TikTok dorm designer gives Alabama colleges top dollar makeovers and a ‘wow factor’

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Shelly Gates and Lawson Tharpe prepare a dorm room at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs, prepares a dorm room at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

A fully installed dorm room design by Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs, seen at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Dorm room accessories are seen spread down a hallway in Pitman Hall as Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs, prepares a dorm room at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Lawson Tharpe and Shelly Gates adjust carpets as they prepare a dorm room at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Shelly Gates and Casey Marchman prepare a dorm room at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs, prepares a dorm room at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Lawson Tharpe, Casey Marchman and Shelly Gates adjust a tapestry as they prepare a dorm room at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

A fully installed dorm room design by Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs, seen at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Karly Keske, a freshman at Samford University, reacts to seeing the completed dorm room installation by Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Karly Keske, a freshman at Samford University, reacts to seeing the completed dorm room installation by Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

A handwritten note from Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs, is left on a chair after completing a dorm room installation at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Karly Keske, a freshman at Samford University, stands for a portrait in her new dorm room designed by Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Shelly Gates, owner of Mary Margaret Designs, stands for a portrait after preparing a dorm room at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)

Among the bustle of parents carrying belongings up multiple flights of stairs while their students direct where everything should go is Shelly Gates, a Mississippi-based interior decorator who specializes in creating custom college dorm rooms.

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