It’s here. Summer is coming to an end, and it’s time to go back to school. These words are hard to hear for some, but if you’re heading off to college, it’s a time of excitement. You’ll get to meet new people, live on your own for the first time, and decorate your own space.
Dorm decorating on a college budget can be challenging, but it’s also a chance for you to get your creative juices flowing and put your own stamp on the place you’ll call home for the next nine months.
Furniture Ideas
Your dorm room will most likely come with a few standard pieces of furniture, such as a bed, desk and possibly a dresser.
While you can’t do much about those pieces, you can bring in some of your own furniture to make the place a little cozier.
Local thrift stores, garage sales, and even Craigslist are great places to find furniture that’s priced for a college budget.
If a piece of furniture doesn’t “wow” you, it doesn’t take much to spruce it up.
A can of spray paint in a funky color, such as bright green or royal purple, turns a ho-hum, beat up wooden chair into an attention grabbing place to sit.
You can give upholstered furniture new life by covering it with new fabric, too.
Storage Ideas
Dorm rooms are notoriously short on space.
Make working organization and storage part of your dorm decorating plan.
Baskets, crates, and storage bins will all come in handy. And again, it doesn’t take much to make one of these a decorative piece, or even have it double as a chair.
Decorate the Walls
If dorm room paint isn’t your style, there are tons of ways you can add interest to the walls of your room without busting your college budget.
Posters are okay, but everyone will have them.
Instead of hanging up posters, try framing postcards and arranging them artfully on your walls. Use sticky tack or sticky nails that won’t leave marks on the wall to hang the framed cards.
Ikea is a great place to find inexpensive 4 by 6 inch frames. You can track down postcards at gift shops on your summer vacation or in thrift stores.
You can also get quite creative with scrapbook paper. You can pick up an entire book of designs that fit your style in Target or Walmart as well.
Curtains
Odds are your dorm room will come with some curtains that make your stomach churn.
Luckily, you can hang your own curtains without breaking the bank. You can find cheap curtains and curtain rods at thrift stores or places like Ikea or Target.
Take a look through the linen closet at your parent’s home or grandparent’s, too. You never know what cool vintage curtains might be lurking in the back of the closet.
Curtains are also easy enough to make on your own, whether you can sew or not. Visit a fabric store and invest in a few yards of cotton fabric, either in a solid color or a fun print.
To save even more, you can purchase a large bed sheet, either queen or king size, and cut it to fit in your dorm window.
If you can’t sew, use a no-sew hemming tape to make a pocket for the curtain rod.
How do you plan on decorating your dorm room this year?
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