One of my biggest fears when going into college was the cinder block walls. They’re reminiscent of "Orange Is The New Black" decor and make dorms feel cold and institutional. Since Northwestern is on the quarter system and I found myself with a never-ending three month summer, I researched and made three DIY projects to make my dorm feel more spacious and more like home.
Most people bring pictures from home to bring a little life into the room. Stringing them on twine with clothespins or on cork boards behind a desk are good ways to make things feel more home-like. I printed my photos using the Walgreens' app for same-day pickup, and used the code PERFECT10 to bring the price from 29 cents a print to just 10, bringing the cost of this DIY to only a couple dollars.
I wanted to cover the walls as best I could without the room becoming cluttered and constricting, so I got a two-pack of small canvases from Michael’s. Between watching too many dorm tours and DIY decoration videos, I saw this dorm tour and fell in love with the patterned watercolor canvas and the hexagon paint chip canvas from this video. I recreated the first with painter’s tape and sponged on some different shades of blue, green and purple. I also took a generous supply of different cool-toned paint chips from Home Depot and cut them into hexagons, making both DIY projects completely customizable.
Finally, I saw a cute yet minimalistic canvas banner online. The only problem was that it was $90. Instead of buying that, I went to JoAnn Fabrics and purchased three yards of a soft, light canvas. I realized as the cashier rung me up that three yards was enough to make around 10 banners, so I started making some for my friends. When the fabric was folded in half, I traced a 25 by 30 centimeter rectangle, then drew a line nine centimeters below the 30 centimeter mark and connected the points to make a triangle at the bottom. I cut out the appropriate letters in size 235 Arial Narrow font, traced them with a Sharpie, and painted in the lines with black acrylic paint. I hot glued the two pieces together, folded down the top to make a slit, and added a small wooden dowel and twine from Michael’s.
Decorating a dorm room gave me a fresh slate to create a room I felt comfortable in. While I was initially terrified of cinder block walls, I tried my best to customize them. There are many affordable and personalized do-it-yourself projects, making it easy to make your room your new favorite place on campus.
