Alright, freshies, listen up because I'm about to drop some dope dorm room tips to maximize space and cuteness levels in that tiny 12'x19' abode that is now "yours".
1. Kitty-Corner Your Beds
If you and your roommate are down for shaking things up, you should totally kitty-corner your beds! One bed should remain close to the ground and the other lofted above it. My sophomore year roommate and I did this and it is a super space saver!
2. Keep Decor Color Coordinated
There is nothing more atrocious than a dorm that looks like a baby unicorn barfed for the first time all over the place. If your favorite color is blue, go with all blue hues. (That's what I did. Team Blue!) This can also work with your roommate. If you both like the same color, go all out and try to buy things of that color. My sophomore year roommate and I did this, and I have to say, our room looked pretty rad. The 1,000 blue hues actually worked nicely together. OR suggest they buy all their things their favorite color while you stick to yours. That way, you'll never accidentally pick up your roommate's dirty laundry and drag it all the way to the basement to discover, "THESE AREN'T MY UNDERWEAR."
3. Pillows, Pillows, Pillows
Let's be real, pillows are adorable. Also, dorm visitors love to have a pillow to lean against your wall while your 20 people from your floor are playing card games. However, the only catch is pillows are kind of expensive. (I have no idea why.) So, I have two suggestions. One: Go to Marshalls or TJ Maxx because they have some pretty legit pillows for cheap. Two: Find some ugly pillows your mom doesn't want anymore and some cheap fabric to make pillow covers for them. Ba-bam. Pillows.
4. Seating for Guests
It's awkward when someone comes to stop by your dorm room and there is no place for them to sit. I mean, except for your desk chair, but that'd be kind of weird, right? You've only just met. So, seating for guests is ultra important. A comfy chair from home to stick in the corner is fabulous. Or an even cooler option is to push you and your roommate's dressers together and sew up a little cushion. BAM- A BENCH. I did this with my sophomore year roommate and it was a total hit. (This is the actual photo from my sophomore year room! Props to my awesome mom for sewing the cushion! It was also stuffed with memory foam because my mom is rad like that.)
5. Calm Down the Picture Prints
Sure, 1,000,000 printed out pictures from high school seems like a good idea at first, but then when you tape them to your cinderblock walls and they start falling down two hours later, you'll regret everything. So, I suggest keeping the pictures to a minimum. My freshman year I had a super cute photo of my two bestestest friends (shoutout to Caroline and Addison) that I printed out and put in a black frame to sit on my desk. It kept things simple and my walls clean looking. So, save yourself from spending $97.00 at Walgreens.
6. Tidy Your Space EVERY DAY
I know this sounds very "mom-ish", but it really helps you stay on top of things AND it keeps your dorm from getting out of control. Before bed every night, I would tidy my desk and put away anything I didn't need for my next day of classes. Also, I know it sounds like a pain, but you should really get into the habit of making your bed every morning. I've been doing both of these since my freshman year, and now I'm a total neat freak and I'M LOVING IT. If any of these tips were of most importance, it'd be this one.
7. Bring Extra Lighting
Dorm rooms can seem kind of dull and the florescent light from above can really mess with your eyes after a while. So, definitely bring a cool floor lamp or table lamp to make your dorm feel a little more "home-y" and to give your eyes a rest. Side Note: Almost everyone has that five light floor lamp shown above. Definitely recommended.
8. Fold Your T-Shirts Super Cool
When I started college, I must have own approximately 2,000 t-shirts. Instead of hanging them up and taking up precious space in my tiny closet, I put them in my dresser. BUT I found out an AWESOME way to fold and store them to save space for EVEN MORE T-SHIRTS. You basically fold them into thirds or fourths and then store them vertically. 10/10 would recommend.
9. Bring a Rug
Either your dorm room has tile floor or insanely ugly (stained) carpet. A rug can spruce up lonely living quarters real fast and cover up those questionable stains. Find a rug that matches your color scheme or a neutral one that you can reuse later in life. I bought my rug for my room at Big Lots for like $14. That, my friends, is an awesome deal.
10. Vinyl Decals and Decor!!
Vinyl wall decor is a God send. It applies easily and is removable without leaving behind stains or taking off paint. There are adorable quotes you can buy or geometric designs or metallic gold dots or ... just about anything you could think of probably comes in vinyl. I had a vinyl chalkboard I applied to my desk (recommended for all math majors!) and one for my closet where my roommate and I could write notes to each other and visitors could doodle.
That's about all my super space saving, color coordinating tips I have for everyone starting college this fall. But more importantly than creating an ultra cute dorm room, HAVE FUN! Freshman year is an awesome time to meet new people and discover what you want to do in life. Enjoy it, freshies!
