oing to college is a pivotal time in many young adult’s lives. It is the first time many don’t live at home, bringing about new responsibilities along with new opportunities. One of these new opportunities includes the chance to not only have, but decorate your own space.
When you move into college for the first time, your dorm is essentially your home away from home for at least the rest of the school year. Because of this, it is extremely important that you feel comfortable and happy in the space. Decorating your dorm in a way that makes it feel like home is the first step of working towards that goal.
In order to make your dorm feel like home, there are a number of steps you can take. Read on to learn some of the best tips out there!
Top Tips to Bring the Comfort of Home to Your Dorm
Moving into your new dorm is exciting, however the decorating process can be a daunting task. After all, this is your home for the next year. If you find yourself lacking decoration inspiration, don’t worry because we’ve got you covered!
Choose a Color Theme
When laying out a decoration plan for your new dorm room, one of the most helpful first steps to take is to select a color scheme. This is important so you can coordinate the different items you pick out for your room.
A great way to do this is to find an accent piece with a pop of color, and then purchase other items that match that color.
In Australia, occasional chairs are furniture that reflects this concept. So you can purchase a navy blue boucle lounge chair, add a copper cushion, and possibly add more copper accents to your room by adding copper-framed curtains or a mirror.
This is very useful in making your dorm room feel homey since dorm rooms often have an element of sterility due to their plain white walls and floor, a color theme adds some personality to the space.
Bring Your Favorite Items From Home
Picking out some favorite items from home to bring with you to school goes a long way in terms of adding an element of comfort to your dorm. Items such as your favorite childhood stuffed animal, a treasured blanket, or even cherished notes lets you bring a piece of home along with you.
Therefore, adorning your dorm room with these items will allow you to feel more comfortable in your home away from home.
Bring Your Own Lighting
Another way to make your dorm feel homey is by bringing your own lighting with you to the dorm. Because dorms often only have one overhead, harsh light, using that light can ruin the atmosphere of the room.
However, bringing along your own lighting, such as floor and desk lamps, are a perfect way to remedy this problem. With your own lamps, you can select your own light bulbs in order to customize the lighting to fit your own preferences.
For example, maybe you want to bask the room in a warm glow. Or, maybe you want to purchase a purple or blue tinted light bulb in order to go for a more edgy look. Purchasing your own lighting gives you the power to fit whatever aesthetic you please.
Hang Up Wall Decorations
The plain white walls of dorms is a common complaint among college students. The empty walls are the complete opposite of homey. However, hanging up wall decorations, such as posters, paintings, cork boards, and more, helps to fill the plain walls up with eye-catching decor.
These wall decorations can be any style you like, ranging from minimalist to extravagant. This is a great way to not only make your dorm feel like home, but also compliment your other decor.
Set Up Picture Frames Featuring Yourself, Friends, and Family
There are few things that remind us of the comforts of home like family and friends. And while you may not be able to take them with you to college, pictures are the next best thing.
Decorating your new space with pictures of yourself with friends and family adds an aura of personalization to the space, which aids your dorm in feeling like home.
Purchase Fairy Lights
Nearly every college student has used fairy lights in their dorm at one point or another, and for good reason. Like adding your own lamps to your dorm, implementing fairy lights is a great way to influence the aesthetic of the space.
If you are looking for these lights at a discount, we recommend browsing the dorm room selection at Target. Not only do they have a variety of fairy lights, they also provide them to the customer for a reasonable price.
Use Floor Rugs
The tile floor in dorm rooms, similar to the white cinder-block walls, often make dorm rooms look more like a prison cell than a home. This is where the role of floor rugs come in. Floor rugs are the perfect way to increase the comfort factor of a dorm room.
Not only do they make a dorm room look more comfy and homey, you can literally feel the increased comfort when walking across the room. Instead of stepping on cold, hard tile, you are walking on a plush and warm rug.
Because of this, floor rugs are an absolute essential for any dorm room.
Dorm Room Inspiration
Now that we’ve talked about some of the specifics regarding items to make your dorm feel like home, let’s take a look at some of my favorite finished products. Find yourself lacking motivation?! Check out these jaw-dropping designs to reinspire you!
Inspiration Picture One
This first dorm room utilizes many of the decoration ideas we have talked about thus far. For instance, we can see elegantly hanging fairy lights along with numerous wall decorations. Additionally, the common theme of nature in this dorm, evidenced by the pictures of butterflies along with the hanging plant, is a very unique and creative idea.
Inspiration Picture Two
This next dorm room inspiration picture is very helpful if you are aiming for a minimalist design. The string lights, single piece of wall decor, and pretty pink rose on the window sill all compliment each other perfectly.
Unlike the last inspiration picture, this design is much simpler.
Inspiration Picture Three
This dorm room inspiration picture is slightly more edgy. It has incredible lighting featuring pink and purple hues, which is a very popular look presently. This lighting brings an extremely vibrant and show-stopping look to the room.
Now Get Ready to Decorate Your Own Dorm Room
Now that we’ve explored many different design ideas, along with some room inspirations, it's your chance to apply what you like to your own space. Select your favorite ideas of what we’ve covered and transform your dorm room into your very own home away from home!
