is projected to reach $87 billion this year.

The Download: For most of us, college dorms evoke angst-ridden memories of obnoxious roommates and cramped brick-lined rooms with few amenities beyond communal showers and a sad mini-fridge stocked with Easy Mac. But that was before the era of #DormTok, the corner of TikTok where very online undergrads proudly flaunt the jaw-dropping measures they took to elevate clinical campus quarters. The most extreme before-and-after clips tend to go viral, but the biggest reward is simply not living in a soulless box for eight months. That comes with a hefty price tag. Urbanology Designs, a Dallas firm that often works with students, charges upwards of $8,000 per intervention, but that number can easily increase based on how much parents care to invest in crafting their scholar’s perfect home-away-from-home. Asks often include piles of Pinterest-worthy monogrammed pillows, neon name lights in this hand-lettering style, and custom night stands that can conceal errant Stanley cups.

Skeptics may question investing so heavily in lavish living quarters that careless teenagers are sure to trash—and ask where everything ends up after final exams. But dorm-ified décor can have a positive impact on students’ mental health, especially for a generation that came of age during the pandemic and understands the importance of feeling at ease in their space. For design professionals, it’s also good business. The National Retail Federation estimates back-to-college spending will reach $87 billion this year—a drastic increase from the $48 billion spent in 2014. While the thirst for social media cred has fueled some of the more over-the-top interventions, one designer thinks it goes deeper. Alethea Jay, who went viral after revamping her sister’s dorm, suspects the tough housing market is making Gen Z eager to make the most of their living situations, even just for eight months.

In Their Own Words: “In some ways, some of these things are foundational to a young person’s future lifestyle,” Dan Mazzarini, the principal of BHDM Design, told Town & Country. “Living away from home for the first time is a great opportunity to explore your personal style. While college students may be on a budget, there are certain items worth investing a little more in! After all, you may be using some of these products after you move off-campus, or even after graduating.”

Surface Says: At least these dorms meet basic standards of humanity, even if they’re a little bit cheugy.

Have a news story our readers need to see? Write to our editors.

The Paris-based interior architect is behind two recent additions to Las Vegas’s restaurant scene: Chyna Club and Washing Potato (pictured), both at the swanky Fontainebleau resort. In a city full of show and spectacle, Washing Potato’s scenographic interiors make a lasting impression thanks to white leather banquettes and Corian tabletops that contrast brilliantly with onyx walls, giving way to programmable lighting.

On arrival, guests emerge from the surrounding darkness onto the stagelike dining platform, which makes the act of stepping out to dinner its own form of performance.

Behind a blue door on an unassuming stretch in Hell’s Kitchen, So&So’s puts a glamorous spin on the idea of an old-school piano bar. Each week, a crew of crooners and jazz ensembles serenades patrons with live music in the sapphire-and-ruby-hued interiors brought to life by local studio Goodrich. For sustenance, look forward to a family-style menu that goes way beyond bar snacks. Large plates include truffle butter ricotta gnudi served with half a Maine lobster and Wagyu steak frites. The drinks menu is full of clever nods to the nearby Theater District: with enough mezcal Piano Mans, you may find yourself feeling ready to take the stage.

Last year, when Lee Cavaliere was announced as the incoming artistic director of Volta, he emphasized that his primary focus would remain the cutting-edge curation that established the fair as a must-attend event in the contemporary art circuit. He also revealed plans to introduce a fellowship program to encourage emerging galleries to curate presentations that boldly present the unique perspectives of their artists.

Fast forward to this week, and it’s clear his work is bearing fruit. Volta New York, which opens to the public on Sept. 5, introduces a culturally driven Town Square focused on a Ukrainian Pavilion, which features contemporary artists from the country who couldn’t otherwise showcase their art due to the ongoing war. Beyond that, 45 exhibitors from far-flung locales like Peru, Portugal, and South Korea are sure to offer new discoveries to even the most discerning collectors. Cavaliere shared his top picks from the fair exclusively with Surface.

The Swiss activewear brand’s fall-winter training collection gets a fresh look thanks to the talents of FKA twigs. Ahead of her upcoming album Eusexua, the genre-defying multihyphenate was tapped as the creative director of the collection’s The Body is Art campaign, for which photographer Jordan Hemingway captured twigs in the cool white and mustard tones of the collection’s crops, sports bras, tights, and shoes. The mustard hued Gecko color—seen in the Movement long-sleeve cropped tee, the coordinating short tights, and Cloud X 3 AD trainer—perfectly embodies the summer-fall transitional season. From $60.

Reach the design world every morning. Find out more about advertising in the Design Dispatch.

Pophouse is a full-scope design studio focused on the built environment. Located in Detroit, the brand works on both commercial and residential projects with a specialty in workplace, hospitality, and retail. Their team of designers and strategists works to positively impact people through interior, industrial, and environmental graphic design.

Surface Says: Clients flock to Pophouse for the studio’s demonstrated ability to create considered spaces unafraid to stray from convention.

What are the risks of being deemed a public enemy of AI chatbots?

Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic rings to stay on the Eiffel Tower permanently.

Scientists create apple-eating “cyborg worms” guided by algorithms.

A former SpaceX intern’s new startup wants to commodify sunlight.