College-bound kids are gearing up for a shopping spree (while parents and guardians groan) to buy bedding, towels, closet organizers, TVs, beanbag chairs, and plants to outfit their new dorm rooms.

"We spend so much time [in a laundry room] that it’s important to make it beautiful, bright and functional," says The Couture Closet's Kathleen Jacobson, who designed this space. Dan Piassick Like ...