If you’re anything like me, your surroundings have a huge impact on your overall mood. When I thought about living in a dorm room my freshman year of college, my stomach flipped. (Okay, that’s a bit dramatic.) I was used to my cozy, decorated bedroom back at home. Living in a dorm room caused me to become a bit creative with how I made my space feel more inviting, simply because we weren’t allowed to put any holes in the wall/paint/etc. This post will give you 5 easy dorm room decorating ideas you can use to make your space feel more like you!
If you are a college student, make sure to check out my other posts about the college lifestyle below:
- 5 Apps College Students Shouldn’t Live Without
- 32 Self-Care Ideas to Practice in College
- 5 Easy Ways to Save Money in College
- 20 Study Tips for College Students
5 Damage-Free Dorm Room Decorating Ideas
1. Posters
Posters have been a staple dorm room decoration for decades. However, posters don’t have to be cheesy, and they are actually a really simple way to express your interests.
I had a James Dean poster hanging in my dorm room during my freshman year, and I now have a Kanye West/Kim Kardashian poster in my first apartment. I love posters, especially because there are so many to choose from and they are so inexpensive. I love being able to express my inner celebrity fangirl 😉
2. Firefly Lights
Firefly lights are the easiest way (in my opinion), to completely change the mood of your dorm room. When I lived in a dorm room, I almost always had just my lamp or firefly lights on, and never really had the overhead lights on. I did this because the fluorescent lights that are usually in dorm rooms are honestly….extremely ugly and unflattering.
I would prefer to open my blinds and have the natural light coming into my room or use my firefly lights rather than turning on the overhead fluorescents. Below are my favorite firefly lights:
3. Tapestries
One of the easiest ways to decorate your dorm room is simply just hanging up a tapestry. Tapestries are the next best thing to being able to paint your walls, which we all know isn’t allowed in dorm rooms.
Target usually has some great tapestries to choose from in the fall time, when they release their college collection of home decor. Besides that, I like to shop on Amazon throughout the year.
Pro-tip: Remember that you can’t put nails in your walls in dorm rooms, so you will need to get creative when finding a way to hang your tapestry up. My favorite way is with Command Strips/Putty.
4. Bulletin Boards
Besides being extremely cute, bulletin boards are also functional and helpful in keeping you on track of everything in college. I personally use my bulletin board to keep my to-do lists organized, display notes from home, and other quotes/words that inspire me.
Bulletin boards are extremely inexpensive and add a nice touch to a desk/homework area in your dorm room.
5. Photo Displays
If you’re anything like me, you get homesick from time to time. One of the best ways I’ve found to overcome homesickness is to keep comforting images and notes around you. I always had photos of my friends/family from home around my dorm room and it helped me to feel more connected to home, even when I was hours away.
There’s a ton of different photo displays on the market, but I particularly like these:
Tips for Decorating Your Dorm Room:
- Make sure that your roommate is okay with what you are putting up on your side of the room. It may be on your side, but you both have to share the room and essentially look at whatever you decide to hang up/decorate with.
- Get pieces of furniture that are multifunctional. This can be a desk stool that can have the top removed in order to store things or a bed with storage space/bins under it. Space is super tight in dorm rooms, so keep that in mind when shopping for decor/furniture.
- Stock up on non-damaging wall hanging supplies like Command Strips. These were vital to decorating and I always find myself running out!
Have any other dorm room decorating ideas? Let me know!
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