Dorm Room Ready: Our Top 10 College Essentials

Introduction

The average college student will spend $3,184 per year to furnish their dorm room. That adds up to much more than a couple of posters from the campus bookstore. Making the transition from high school student to college co-ed does take planning. But costs can be controlled with creativity and communication.

A dorm room needs functionality first. With a plan in place before even the first desk lamp is purchased, money can be saved by avoiding items that don't fit the budget, room size, or theme.

Planning Your Space

Establishing Your Color Palette and Theme

A dorm room is a college student's haven; it serves many purposes beyond sleep and study. The best way to assure that it will meet and exceed all its functions is to establish a color group and theme.

Choosing Your Colors: Color is often the most difficult decision. By choosing a color or finding inspiration from a pillow, painting, nature, etc., the entire room can be designed and unified. Once this decision is narrowed down, visit a paint store for paper color card samples. Keep the samples handy when shopping.

Selecting Your Theme: The theme is the next choice. Any decorating magazine is a starting point to find a style that conveys the mood. Shabby chic? The Simpsons? Architectural? Even in a tiny room, these elements can make a big difference.

The Big Three: Walls, Windows, and Floors

Armed with a color and theme preference, it's time to start shopping. The big three—walls, windows, and floors—are the place to start.

1. Walls: Creative Solutions for Dorm Restrictions

Colleges often have lots of restrictions about the treatment of dorm walls, including no nails and no tape. Creativity comes to the rescue with these innovative ideas:

• Colored Chalk: Can be applied to many cement block walls and washed off at the end of the school year
• Kraft Paper: Hang with poster putty as either a blank canvas to be added to through the year, or painted with a mural, design, or solid color
• Fabric with Liquid Starch: Inexpensive fabric from mass merchandise stores can be applied to walls with liquid starch—it's fast, looks great, and leaves only a wall to wash when removed
• Canvas Stretchers: Available at craft and artist supply stores in all sizes. Stretched and stapled fabric on the frame gives the illusion of a colored, finished wall
• Clothesline Display: Hold panels of paper, photographs, or posters suspended from ceiling to floor

2. Floors: Warmth and Style Underfoot

Floors are cold on feet headed to an early class. Here are some budget-friendly options:

• College Carpeting: Many colleges have carpeting for sale
• Painted Canvas Drop Cloth: Paint and varnish a canvas drop cloth for a one-of-a-kind design
• Area Rugs: Easy to find in almost every color. Even if the room is already carpeted, layering another rug is effective for tying in your preferred colors

3. Windows: Frame Your View

Windows may be furnished with curtains. If the curtains are passable, personalize them with trim added with safety pins or removable Velcro®. Scarves or fabric can create temporary swags and accents.

If there are no curtains: Make a rod from anything the right length—a bamboo pole, baseball bat, lacrosse stick, or PVC pipe. Dress with ribbons in various lengths, ropes of artificial ivy, old neckties, or sheets buttoned onto the rod. Or purchase curtains or blinds sized to fit the window width and length.

Essential Furnishings and Accessories

4. Bedding: Your Comfort Zone

With walls, windows, and floors complete, the beds are the largest objects in the room.

Budget-Friendly Options: If the cost of a new comforter is prohibitive, sheets make a bed-in-a-bag with just straight seams sewn or glued to refresh an old comforter.

Pro Tips:

• Consider a reversible comforter for two different looks and quick camouflage for spills
• Many schools use extra-long twin beds—be certain that sheet sets will accommodate the extra length

5. Storage: Maximize Every Inch

Storage is the biggest hurdle in most dorm rooms. In addition to purchased closet organizer systems, do-it-yourself storage can make sense:

• Covered Boxes: Heavy-duty cardboard boxes with lids (copier paper boxes or shipping boxes) can be covered with fabric or paper to make storage for sweaters or old class notes
• Hat Boxes: Thrift shop finds are great even unadorned
• Creative Hooks: Plastic hooks are readily available, but the only limit is imagination for alternate hooks and hangers. Old drawer pulls, catcher's masks, even bent silverware makes unique holders

6. Lighting: Brighten Your Study Space

Lighting is key for studies. Here's how to illuminate your space creatively:

• DIY Lamps: Lamp kits can turn any heavy base into a functional lighting source. Keep with the theme of the room and create an accent lamp from a childhood toy, garden statue, or sports souvenir
• Customized Shades: A store-bought lamp is transformed with a shade embellished with ticket stubs or photos
• Accent Lighting: Holiday mini-lights can be festooned across a ceiling for ambient lighting

7. Accessories: The Finishing Touches

Accessories for the room are endless. Keep a list in mind of what is needed first, then add accents as the budget allows.

Smart Shopping Strategies

The best and least expensive places to shop:

1. At Home: An existing lamp or bean bag chair may be just right for the dorm
2. Summer Garage Sales: Can uncover unique finds for lamps, storage, and electronics
3. Thrift Shops: Great for one-of-a-kind pieces at budget prices
4. Internet Shopping: Gives a fast and thorough overview of available items

Conclusion

Without spending the big bucks of the average college student, a dorm room can be a place of refuge after a hectic day of classes that really feels like home. With creativity, planning, and smart shopping, you can create a functional and stylish space that reflects your personality without breaking the bank.