Summer is coming to a close and students all across the country are packing their things to return to college life. With UA having a majority of out of state students, many have to prepare for their big return to school. Whether your an incoming freshman or simply living with a roommate, you often find yourself coordinating your room set up with your roommate who may not live close enough to go shopping together. This year I am living in my sorority house and really wanted to have a cozy space to call my home away from Michigan that I would share with my roommate who is from California.

Here are some helpful tips that helped us collaborate and create our room design across the country.

1. Pick a color scheme

It's important to have a couple of colors picked out before buying items. Usually to create a cohesive and livable space, picking colors that compliments each other is important to make your room enjoyable when it comes down to winding down after a long day of studying. Once you have an idea about your color scheme, this will help you find items and decorations to make your room feel welcoming and just for you.

If your having a hard time find colors that work for you, find a throw or a decorative pillow and build from there. My roommate is a current senior and had this one piece of art that she had with her since freshman year. from there, we came up with a posh aesthetic with a accent of pink.

2. Have a solid bedding

Even if you find a bedspread in your hometown, your roommate may not be able to access the same items as you. Picking a comforter that is all one color can make your room look more uniform and easy to find.

My roommate and I could not decide as to what bedding to choose from whether I liked ruffles and she liked stripes we could not make a decision. With us going with a plane white comforter, I can reuse this bedding for next years of college and change the decorative pillows if I get tired of pink and black that we chose.

3. Buy for two

Even if you can't go shopping together but want to match certain items, buy two of the same product for your roommate and yourself.

My roommate was really good at going on Etsy and finding customized pillows and decorations. In return, I found a carpet for our room to share.

My desk photo Provided By Julia Smith

Here is my working station. I found personalized desk tags that best fit for my roommate and I. A great way to glam up your desk space and leave you enough room to complete tasks and stay organized.

4. It's OK to do your thing

As much as you want to look uniform with your roommate, you don't have to sacrifice what you like and dislike to please your roommate. Stay within your color scheme and you will look like your twinning even if you don't have the same exact decorations. also, mix and match different textures if you have stripes and she has stars try and switch with a different item as long as the items are the same color. In this case, you will love everything about your room and so will your roommate.

I love little sayings that hang on my wall. this is a great way to keep me motivated throughout the week and show my visitors a taste of my personality and feel welcomed in our room.

5. Save the best for last

Once its time to move into your room, unload all your belongs and build from there. My roommate and I then went to Alabama's local home decoration stores and found small items to tie our room together. It didn't take us long to decorate our room and now a couple days later we are now enjoying our little space in such style and little to no stress!