Decorating your dorm, though totally necessary, can be such a daunting task. Not only do you want your dorm décor to express your personality and show off your fabulous taste, but you have to make sure your design scheme doesn’t clash with your roommate’s—not to mention, buying your decorations can be super expensive! Can you say cha-ching?
Fortunately, there are ways to make decorating your dorm room easier on you (and your wallet). We spoke to lifestyle expert and DIY guru Erica Domesek, founder of the popular book, brand and website P.S. I Made This… about easy, inexpensive ways that you can make your own DIY decorations for your dorm room or apartment this year.
Project 1: Geode Accessory Rack
When you think about decorating your space, what is one of the first things that comes to mind? Storage, of course! You need solutions for where to put all of your stuff, and ideally, you’d prefer if those solutions were cute. Thankfully, the first project that Erica has to share offers an easy way to store and display all of your favorite accessories.
“We’re all going to school and wearing fun jewelry, but we don’t have a lot of space to actually store it,” Erica says. “So you can actually kind of kill two birds with one stone. You can store your jewelry and also have a beautiful piece to display on a wall or even a shelf.”
Not into the geode rock look? Erica mentions that you can also use a dresser drawer pull! She shows off an antique-looking crystal knob that could likely be found at a thrift store or hardware store near you.
“You can hang anything from your headphones to your necklaces, and the whole thing about dorms is that you can’t nail things in, so this is a great project because you can actually adhere it to the wall using Command hooks,” Erica says.
You can watch the video at the bottom of the article to see Erica explain how to create this gorgeous geode accessory rack; otherwise, you can find the tutorial on P.S. I Made This… here!
Project 2: Studded Box
Speaking of storage, where are you supposed to keep all of the stuff in your dorm that you don’t want to be on display? Instead of shoving it all under your bed or into your dresser drawers, your best bet is to keep your stuff organized using storage boxes. You don’t have to spend extra money on fancy storage boxes from home decor stores—just find a few old shoe boxes and either spray paint them or cover them in paper in your favorite color. After that, all you need are some upholstery nails and thumbtacks in your favorite metallic shade!
“Most of these projects are something that a novice crafter could do. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have,” Erica says. “Even the idea of taking simple nail heads and putting them into a plain white cardboard box to make a cool pattern on them—that’s something anybody can do.”
Though this project is pretty straightforward, you can find Erica’s expanded tutorial on P.S. I Made This… here.
Project 3: Feather Art
Now that you’ve figured out where to store all of your prized possessions, it’s time to think about adding some personality and pizazz to your walls. As you’ve probably realized, buying wall décor, whether in store or online, can take a real toll on your bank account. Instead of spending your precious shopping money on art to spruce up your space, why not make your own?
“We’re all trying to think, ‘How do we make our walls come to life and have them be really cool?’ So this adds a lot of color, dimension, and it’s also just a really bold conversation piece,” Erica says.
All you’ll need for this project is your favorite hues of spray paint (add a metallic tone at the ends like Erica did for extra dimension!), craft feathers, scissors, glue, a piece of foam core and a frame. You can watch the video at the bottom of the article to see Erica explain how she made this chic work of art, or you can see the original tutorial on P.S. I Made This… here.
Project 4: Chrome Planters
Now that your walls are looking chic and you’ve got plenty of cute storage space, the last thing that you need is an adorable way to dress up your desk. Don’t worry, Erica has a fantastic idea for that, too—and it’s the simplest project on this list!
“The idea to always have plants near you, it’s a scientific fact, it will make you a happier person,” Erica says. But she mentions that since dorm rooms don’t have the best lighting, it can be hard to figure out what to keep and grow. Spending money to buy flowers every week can be too expensive, so what’s a collegiette to do?
“I vote on succulents,” Erica says. “They’re really easy to take care of, they’re pretty inexpensive and they look great. The only thing that’s not so great is the planter they come in.”
Since succulents usually come in a plastic or terra cotta container in a black or green shade, they’re not always thought of when it comes to dorm decor. But all you need is a can of metallic spray paint (Erica chose to go with chrome, but you could do copper or gold if you wanted to!) to transform these cute little plants into the cutest addition to your desk or window sill.
If you’re wondering where you can find all of the tools and materials you’ll need to complete these projects, Erica has an answer for you. “I partnered with True Value because it’s my go-to stop for basically anything and everything you need,” Erica says. “Everything you see here for the most part you can get at True Value—and also, you can probably find a lot of this stuff at home! That’s typically what I like to do.”
Check out our full interview below:
DIY With Her Campus & Erica Domesek of ‘P.S. I Made This…’ from Windsor Western on Vimeo.
Looking for inspiration for more dorm décor projects? You can find all of these projects and more here. Happy crafting, collegiettes!