Moving into a college dorm room? Should you worry or get excited about it? Yes, your new roommate is a complete stranger and your room might not be as you like, but it’s something a little creativity can improve.
Let’s see what you can do to transform it into a lovely place you can really call your new home.
What’s Special About Your Current Bedroom?
Going to a college away from home means moving away from all things familiar. Moving into a dorm room presents a new chapter in your adult life. So you can approach it strategically.
Write what makes your current room you. Make a list of items you’d like to have in your new sleeping area that will make it resemble your home.
The list could include:
- Your favorite pillow
- Wall art
- Custom rugs
- Family pictures
While you can’t copy/paste your king-size bed or tapestry, you can think of the little details you love and perhaps buy them before moving into another city.
If you bought a certain accessory in your local store, you will unlikely find it elsewhere.
You don’t want to strip your own bedroom of all great things either. Vacation or spring break visits to the family should be a happy time and coming back to an empty room is not a solution.
Think about items you want to bring from the room, what to leave, and what to buy.
Bring The Essentials And Buy The Rest Later
You will bring your laptop, school supplies, and personal hygiene items, but don’t forget to think about things you will have to take care of from now on.
Can you read or write an essay in low light?
Can you show up anywhere in dirty pants or a crumpled shirt?
Add the following items to your list of must-haves, so you are ready for any situation collegiate life might throw in front of you.
- Power strips
- Extension Cords
- Desk Lamp
- Hangers
- Towels and Bedding
- Set of Dishes
- Kettle
- Everything for doing the laundry yourself
- A small iron
In terms of necessities, those are the things you don’t want to be without in your first hectic month of freshman year.
Prepare yourself well so you can go through orientation and other school obligations with less stress and tasks to think of.
1. Beautify Your Walls Without Nails
In changing your living space, campus housing includes certain regulations.
Nails and painting are usually forbidden, so your wall decor has to be something that doesn’t damage the surface and can be easily removed.
Use 3m hooks to hang pictures on the wall, create a bed canopy, or as a place to hang clothing. You can take a fabric with a cool print to hang on 3m hooks and use as a wallpaper.
If you want to create patterns or frames for your posters and family photos, use Washi tape on doors and walls as it’s harmless for walls and leaves no residue.
2. Transform Your Bed into an Extra Storage
While you can decorate your headboard with stylish fabric covered cardboard, it’s even better to use it for extra storage.
Lack of storage is often the biggest problem with small spaces and leads to clutter and mess.
There are a few ways to use your bed without a built-in storage to solve this issue.
- Under the bed – use bed lifters so you can stack plastic or linen boxes under the bed
- Bedside – you can find various textile caddies and organizers to slip under your mattress and use for your phone, glasses, and other smaller items.
3. Create a Welcoming Vibe with Added Seating
College is a social environment, so it’s natural you’ll have friends coming over to your room.
If you don’t want to have guests sitting on your just-washed bed linens, consider getting throw pillows and placing them on the floor.
Foldable chairs might be another choice – you can paint them if they are dull, and they won’t take away space.
4. Use Aroma Diffusers to Boost Health and Sleep
Collegiate budget is usually tight, but your health is always a good investment.
Less diverse diet and stress take a toll on our bodies, so does spending your whole day surrounded with people.
Aroma diffusers are not a fire hazard as they don’t use candles, and they are good for killing bacteria in the air. When you are sharing a tiny room with someone who got sick, you need to protect your immune system.
- Lavender essential oil – makes you sleep better and reduces the effect of stress
- Lemon and Tea Tree oils – kill germs and disinfect the air
- Rosemary – is good for concentration and studying, so you ace your exams.
Not only will the chemistry of an essential oil get rid of air-borne germs, but it will also make your dorm room smell nice, and it can be a mood-boosting Allie.
Essential oils affect us on multiple levels-body, mind, and spirit.
5. Music and Lighting Will Add A Little Romance
If you have a crush coming over, a change of scenery comes to play. You want to set a pleasant, sensual vibe that will spark the flame between you two.
That’s the situation where you need to appease other’s eyes and ears.
To create the perfect lighting, you can use, for example:
-
- Christmas lights placed on the wall
- Neon wire to create your own glowing letters and shapes
- Alphabet letter lights
- Small desk lamp
While everyone has different music preference, a general rule applies – play it softly, and pick something that serves as a great background noise and doesn’t take the attention away from the conversation.
Your dorm room should be the place you love to spend time in.
Make sure your creative outlets break none housing rules and use the tips and tricks above to both comply and embellish your dorm room.