Best dorm room decorating ideas within a budget
Decorating your small college dorm may seem challenging. But a few hacks can transform your minuscule dorm into an elegant suite.
Are you lacking dorm room decorating ideas?
I’m here to help out.
Back in college, I did not have enough money to spare. That’s why I always preferred cheap dorm room decor ideas. I’ll suggest cost-effective small dorm room ideas for you guys, too.
When you are gearing up to occupy one of those tiny college abodes, you need some quick and easy decor hacks under your hood.
First, we will focus on clutter-free decor to make living hassle-free. Then, we can make a tapestry of unique decor.
In your dorm, you make all the decisions. So, you are free to put up the designs, tools, or posters that your mom didn’t allow back in your bedroom.
Easy and quick dorm room decorating ideas
Do you live in a personal or single dorm room? The dorm room decorating ideas will depend on that largely. Mostly, students have shared dorms.
So, shared dorm decor ideas are more common. However, I’ll share ideas for single dorm rooms as well.
A comfy chair
A fluffy and chic chair makes a clear statement from your room decor.
If you have abundant space, you may order one. If your dorm has a little balcony, you can place it there. A rocker would be fine if your room permits. If not, you can go for a more erect chair. That would consume less space.
You can easily find rockers between $100 to $150 from Amazon. I know many of you are concerned about space. And rockers are indeed ideal for off-campus dorms or single dorms. These dorms let you design your own space.
On the other hand, shared dorms do not have such provisions.
I won’t encourage people to use a fluff rocker I bought for myself randomly.
Let me suggest simple dorm room decorating ideas for shared dorms. Firstly, I suggest buying an elemental chair with a bendable back and wheels. It is fine as it is. But if you want that elegant feel, you may buy a skirting, additionally. You may also order cushions for your chair. ‘
You will get under $75 from Amazon, eBay, Dorm Co, IKEA, and other sites.
A smart desk lamp
An elegant desk lamp was my favorite decor piece in my dorm days.
I had a sleep lamp with a copper body and white lights. It was convertible, and I could elongate it to suit my needs.
But my priorities have now changed. I have come across numerous light designs in the past few days. For your dorm desk, an intelligent color-changing LED is OK. The best part is that you can change its color according to your mood.
If you are studying, the warm light would be great. While clicking photos, the white light casts an elegant shade. You may also flaunt color-changing shades when partying with friends in your dorm.
At Amazon, I found various designer desk lamps under $50.
Fairy light for wall decor
Dorm room wall decor sets an aesthetic tone in your dorm.
I suggest you have a designer wall in your dorm, too.
Now, it’s difficult to suggest a single or a handful of ideas for you. Everyone has their own choice. But let me suggest some popular ideas that many students love to try.
- Idea 1: A combination of fairy lights with abstract photo collage is the idea that every other student is trying out. You can make new patterns with lights and photos on your walls.
- Idea 2: Get a wall canvas template from Amazon or Dormify. Create a glow with fair lights atop. You can just stick it with tack-on. Then, you may insert your favorite photos in it. The color of the template may depend on the wall color.
- Idea 3: Hand a caddie. Wrap fairy lights around it. It may look elegant if it has a minimalist look and design. You can also organize your daily use, skin care, mobile and charger, and whatnot.
- Idea 4: You can design your wall with abstracts like your guitar on a combination of portraits. You may hang a glow and shine sign as well. Thirdly, you can also hang a life-size wall poster.
- Idea 5: What I did was try sticking and peeling wallpaper. My dorm’s look changed every six months as I changed my wallpaper. Two wallpaper rolls were enough for my small single dorm. And a fir lights’ strip.
A comfortable bedding
What about your bed?
You can apply many dorms room decorating ideas there, too.
In the first place, people will be attracted mainly by the look and feel of your bed. It is the only prominent sitting space in your dorm.
So, choose your bed decor wisely. I love elegant beds. So, I created a small but beautiful idea. Since childhood, I fathomed having a cozy bed with a plush topper and a cute backrest. I also dreamt of having fairy lights hanging atop my bed.
So, I bought three sets of bed toppers. I also hung warm fairy lights over my bed in my dorm. Once complete, my bed looked nothing less than aesthetic.
A jewelry armoire
Are you wondering if it will be the right decor for your dorm room?
Why not?
We all love casual designs. If you have casual dresses to complement jewelry, why not have an armoire, too? Moreover, I prefer an armoire with a preinstalled mirror.
Don’t bother crawling to the washroom whenever you need to go out. You can open the armoire mirror and try various jewelry for as long as possible.
Your dorm mate won’t keep buzzing you to get out of the washroom.
Dorm room decorating ideas for guys
Most people air a conventional saying that guys don’t cherish making their dorm room aesthetic.
I say that’s a hoax. There’s no link between gender traits and decorating your dorm room. I generally won’t expect boys to search for pink dorm room ideas. But there are many unique dorm room ideas for guys, specifically:
- Accent rugs with funky quotes or pics that match their personalities
- Cozy pillows with Ironman or Spider-Man printed pillow covers. I’m a Marvel fan; I can’t help it. You may get a Spongebob printed cover, too.
- You may buy a funky bed topper similarly. Amazon has lots of bed toppers with such designs under $20.
- A mini fridge is a must for them. Guys love munching and make less effort to make food. So, they can store hordes of instant packaged foods for ages.
- In the same way, you can store eggs in the fridge for that midnight hunger pang.
Dorm room decorating ideas for girl
If you are searching for dorm room decorating ideas, Pinterest is the best option.
Initially, I searched for the best dorm room decor templates from Pinterest mood boards. Surprisingly, I could recreate many unique ideas at a low cost.
Martha created a mood board that flaunted her pastel and white camo decor.
She had basic furniture in her rectangular dorm. But she had a fluffy white bed topper and a pastel blanket.
She also had a small 3×4 dorm rug. I generally found that dorm room rugs are common among girls. I found cute dorm rugs below $30 from Dormify, IKEA, Dorm CO, and other sites.
A fluffy rug would cost more. But that gives a statement look to your cute dorm design.
FAQs:
I shared unique and easily applicable dorm room decorating ideas here. But people keep asking some pestering questions. So, I thought answering these questions too:
How do you make your dorm room look nice?
You can hang pictures ways to create excellent statement look art. You may also create gallery walls. It is a creative way to add your favorite elements to your dorm. You can also design your desktop with miniatures like I did.
I had the best collection of manga miniatures in my dorm.
How do I make my dorm room cozy?
There are two ways to do that. Firstly, you can buy a real chic and fluffy bed topper. Secondly, you can pile up snacks for guilty pleasures at any time.
Can you decorate your dorm room in college?
Mainly, college dorms don’t allow substantial changes to the dorm layout. However, you can add small things like lights, wall decor, hanging caddies, or accents like rugs and bed toppers.
Final Words
Dorm room decorating ideas vary from one person to another. My ideas may not click with yours.
However, most students resonated with these common yet creative ideas.
If you find more unique ideas, you can always comment below.
At the same time, let me know if you need more help decorating your dorm.
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