We all know the stressful and uncomfortable feelings that come with moving into college. As a freshman, I had no idea what to expect when I was driving up the hill to Denison University. Unlike most of my friends going to other colleges, I didn’t receive any information about what my room would look like. Being a person that appreciates a clean and organized room, I was not prepared for what I was about to see.
I entered my new home with an uneasy feeling, and just hoped we had gotten a nice big space with a decent view. Walking into the room my anxiety heightened. Our triple appeared to be a lot smaller than we anticipated because of the way our furniture was set up. A desk covered the window that actually had a view, and everything was tightly packed together. My desk and drawers were under my lofted bed, leaving little room in between my desk and another bed in the center of the room. Immediately I knew the furniture needed reorganized but I didn’t know how. I proceeded to unpack my things and say my goodbyes, then it was finally time to get down to business. My roommates and I agreed that we needed to add our own aesthetic to the room, so we started by putting a work order in. Once the beds and desks were moved we would finally be able to create the dorm room we wanted.
Two days had passed and we did not receive any emails regarding the movement of our furniture. My mind was not settled or ready for classes to begin because my dorm did not feel like it was mine yet. Classes would begin in a day so we took matters into our own hands. We shifted the furniture around and finally got to decorating. I am so pleased with the turnout of our room, and I have decided to create three tips on how to create your dream dorm!
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Shift the furniture to create an open center space! What I noticed once we shifted the beds is that we had more of a common space for when we have friends over for movie nights! Although not everyone is in a triple like I am, you can simply put your furniture on the perimeter of the room to create the open space, and make the room feel bigger. You can even add a cute rug for the middle to give your dorm an even homier feeling!
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Invest in some wall decor! This is my favorite tip because this is where you can incorporate your own character and style into your room. I added a tapestry with blue, pink, and purple in order to establish a color scheme. Tapestries can take up a whole wall and create a bohemian style. Another way to incorporate your own personality is to make a collage of posters. At Denison University they held a poster sale in the first week of classes, giving us the opportunity to pick from a multitude of posters. They can add pops of color, as well as remind you of movies, music, or people that make you happy! Finally, good old fashioned photos of your own are always great. Pick your favorite photos with family friends, and even of just you. Creating a collage of your own photos will remind you of good times as well as remind you of your people back at home.
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Organizational supplies are a necessity! As I previously said, I am a person that truly appreciates a clean environment. While dorm shopping I invested in a desk supply holder, shoe rack, and plastic drawers. My supply holder is separated into three parts allowing me to place my pencils, pens, and sticky notes into their own section. It makes it easy for when I am on the go and need to leave myself a note! A shoe rack was a need for me because I just couldn’t leave all of my shoes at home. I place it sideways in my closet in order to create more room for my plastic drawers. My plastic drawers hold face products in the top, nail polish and makeup in the middle, and hair products in the bottom. I really enjoy the extra drawers in my closet so I can organize my toiletries. With these three organizational pieces I feel calm and collected since I know where to find anything while getting ready.