If only James Jannetides had started building University Loft college dormitory furniture when I was in school! Yes, I admit it, my university residence hall days ended a bit shy of Jannetides’ founding of University Loft in 1986. If ULoft furniture had been in my college dorm rooms, my roommates and I would have had more space, more comfort and a better learning environment.
University Housing Then:
When I was finishing up my college residence hall living experience, students were at the mercy of some pretty basic dormitory design. Most on-campus residence hall living quarters were rectangles of varying sizes, outfitted in spartan fashion. I was actually lucky. My residence hall was the newest on campus; it featured what they called a “Z” design, each room having two sleeping wings offset from a slender main space. Still, most students – me included – did our best to customize our university living spaces. Try as we might, most rooms were little more than milk crate monstrosities with bunks, shelves and cabinets cobbled together. I won’t tell you how I built my bunk, but I still marvel that my roommate had the nerve to sleep on the bottom bunk.
Not long after my on-campus college days were done, James Jannetides would revolutionize college dormitory furnishings by building custom furniture for on-campus dorm rooms.
- The First Loft
University Housing Today:
You need only to take a look around this website to understand how far university furniture has come, thanks in large measure to Jannetides’ innovations and entrepreneurial spirit. Armed with visions of a better university living environment and a healthy supply of lumber, Jannetides began building dormitory loft furniture for his Southern Illinois University friends and other students. It wasn’t long before University Loft Company was providing modular student furnishings to colleges and universities across the country and around the world.
- The Modern Loft
University Housing Tomorrow:
University Loft continues to develop innovative dorm room furniture to make sure the college students of today and tomorrow have the best living and learning environments possible. Watch this video to see what the future may hold.
Yes, when it comes to university housing and college dorm room solutions, a lot has changed in the last 25 years or so. We’ve come a long way from crowded rooms and milk crate monstrosities, and the future gets brighter all the time thanks to University Loft Company. How can we help make YOUR on-campus housing more comfortable and effective?
Bob
The ULoft Blog Team
About University Loft Company and our solid wood modular residence life furniture:
Since 1984, when James Jannetides built a loft configuration for his own dorm room at Southern Illinois University, hundreds of thousands of college students have enjoyed better campus living thanks to University Loft furniture. Today, University Loft serves more than 1,200 colleges, universities and related student housing partners. As Jannetides’ says: “We are always learning, always innovating, and always improving … our environment, our products, and our service. We are University Loft Company.”