Guide to Decorating Your Dorm Room (+ DIY Ideas)

If you’re headed to college, you probably know about all the expenses you’ll need to make, and decorating your room is one of them. 

Decorating a dorm room can be a fun activity, but it can be expensive. Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to avoid spending all your savings on dorm room items

Why It’s Important to Decorate Your Dorm Room

  • Dorm rooms are often small, so you need to choose the right decorations to maximize all the space and make the room look larger.
  • If you have a roommate, using the right decorations will help you get more privacy.
  • You’ll likely spend much of your time in your dorm room, so it’s important to make it as cozy as possible.
  • Decorating your dorm room can be an exciting activity and can help you relax when first move there.

DIY Dorm Room Ideas

1. Create Artwork

If you’re a creative person, you can create art to embellish your dorm room. To get started, get your paint, pens, or other means of creating artwork, and get to work!

2. Create a Photo Wall

As you start out college, you’re probably going to miss many of your friends and family members. To make them feel closer, create a photo wall and hang photos that will remind you of them every day. Then, you can add photos of your new friends to the photo wall and keep the collection growing.

2. Print a Door Hanger

Using a door hanger is one of the easiest ways to decorate your dorm room at nearly no cost. There are many you can find available for free online. Just be sure you print them out on card stock to get the best results!

3. Hang Seasonal Decorations

When vacations are coming closer, you might start missing your family. To get a holiday vibe as soon as possible, hang seasonal decorations and lights to combat homesickness.

4. Create DIY Curtains

Your dorm room probably already has curtains, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep those. Nor do you necessarily have to buy expensive ones. To personalize your dorm room, consider creating your own curtains by simply using fabric fuse tape and swatches of fabric.

5. Optimize Your Space

Like we mentioned, when dealing with a small space, it’s important to optimize its use. Start with the shelves. Use open, corner shelves or hanging shelves to organize your books, frame, and more without using all the dorm room. 

6. Use Items to Stay Organized

In addition to clothes, you need to optimize the space for your smaller items too. You can use an expandable drawer for utensils, a hanging jewelry organizer for your precious metals, and a cosmetics organizer for your makeup tools.

7. Pick a Theme

To really let your personality come through in your dorm room, make sure you pick a specific theme. First, use your favorite colors for your sheets and furniture. If you’re passionate about music, consider hanging posters of your favorite bands. If you’re a sports fan, you can use your team’s colors and gadgets to make your form room more interesting. Consider creating a zen environment in your dorm room.

Personalizing your dorm room with decorations, no matter how simple or extravagant, can make your space feel warm, inviting, and comforting. Keep these ideas in mind as you begin the decorating process!

BIO: Originally from Rome, Italy, Giacomo Rotella holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Hult International Business School. He’s an experienced marketer with a focus on SEO.