By now you’ve probably picked out your Halloween costume, sipped a few PSL’s and watched Halloween movies with your friends. But with Halloween right around the corner, now is the time to decorate your college living space. Looking to add some fall flair to your dorm room without overspending? Trying to add personal touches that make your dorm feel more like home? For those of us with a tiny room and tight budget, here are a few simple DIY’s to autumnmatically spice up your home away from home.
Photo Clips
These photo clips add sparkle to any area of the room and are really inexpensive to make. Most clothespins you can find at the dollar store, and all you need is glue and your favorite colors of glitter. They’re more versatile than picture frames and take up less space. They work great with Polaroid film and can also serve as a way to keep track of your football and concert tickets.
Another easy trick is to glue thumbtacks to the back of the clips and let them shine on their own! It adds some detail to a boring corkboard and really makes pictures pop. Bonus: It doubles as a key holder so you won’t forget them.
Jewelry Tree
It can be a struggle to keep your fall statement necklaces in order, but here’s an organizational strategy you’ll be able to stick with. It’s a nice way to prevent jewelry from getting tangled and is really easy to remove and put back. The best part is how simple this is to make: all you need is a small, sturdy tree branch and some gold paint. Using ribbon and thumb tacks to hang it up, you’ve got yourself a classy fall jewelry display for less than five dollars.
Pumpkin
Not only does this pumpkin DIY look cute on any countertop, it’s also a fun project to do with your roommate. We bought a plastic pumpkin because it’s much easier to keep over time and doesn’t involve carving. Pick your favorite colors, phrases or perhaps even your monogram to make this little pumpkin stand out.
Banners
Banners are the simplest and most cost-effective way of updating an undecorated wall. They have a way of instantly dressing up any plain space, whether it be near a desk, mirror or closet. All you need are cardboard cut-outs, a hole punch and some string. We decided to decorate ours with black chalkboard paint so that we could change up the message all year long. We used the end of a paintbrush to add small gold dots along the edges.