Best single dorm room ideas, mostly under $100
As students gear up to join college again, dorm shopping will be a big concern.
If you want to revamp your dorm’s appearance, try these single dorm room ideas.
Nowadays, students ensure a complete makeover of their room.
If you also want to do that, this blog’s for you.
Single dorm room ideas may be rare, as we mostly have shared dorms in college. However, your single dorm room is a small world of your own.
You can aptly express your style and personality there.
First-year students will find it more intriguing. However, they need to correct a common mistake. They buy extravagant and often misplaced items for their rooms. That’s why I’m here to help you.
I explored various online and offline sources, searching for ideas for single dorm rooms for guys and girls. What I found was that there are ample products under $100 for a spontaneous dorm room makeover.
Many products are priced below $50.
What kind of single dorm room ideas should you consider?
You will get many ideas for dorm rooms from seniors and alums. But I am not talking about abstract ideas here.
Instead, you need a chronic list of things that simultaneously serve your fundamental and aesthetic purposes in your single dorm room.
Some advisors dig in directly into aesthetics. But you would admit that placing staples like a mini fridge, organizer, or microwave is more critical.
Things like dorm room wall decor or furniture can wait.
Key takeaways:
- Move small units like dressers inside closets to create adequate vacant spaces
- Make space for your fridge, microwave, kitchen essentials, and organizers before filling the room with aesthetics
College single dorm room ideas vary from one institute to another. It also varies for guys and girls. So, we can’t be generic here.
Hacks to make more space in your single dorm room
To implement creative single dorm room ideas, you need ample space. However, that would only be possible with planning and organization.
So, let’s get started with that first.
Storage space under the bed
Your bed will occupy a prominent space in your room.
It becomes more so if it is a 2-person dorm room layout. There will be two beds.
But there’s a hack to convert your bed into a potential storage space.
Start with a pack of bed risers. Loft the bed to a desirable height.
After that, add drawers and cubes.
You may also have your own bright storage spaces. The main idea is to keep your stuff sorted under the bed.
Out of ideas? Don’t worry.
Just slide a small dresser. You can buy a roller cart if you find it difficult to drag out and push in the dresser each time.
If it saves you time and effort.
Some students also use the space to store laundry baskets. Or a trunk or your dustbin.
Whatever you do, don’t keep your under-bed storage naked.
What are the options
Firstly, you can adequately hide all the boxes under the bed.
But mostly, it would end up messy.
Students rarely have time to keep their storage daily. That’s why you need the second option.
Buy a long bed skirt
To hide your mess under the bed, the bed skirt is fitting.
In my dorm days, I could find limited color options. But now things are different. You can choose your favorite print and style.
I was scrolling the stocks on Amazon and Dormify yesterday. And I was amazed to find bed skirts of various sizes and lengths.
Unique ideas you can use!
You can patch a more petite bed skirt on another longer one. Buy two contrasting colors for subtle finesse in your room decor.
For example, buy a longer textured or camouflaged bed skirt. And top it up with a plain solid one.
Let me know how it turned out. You can also comment on what combinations you chose.
Flaunt your changing personality with temporary wall decor
Pinterest is a good option for single-dorm room ideas. But your intuitions would be more creative.
Back in my days, I had access to none of these.
But now I am amazed to find these stunning peel-and-stick wallpapers online.
Nothing else gives a more prominent statement to the dorm room than changing wallpaper.
How do you ask for a single dorm room?
Only a single dorm room idea has meaning if you have a shared dorm instead of a personal one.
So, here are the steps to ask for a single dorm room:
- Mail or call the housing office of your college
- Physically visit the office to discuss what sort of room you would want
- You will get more details on availability and the process to apply for s a single dorm there
- Fill out the online form
- Or, fill out an offline form and hand it over to the concerned authorities
Dorm room inspo Pinterest
While scrolling through the ideas for single dorm rooms on Pinterest, I came across some unique decor ideas.
This inspo hooked me on the designs’ finesse, aesthetics, and tidiness.
Let’s pick up some unique designs I found:
- The central theme is a contrasting bed skirt on a bed topper (preferably white) and a bedside wall with wall stick-ons. The contrasting colors are there on the walls as well. So, the inspo used temporary stick-on wallpapers. You will get any stick-on wallpaper between $25 and $50.
- I came across another basic dorm room hack. But this one seemed even more beautiful.
- The theme was all white. More specifically, the bed had white toppers with white skirts.
- There was basic white steel furniture. Even those were minimalist. For example, there was a medium-sized organizer. You can use it as a closet, too.
- However, the unique thing is the use of warm light strips all around the white ceiling and walls.
- At nightfall, light the strips and put off other lights to create a mystique experience.
- You can create the same white outlook with the distinction of an exciting and colorful gallery wall. Don’t worry. A gallery wall is simple. It consists of a basic photo collage with hand-written notes. One of the walls can have a glow-and-shine board too.
- If you’re creating the ultimate dorm room essentials for girls, you can substitute white with pink. The rest remains the same.
- An inspo used 3×5 dorm room rugs to give the plain white tiled floor an edge. If you want a more comprehensive carpet cover, go for that, too. The same inspo also flaunts a designer curtain hanging atop a bedside window.
Other single dorm room ideas
There is no end to imagination. So, why settle for less? Learn more unique ideas here.
While suggesting ideas, one of my concerns is the budget.
I have kept everything below $100.
Here are a few more cheap hacks for a dream DIY single dorm room.
The art of using over-the-door organizers
Have more stuff but less space?
Why don’t you try the over-the-door shoe organizer?
Hang these organizers over the closet door.
They can also store shoes, toiletries, and other accessories for you.
I scrolled many sites to find over-the-door organizers under $50.
Unique lights for a better show
You will find fluorescent lights in standard dorm rooms, too.
But you can always add a personal touch to your lighting. For example, you can use a light and glow sign with your name’s initials.
You may use wall photo frames with lights.
A light and glow sign may cost you above $100. Some cost less as well.
For a small dorm room, a basic one would do justice easily.
DIY overhead lighting
Do you want to change the room’s look and feel in a flash?
Try a DIY hack.
Take a balloon. Inflate it. After that, wrap a thread all around it.
Create a structure out of that. The net/mesh should have cavities for light to pass through.
Now, wrap a light strip around it. Or insert the light strip clubbed into a tuft inside it.
That’s it. You will have a textured light and reflection camouflage when you light it up.
A light strip easily costs less than $10. The rest of the things cost less than a cookie.
FAQs:
I have explained some easy and aesthetic ideas for a single dorm room within the budget. However, readers often ask these common questions about college dorm room essentials.
How to arrange a single dorm room?
Buying a pack-in storage is the best and most straightforward way. It has ample space to rope in all your utilities. Such brilliant furniture comes under $100 easily.
How do you make a good small dorm room?
You can try two things here. Firstly, use a unique bed topper. Secondly, use temporary wallpaper to give your room a dynamic feel whenever you want.
What is the average size of a single dorm room?
The average single dorm room is 230 square feet. It is also the same as 21 square meters.
How do you make your dorm unique?
You can make your dorm room unique with intelligent lighting, unique wall decor, and intelligent spacing.
The Bottom Line
I am excited to share these unique single dorm room ideas. I hope all students find my hacks useful.
You can experiment a lot with a single dorm room. I prefer changing the dorm room outlook with unique ideas frequently.
Remember, the two focus areas on the dorm are walls and basic furniture. Simple ideas like hanging position of things can also change the room’s aesthetics.
Comment below if you have any other creative ideas or need my consultation.
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