How to Decorate a Dorm Room to Feel Like Home

Dorm rooms can be cold, uninviting, and drab. Whether you’re going away to college and leaving home for the first time or in need of a dorm room make over, these few simple steps can really transform your tiny living space. You can really make your dorm room feel like a home away from home.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Imagination
• Curtains
• Small Chair
• Bookshelf
• Posters
• area rug
• Fabric
• storage containers
• scented reeds

1. Pick out a color scheme that makes you feel happy inside. Find a pillow, a bedspread, curtains or even a favorite fruit. Use your favorite colors and you’re sure to feel comfortable in your new space.

2. 
   Yard Sale

   Go to your local yard sales. Brave the early morning and get out of bed! You can discover amazing finds that wont make you break into your piggy bank. Lamps, posters, curtains, bookshelves, a comfy reading chair, rugs and even storage containers are great things to keep and eye out for. If something looks old and crackly, worry not! You can refinish and clean just about anything! Don’t forget to take small bills and change and always bargain for lower prices.

3. Gather the decorating essentials; a curtain and tension rod to fit the standard dorm window. A small reading chair, beanbag, or even futon that you can scatter pillows about for a nice relaxing spot to study, watch TV, or take a much-deserved nap. A bookshelf that is far from the same style as your issued dorm furniture. Fill it with your favorite photos in decorative frames, your favorite books, and objects that make you smile. Posters or large pieces of fabric are great ways to add color and coziness to the drab cinderblock walls. Lighting is key. Fluorescents are uninviting and can cause head ache. Gather lamps form your bedroom at home or yard sales and add warmth to your space. Last but certainly not least don’t forget the rug, carpet, or floor matt. It depends on your space and roommate but area rugs and scraps of carpet form flooring companies are great ways to avoid the cold linoleum floor.

4. Get rid of clutter and save time with storage containers. They are inexpensive, especially if you buy them second hand. Label them so you always know where everything is. Big or small they will always come in handy.

Tips & Warnings

• Add a fresh scent and block out the odor of a months worth of dirty laundry by using scented reeds. They are allowed in every dorm and last a long time.
• Watch your spending. Even when your shopping second hand you can go over. Set a specific budget and stick to it!