My Back to School Week series continues today! This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about college life and how much I’d do differently if I was starting school now.
Today, I’m talking dorm decor. Since many students across the country will moving into new digs this week, it’s got me thinking about what it would be like to be decorating a dorm nowadays … It’s been eight years since I’ve had to take on something like that 🙂
And when you step into that dorm room for the first time, you realize it’s going to take some work to make that drab space feel like home.
A typical college dorm room at Pace, where I went to school (Source)
Twelve years ago when I was starting my freshman year, my taste was pretty questionable 🙂 I had somewhat childish pastel bedding, a lava lamp, too many Dave Matthews Band posters, a giant ugly (and useless!) white Compaq desktop computer and a honking stereo that makes you realize how far we’ve come technologically since then (hello, iPod!). Ugh!
I loved school so much that sometimes I wish I could do it all over again … and if I was moving into a dorm now to start college, I would definitely do things differently.
Here are the top 5 dorm decor items I’d recommend for ladies going back to school this week:
1) A good rug … my dorm room wasn’t carpeted, so I really wanted to have something under my feet – specially when I would get out of bed. But even if my room was carpeted, I’d probably want to throw something more colorful and interesting over it.
Urban Outfitters has some great rugs. Vibrant ones like these will definitely add some color to the space — and tie in any other colors you bring into the room:
2) Pillows, pillows and more pillows … for me, comfort was one of the most important things. For the first year of school, I didn’t have a couch in my room (until I moved into a suite as an upperclassman). That means that your bed is your couch. Not only did pillows come in handy, they just made me feel good. Ditto for blankets.
Target — the stores, not the website — always has great pillows that are super affordable:
3) Lighting … If your room even comes with a desk lamp, chances are that 1) it will be either too bright or not bright enough, or 2) it will be ugly, or 3) it won’t provide the kind of lighting you need.
Ikea has the best affordable lamps in my opinion — here are some cool options:
4) Bedding … I didn’t realize this when I was in college, but the bedding you choose says a lot about you. And my bedding freshman year unfortunately said that I was a little girl haha. I wish I had a photo of it to show you, but you’ll just have to imagine a pastel printed comforter like a little girl would have.
If I were moving into a down now. I’d probably go with Orla Kiely bedding from Bed Bath & Beyond:
5) Wall art … When you see how stark the walls are in the dorms, you immediately want to cover every square inch of it. Unfortunately my room ended up looking a bit like the inside of an Applebee’s. Instead, now I’d carefully pick some pieces that more reflected my tastes and personal style.
Etsy would without a doubt be my go-to source for wall art if I was going to college now. Here are some of my favorites:
How did you decorate your dorm in college?