Want to decorate your dorm? Afraid of commitment? Halfway through the semester without doing anything for your room?  You’ve come to the right place.

If you always meant to decorate your room, but then school started and here you are, this post is for you. If you never knew how to decorate without bringing a ridiculous amount of things on a plane, this post is for you. If you are home or in a dorm and just want to switch things up, this post is also for you. 

Have fun reinventing yourself, or at least your room!

Objects

  1. Have a good long look at your room. Is this really the best way for the furniture to be? Just because you are used to it doesn’t mean you are living your best life! It’s time to move that furniture!
  2. Think about how you organize your stuff. Even without buying anything, if you place things in a way that is convenient for you, you will have an easier time going about your day.
  3. Clean your room. Just do it. 
  4. Pick a duvet cover that you like, but won’t get sick of. Also, a cheap throw blanket. This is a much easier thing to do than buying a fancy new comforter, and you will like your room much more if you like your bed. 
  5. A really great way to find free stuff is buy sell nothing Facebook groups. It’s essentially a group of mothers giving away things they no longer need to whoever wants it first. I have gotten jewelry, postcards and more!
  6. See if an older sibling or friend has old college dorm stuff they are willing to give away. Someone is always getting rid of fairy lights.
  7. Goodwill and Housing Works are great places to get cheaper items that have already been used. Just remember to also donate your extra things and pay it forward.
  8. 99 cent stores are also great. You can get colored candles, art supplies, and even some pretty useful knickknacks.
  9. Pretty storage boxes- you are going to be storing a lot of things in your dorm, try to pick storage boxes that are durable and that make you happy. That way, you can keep the things you don’t use as often hidden away and see the boxes instead
  10. If you brought a scarf, use it to add some color to a chair or desk when you’re not wearing it.

Decor

  1. The first thing you want to do is take down the pictures of people you were never really friends with. It may look nice to have 1000 friends on your wall, but it won’t make you happy. If the thing filling your personal space is former friends and rocky histories, you are letting these people live rent-free not only in your mind, but also in your room. 
  2. Put up postcards! You can buy postcards at Book Culture, The Strand, or even on Amazon, and they will be super easy to bring home at the end of the semester. Even better, become pen pals with your friends back home, and you can put each other’s postcards up on your wall. There is nothing like the serotonin of getting mail, and this will help you brighten up your space with friends without the cringey prom pics.
  3. I’ve been making ugly, themed art for my friends on small pieces of paper, and then they have been hanging them up as a collection for behind their zoom space. Remember, you can get one good piece of art or just 7 small shitty watercolors of naked women that look like a “choice.”
  4. Don’t have a fridge to hang all your best work on anymore? Hang your best essays and test scores on the wall to remind yourself that even if you are failing orgo, you have done great things before and will do great things again!
  5. If you or someone you know gets a physical newspaper or magazine, keep an eye out for artistic or fun pages. I hung up an art print from the New York Times last semester about social distancing, and it made my room feel both fun *and* covid cautious. You can also do this with some pretty wrapping or origami paper. It’s like an abstract art print but for a fraction of the price!
  6. Love the aesthetic of beer boxes on the wall but want everyone to know you are still a child? Flatten your cereal boxes and hang them on the wall instead! White claw boxes are so last season. 
  7. Stained glass stickers. This one is especially great for people with windows in an apartment shaft. As much as it is fun to spy on your neighbors, there will come a time when you forget to close the curtain. This trick lets the light come in without sacrificing your personal privacy
  8. For the on-campus folks: steal as many social distancing signs as you can and make a collage. It will be a testament to the parallelogram we are all enduring. You are modern art.
  9. This one is incredible: At Fed-Ex, you can print out photos from ~ 30 cents to 99 cents. Just upload them online and they’re ready the next business day! You can even print out your own tweets. It is important that people know how funny you are online.
  10.  Go to Party City and pick one of their party themes for your room. Sophia the First? High School Musical The Musical The Series? Whatever birthday party paraphernalia they have on sale? The world is your oyster! There are cups, streamers, posters and more! Who cares if it is meant for children! Let the world know that you’re a party animal!

Photo via Bwog Archives