It’s here, folks! It’s finally that time of the year where you move into a shoe box with a person you’ve never met. If you’re like me, you are finding yourself looking for anything you can to remind you of home – a home that is a thousand miles away. It’s easy to look at dorm ideas online and find things you like, but let’s be honest. You’re a college kid now. You don’t have that kind of money. Fortunately, decorating your dorm doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Just a few simple materials can take your room from drab and dreary to fun and cheery. Here are a few of my recommendations.
Washi Tape
If you are unfamiliar with washi tape, be prepared to meet your new best friend. Washi tape is similar to masking tape. It is thin, lightweight tape that comes in colorful patterns. The best part? You can stick washi tape on those colorless dorm walls and even the furniture and it won’t leave any sticky residue or pull off the paint! I use washi tape around pictures on my walls and on the edges of shelves. My life would be black and white without this.
Command Hooks
Have you seen the commercial where a kid is putting a nail in a dorm wall and MC Hammer comes out and tells him a hammer and nails don’t belong in a dorm? It’s good. Anyway, I use command hooks and velcro strips for everything. The wall art and calendar you are about to read about below are things I hang completely with Command hooks. I have my bulletin stuck to the wall with velcro strips. I have statement necklaces hanging from Command hooks. I have a power strip stuck to my shelf with a velcro strip. Everything. Command hooks.
Do-It-Yourself Wall Art
Things like banners and school spirit signs are cheap and easy to make. I find everything I need for my dorm décor at Michael’s. You can make a colorful banner or garland with some string or ribbon and scrapbook paper or colored card stock. These things fill up the room in a good way, making your space feel fun and inviting.
Colorful Wall Calendar
This piece of your room needs to be not only functional, but colorful as well. It takes up a good section of your wall space, after all. If you don’t have room on the walls to hang a wall calendar, get one that you can put on your desk or hang on the back of the door. I recommend a larger calendar so your roommate can check out your schedule if need be with ease.
Rug
My dorm this year has hardwood floors. Last year, my building had carpeting. No matter what kind of floor you find yourself living on top of, an area rug is a great idea. Choose one that is comfortable and matches your color scheme in your room. If you have hard floors, the rug will make the space feel warmer. If you have carpet, the rug will protect your bare feet from whatever may lurk in the carpet in your room. Who knows what the last person was doing in there?
Foldable Bins
These soft bins are great for storing the crap you need without having little things all over your room. Both of my dorm rooms have had a shelf above the closet bar that has worked great for displaying my colorful bins, but if you don’t have a shelf that would work for your bins, getting a small cube unit or even lining the bins up under your bed or on your dresser would work. Make sure you get cubes you can display, adding more color and even more depth to the shoe box you’ll be in for the next eight months.
I won an award my freshman year for coolest dorm room in my building. There are so many other aspects to a room I find necessary. Everything little adds up to make a big difference. If you are still lost in the world of dorm decorating and need a few more tips and pointers, you can find me on twitter at https://twitter.com/briellenicole96. I’m no expert, but I sure do know how to make a dorm feel at home. With these tips, you’ll be on your way to mastering your home away from home décor in no time. Good luck and have fun with it!
