DALLAS — By now, you've probably seen the viral SMU dorm room photos of Kansas City Chiefs heiress, Ava Hunt.
It's been one of our most-viewed stories of the year.
The lavishly-decorated fabrics, custom bedding, vanity lighting and neon signs also drew the attention of from both Page Six and The Daily Mail. This isn't as uncommon today as you'd think, however.
In fact, there are designers who have made this into a business. In light (pun intended) of the spiking interest of lavish dorms, WFAA spoke with Shelly Gates, who designs five dorm rooms per year with her company Mary Margaret Designs.
Gates started the company in honor of her two daughters: Mary Taylor and Margaret Grace, using part of each of their names. Gates said when one of her daughters went to Mississippi State, she transformed that dorm just for fun because she likes design.
"It kind of traveled around some and people really liked it and commented on it, and I thought, you know, I could do this as kind of a summer job like this is easy," Gates told WFAA. "It's a small space. It's, you know, pretty consistent from room to room ... let it be my little summer side hustle when I wasn't teaching school. And it is blown up for sure."
PHOTOS: Lavish, 'viral' dorm rooms have become a full-on business for designers
The new "fancy dorm room" trend starkly contrasts what previous generations are used to – even Gates.
"I went to LSU with a bed in a bag, and it was Paisley, maroon in in hunter green. It was just, it was just lovely," Gates quipped. "There's actually a lot of work that goes in these rooms because if you've seen a before-and-after picture, it's a pretty stunning transformation. Most of them look like jail cells, right? I mean, they're cinder block in 99 square feet with tile on the floor. So there's a lot of work trying to figure out the layout and how to best arrange the space so the girls can feel like they're in a bigger area, how to account for more storage in the room."
"And that really kind of goes unseen. You know, you kind of see the pretty stuff, but you don't see where we really tried to get as much storage out of every possible place that we can," Gates continued.
Gates told WFAA, for her, it was important when she sent her daughter off to college that she felt like she had a "little nest that felt like home." It's a sentiment Ava Hunt's mother, Tavia Hunt, shared in her viral post of her daughter's SMU dorm room.
"Today, I left a piece of my heart at SMU," Tavia wrote, in part. " I’m wading through emotions as I pass by your now too-clean room, the house is too quiet without your laughter ... Watching you shine your light and grow into the most beautiful version of yourself makes my heart beat a little happier. You’ve worked so hard to get here. Everything that you do from here on out is for you—for your success, happiness, and God’s glory. Acts20:24 Stay safe. Get sleep. Have faith in yourself. And remember, Mom and Dad are ALWAYS here when you need us. I love you"
Gates told WFAA that she empathizes with the moms and the families she works with.
"It's actually a pretty wonderful job. And I love my families and my girls, we all become such dear friends," Gates said. "It's been such a blessing to get to find this little pocket area of design that I really didn't even know that was there, but I actually love every minute of it."
Gates said her company works with two to three custom artists to match the art to their clients, giving it that custom feel.
"All I'm doing and the artist is doing is just interpreting the vision that they kind of see for their room," Gates said.
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