Decorating Basics

Perhaps the most exciting part about getting a dorm room is decorating it with your roommate. Some people are intimidated by décor, but don't be! I have some helpful hints. 

Color Scheme

-       Pick a simple color scheme. All of my things (my desk lamp, my comforter, my pillows…) are brown, red, and orange. My roommate’s stuff is brown and pink. Just a few colors that work nicely together.

-       Stick to it. Whenever we go out on a shopping run, we stick to our colors. New additions always match.

-       Pick practical colors. Your favorite color might be seafoam green. Or periwinkle. Do they make college stuff in these colors? Not really. Go for something that you like, but you won’t have too much trouble finding.

-       Even the little things count. Everything in our room matches. My desk lamp, plates, towels, and pillows are orange. We have a pink standing light and a pink garbage can. It may not seem like a big deal, but when you’re living in a small space, coordination makes everything seem less frazzled.

-       Coordinate! With the wonderful aid of technology, we are now able to meet and converse with our roommates on Facebook before coming to school. My roommate and I were lucky enough to show up with matching décor (no joke), but try and pick colors that you both like and work well together.

Walls

-          One of the worst things about dorms is the hospital-colored walls. Our dorms have cement walls, so we can’t do much more than put up posters. But be creative! Freshman year, we had a hodgepodge of posters (I’m talking Johnny Depp and Lady Gaga on the same wall.) This year, we limited ourselves to a theme.  We have a poster each (I have Fight Club, my roommate has True Blood) and 2 giant Abercrombie & Fitch posters. The walls are mostly covered, but don’t look like a tacky collage.

-          If you’re allowed to nail things into your walls, you’re lucky. The Christmas Tree Shoppe has a ton of inexpensive framed pictures and canvases that would make a dorm room feel more like a lounge.

-          A couple of my friends have stick-on wall decals designed just for dorm rooms. Just a couple of polka dots on the walls make your room pretty and different from your neighbors’.

Seasons

-          Halloween is right around the corner. Celebrate by spicing up your room with some spooky garland or dangling spiders. You can get a ton of fun decorations at the dollar store.

-          Two years ago, a friend and I spend the afternoon cutting out snowflakes from beer cases for our guy friends downstairs. Not only was it eco-friendly, but it looked so cool! Little things like that make your room stand out. And it can be a great way to spend some time with your roommate.

And most importantly….

Make your rooms YOURS. If you like horses, decorate your room with them. Put up pictures of you and your friends. Put your favorite stuffed animal on your bed and your jersey number on the wall. Your room is an extension of yourself. Don’t hold back! Have fun creating a space that’s all you.