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When you’re trying to think of ways to decorate a college dorm room, it can be challenging, especially when you don’t have a whole lot of freedom to do things such as paint walls or are stuck with school issued furniture. Fortunately, with a lot of creativity, there are many things you can do.
1. Choose a Color Scheme: This is the most important thing to do if you want an awesome looking college dorm, but it’s also the most often overlooked. Many dorms are a mash up of different colors that can really be an eyesore. Even if you are on a budget and are using hand me downs you can still get a really nice room that coordinates. Consult with your room mate and choose 2-3 colors that you will stick with and you’ll be amazed how much better your room will look compared to everyone else’s.
2. Get Creative With Furniture Placement: Many people when moving into a college dorm will just leave the furniture where they found it. Even if you’re stuck with that furniture there are still many things you can do to make it more aesthetically pleasing. For example, move stuff away from the walls, angle it on a corner, or break the imaginary boundary between “my side, your side”.
3. Give Things a Dual Purpose: With limited space, if you can make something in your room have multiple functions you can greatly reduce clutter. For example, you can turn your bed into a couch by day simply by rearranging pillows.
4. Cover Up Those Walls: If you’ve got concrete block walls that make your room feel more like a prison cell than a relaxing studying and sleeping oasis, you can do many things to cover the walls. Hanging fabric can add softness or texture or you can even use large rolls of paper. Posters and artwork can also give your room a little more personality.
5. Choose a Theme: Like a good color scheme, a theme can also help bring a room together. There are thousands of possibilities for themes. For example, you could play up on interests and go with an all sports theme, a movie theme, or a music theme. You could also choose a theme such as different types of styles, such as contemporary or French country.
6. Remember Lighting: Lighting can make all the difference in a college dorm room. Halogen bulb lamps or hanging lamps can help bring a new ambiance to the room apart from an ugly fluorescent light in the center of your ceiling.
7. Bring in Plants: Plants can make a huge difference in a the way you decorate a dorm room. Not only do they add color but they can also make your room look more relaxing and cleaner. Bamboo plants or others that don’t require a lot of maintenance are all great choices. You can also use artificial plants for a similiar effect.
8. Get a Rug: College dorm rugs are a great way to dress up drab carpet or worse for the wear tile or hardwood floor. You can go for something plush and very soft, something classic and elegant, or playfully shaped rugs instead.
9. Use Vertical Space: Bookcases and shelves can make a huge difference in the amount of storage space you have, as well as add height and dimension to the room.
10. Don’t forget the Doors: You can add additional personality to your room by decorating the inside and outside of your main entry door as well as closet doors. Paper, fabric, or collages can all make a difference.
Hopefully these quick 10 ideas for ways to decorate your college dorm room will give you some inspiration! If you have any other great ideas you’d like to share to help others we’d love to hear from you in the comments section below, or contact us and send us pics to show off your room!