Making the transition from living at home to living in your dorm room here at BU can be quite the adjustment for some. To make the change all the more easier, follow these tips on how to make your dorm feel more like home, and before you know it your room will be the trendiest, most functional space on your floor.
Decorate your Walls
Hang pictures and posters on your walls to liven up your dorm room. Adding pictures of your friends and family will be a nice reminder of home.
Storage
While many of you know that freshman dorm rooms are often extremely small, the key to avoiding having your room look like an atomic bomb went off is to have the right storage units. From drawers and bins to closet storage units, there are a wide variety of options for storage. I found it most useful to have easily accessible storage drawers that I put under my bed.
Key pieces
One piece that really made a difference in my freshman dorm room was a coat hanger. Upon entering my room, I could easily take off my coat and hang it on the coat hanger instead of having to hang it in my closet (more room for all of those trendy tops!). It was especially helpful on rainy Boston days, when I would come back to my room with a soaking wet rain jacket.
Lighting
The florescent lighting in most dorm rooms isn’t the most attractive lighting in the world. To make your space feel more like home, bring a table lamp, a standing lamp, and a bedside clip-on lamp for reading or studying at night.
Accessories
Your room at home probably had a bunch of nick-knacks lying around. While you don’t want your dorm room to feel over crowded or cluttered, bringing small jars or mugs that remind you of home and that are also functional will add more character to your space and really help it feel like home. Adding an area rug is also a fun idea to add more color and comfort.
Seating
While seating can often be minimal in a dorm room, I found it really beneficial to bring a fold-up chair. I frequently got tired of sitting on my bed and the fold-up chair was a nice alternative to it. The fact that it folded allowed for easy storage to create more room. Also many stores carry inexpensive storage cubes that provide great additional seating for friends hanging out in your room.
Rep Photo by Sarah Messick. Text Photo by Kelsey Hopper.