Thank the heavens! Your room just got de-tripled and your third roommate is finally moving out. You finally get half the room to yourself and actually have a decent amount of space to add your own personal elements. Dorm Décor 101 aims to leave you with a list of themes and ideas you can economically incorporate to give your room to give it that extra wow factor:
It’s All About the Elements on the Wall
Don’t want to invest in expensive posters that are super delicate and keep coming off the walls? No worries. Keep scouting for artistic pictures in magazines or lookout for interesting post-cards, posters and flyers when you’re travelling around the city as replacements for posters on your walls.
If you’re personally a travel aficionado like me (for those who are reading this and claiming they’re not: we all have a wanderlust persona somewhere inside you), my personal suggestion would be to add mini-versions of all the potential countries you would want to visit in your lifetime. Not only will this give your room character, but it’ll become a constant reminder to be motivated, even on your dull and drab days.
Lighting Plays a Huge Role
If you’re living on campus, I’m sure you have encountered the sharp white light that plays a horrible role in illuminating our rooms and minds. Instead, I would suggest adding an yellow low-color temperature lamp in your room that has a cool fixture attached to it. You could possibly attempt a little DIY project to create the same, and trust me- the final look of your room will totally be worth all the hard work.
Add Some Mother Nature to Your Room
Sometimes, dorm rooms can look a little too sterile. So, add in a bit of nature! I recommend adding some potted plants or flowers. They really don’t have to be big- you should be able to place them on your window rack. Also, if you are too busy to go every two weeks and replace your flowerets, consider buying an artificial clay plot or terrarium.
Choose a Theme
Whether it be edgy, preppy, or hipster bedroom, I’ve seen it all. Believe me, I’m a fan of room elements that denote the entirety of ideas, attitudes, memes, images that are within the mainstream of a given culture. However, when it comes to decorating your college room- basing everything off one particular theme can sometimes be unexciting and cliché. The foundation of interior designing is to reflect the personality of oneself in the space around them- and I believe this should be carried out in dorm decor as well. Our personalities are continuously changing, our interests are ever expanding and our sense of comfort keeps shifting as well. Instead, think about creating a fusion of all the possible interests you may have- a Janis Joplin concert poster, a map of Prague, a collage of people who are special in your life and your funky artist-y posters. That’s a definite A+ for your dorm décor class.