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The move to college is challenging, especially for first-year students moving far from home. However, with the right touches, a dorm can quickly go from feeling like a jail cell to your home away from home. At first, my dorm looked sterile and bare, and my roommates and I all had very different aesthetics. However, as the weeks went on, our likes blended throughout the room, with each of our spaces feeling uniquely our own. Now, we enjoy spending time together and our room feels more like a home than somewhere just to sleep in.
1. Personal Touches: This includes photos and some room decor. Before moving in, I made a collage of pictures of friends and family, which I hung above my desk. Additionally, my side of the room is decorated with posters that fit my aesthetic and my interests. It also helps to bring a favorite stuffed animal if you have one. At the end of the day, the aesthetics of the room are important since it’s where you’re spending all your downtime.
2. Comfortable Bedding: If there’s anything that would take your dorm from just a place to stay to a home, it is a proper bed and, in most cases, a good mattress topper. Dorm beds can be uncomfortable; a memory foam topper makes a huge difference. Additionally, it’s my warm comforter and sheets against the world since my roommates prefer a colder room to sleep in.
3. Good Lighting: Both my roommates and I fully agree that the “big light” is too harsh, and we always try our best to leave it off at all times. To account for that and the lack of light at night, we have an assortment of soft lights like lamps and LED lights to give our room a light glow. We found these lights add ambiance without being harsh.
4. A Cozy Rug: Our dorm is larger than many I have been in, but it is still rather small, so while we like to entertain our friends, we don’t have enough room for a couch or other chairs for people to sit in. Our solution is a really comfy rug. Dorm floors can be cold and uninviting, and a soft rug large enough to cover most of the floor makes excellent extra seating space.
5. Personalized Desk Space: My desk was my haven at home; it was where I did homework, journaled and completed all my work. I felt that if my desk was a mess, then my life was a mess. In college, I used a decorative desk organizer that fit my aesthetic, with pen holders, a small plant and a decorative calendar. I also invested in a comfy cushion and a warmly lit mini desk lamp for late-night studying because I am at my desk often.
6. Bring a Touch of Green: This was actually something my roommates introduced to me when I moved in. They had fake plants on our windowsill to give the room more life. Low-maintenance plants like succulents or fake plants add life to the room. During a visit to the city, we each got a branch of the Rockefeller Christmas tree during the holiday season, which we used as a Christmas tree. This truly brought our room to life and helped us welcome in the season.
College life can be hectic, but that doesn’t mean your dorm has to be, too. A comfortable dorm room can help you relax and get accustomed to this new and exciting chapter of your life.