Freshman year is all about freedom-mom won’t be telling you what to eat, when to sleep and she won’t be there to make sure your dust ruffle matches your throw pillows. So take advantage of this extra smidge of independence and decorate your dorm room creatively.
This small, concrete cube will be your living room, entertainment area, study space, kitchen and (occasional) haven for sleep. It is the simplest way for the people you meet to gauge your personality (or lack thereof). Sure, you can toss a sleeping bag over that bare mattress and duct tape an Animal House poster on a wall, or buy out a few pages of the Pottery Barn Teen catalogue. But do you really want your first impression to be that generic?
In dorm room d‚cor, as in college life in general, subtlety is pointless. While a neutral color palate might look good in your room at home, in a dorm room it will simply look dull. Go for bright, bold colors to soften the effect fluorescent lights and linoleum floors generally create. Don’t worry about matching shades-tacky decorations (like Journey power ballads) take on a certain profundity in a college setting.
Have fun and experiment; after all, you only have to live with it for a year. Just try to avoid any permanent changes to the room or ResLife will make you pay, big time.
Start with your walls. Posters are cheap, cover space well and you can use them to show your personality. Movie and band posters work well enough, but don’t forget about bright art prints. Web sites like Posters.com and Art.com have impressive collections of modern works. These kinds of posters look less clich‚ and class up your space. They will also be different from the posters everyone gets at the campus poster sales.
As far as attaching these posters, look no further than Scotch tape’s “Command” brand sticky tabs. They have an assortment of hooks, snaps and basic tabs in all sizes, and they usually do not peel the paint off the wall when you take them down at the end of the year. They also allow you to be more creative with your wall hangings. If you have framed photo collages you can hang them with the surprisingly sturdy Command hooks.
Much of your dorm room d‚cor will depend on the flexibility of your roommate. If you’re stuck with a monk-like and more studious roommate you might not want to press for matching sequined bedspreads. If, however, the new roomie is up for some creativity, feel free to go crazy. Consider going with a theme (High School Musical, Batman, whatever) and making a trip to Target to get random accessories in keeping with said theme.
While you may not want to imitate my freshman roommate and myself (Disney Princesses posters, night-light, rug and matching plastic tiaras on bedposts), you’ll probably have fun and jump-start that all-important freshman floor bonding.
Most students divide their dorm room in half-each side gets one standard issue bed, dresser and desk. There are many other configurations that better utilize the space. If you feel like getting cozy quickly, push the two beds together or bunk them. You can loft your beds as high as possible and fit the dresser, fridge, etc. underneath them, giving yourself more space to work with. Remember that high beds necessitate a stepstool; otherwise you’ll have to rely on the run and leap method (not a good idea after a night of partying). Also, some of the newer dorms have beds that do not loft.
Fill the extra space creatively. I know people who had big screen TV’s, futons and neon signs in their freshman dorm rooms. My roommate and I took advantage of our large corner room and made a fort out of pillows and sheets, kindergarten style. Yes, it was somewhat regressive and childish, but hey, so is freshman year.
Cheap additions for that homey feel:
- Curtains for windows (cut them off so they don’t cover your air conditioning vents); can also be used to hide open closet space
- Plants
- Dark colored rugs (make sure they do not slide around)
- Christmas lights
- Colorful bins for clothes
- Pillows (the bigger and softer, the better)
- Lots of those $10 Bed, Bath and Beyond lamps with clamps for lighting flexibility (note: they break in about four months)