Port Washington-ize your dorm

If describing Port Washington to college ingénues with an elaborate Great Gatsby reference seems stilted, try to weave the East Egg into conversation wall-by-wall with homegrown dorm essentials.

Home Goods
75 Shore Rd., 516-767-4590

Roll a shopping cart into perhaps the most admittedly "big-box" vendor in town and you'll find round, hanging posters that scream "Dorm deals!," "A+ values!" and "U Save!" They mark an unspoken boundary between duvet sets, both bright and subtle, and a garden of imitation greens, a poised, imitation alabaster statuette and chuckling jack-faux-lanterns.

This retailer features a department that is bursting with bedding. For creative types eager to mix and match, HomeGoods offers twin sheet sets (in regular and extra-long styles), prices ranging from $16.99 to $29.99 depending on brand, which includes ROXY Room, Tommy Hilfiger, Hotel Balfour, Peri, id: mine and Style Happy.

Heavy-duty blankets are a must for students moving to most schools north of the Mason-Dixon line: Comforter sets in styles, sizes and patterns compatible with sheet sets, line the back wall, with prices hovering around $69.99.

Ralph Lauren pillows are $9.99 a pop; Nautica, $19.99 each. Slender, decorative pillows to crown a neatly made bed for $12.99 each boast slogans such as "I <3 peace" and "Totally cool."

Dolphin Bookshop
299 Main St., 516-767-2650

For many local teenagers, this Port Washington landmark may conjure up memories of trips to find the most inviting first chapter book, or the perfect gift for a classmate's birthday party. Now at its new location, Dolphin Bookshop is maintaining its image with quirky assets for college students.  

Prepare for dorm bonding by picking up such slumber party classics as Mad Libs or Uno. Future English majors might consider investing in a quality game of Scrabble for $30.95. When reaching for snacks, remember than any rented refrigerator can be adorned by Quotable-brand magnets, available either in modern black-and-white or more intensifying shades. A packet ($5.95) of 40 "twinkle stars," a common decoration for rooms of children of all astronomy-adoring ages, can transform a dark dorm ceiling to a makeshift starry, starry night.

95A Main St., 516.883-8585

A blackboard unfolded outside the shop, reminiscent of one-room schoolhouse days, proclaims, "Off to college in style! Fall bags & totes (for books, and stuff…)." Inside, find inspiration whether you are in the market for not just bags, but also stationary or complete with  and rolls of artistically printed wrapping paper.

"Canvas giclees were a huge hit with decoration," said summer employee Emmanda Chery, referring to the popular fine-art prints. With only two of the collages left—glittering designs with birds, accentuated with calligraphy like "Fly" and "Love"— Chery noted that additional styles, $54 each, can arrive within less than two weeks after ordered.

Chery said decoupage picture frames, featuring titles such as "Friends," "Family" and "The Girls," have also been very popular, selling for $46 each. For $32, the alternative wooden frames offer similar labels.

The rhombus-shaped navy blue and red totes, advertised on the sidewalk chalkboard, hang unannounced in a decorative fireplace. The edges of the bags, $92 each, can be pulled out into corners, creating a rectangle that offers more space, and each bag can accommodate a laptop.

Painting with Flowers
298 Main St., 516-883-4164

Take the "College-bound?" banner in the window as not just a challenge, but a warm welcome. Once inside, charmingly creaky floorboards underfoot are drowned out by jazzy exclamations of scat ramblings through the store's sound system. Owner Gayle Silver describes her business as "a really girly store," but the trick is sifting through inventory to find the pieces best suited for students rather than fully grown suburbanites.

Tub-sized candles, for instance, with slices of apple and rose petals suspended in wax, might land students on probation for alleged pyromania. Instead, try risk-free diffusers—incense-imitations in small glass bottles requiring no flame for fragrance. Painting with Flowers offers diffusers, between $35 and $55, in cherry blossom, lavender and green tea scents.

Silver said the biggest seller for college-bound buyers is Pine Cone Hill bedding, which offers curlicued-patterned fabrics for sheets, duvets ($84 and up) and shams ($34 and up).

"They always think they don't need a Euro pillow, but then you use your bed as a desk," added sales associate Ila Schechner, touting the merits of the the 26" by 26" shams.

To brighten up a dorm for $28, Silver recommends the popular two-by-three foot striped rugs by Dash and Albert Rug Company.

A nearby kaleidoscopic corner of quilted signature quilts is a flowered, paisleyed shrine to Vera Bradley. Silver said female students planning on trekking home from school on weekends have been picking up large duffle bags, $88 each. Back in the dorm, a hanging organizer, $48, hooked on a door can hold cosmetics. And new for this season, laptop backpacks, $98, have a special slit in the back meant specifically for computers.