Do you have an emerging young adult headed off to college this fall? Or perhaps starting out in their first apartment? Let’s have some fun and come up with decorating ideas for that small living space in your dorm room or a new apartment.
Here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Don’t bring more than you can reasonably store.
- Bring task lighting for your bed or desk, if available.
- Design a plan so that you know where everything will go prior to heading off.
- Organized doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful.
Checklist and Organizing Ideas
Most colleges offer the size and layout of the dorm room, and most can be found online so you can map out your storage options. Most colleges also offer bed risers so you can use the valuable space under the bed for storage. The Container Store offers a complete checklist for the dorm room; click here to review that list.
Since you have limited space in a dorm room, add a bedside caddy for small items that you want accessible but don’t have room for a bedside table.
I love this idea from Sewmuchado.com – a DIY wood crate bookshelf on wheels! Such a great idea and you can easily pick up the wood crates and paint them or stain them any color you desire. For the complete details on how to create this DIY project, click here.
Decorating Ideas
If you want a one-stop shopping idea, check out the many Dorm Kits at Bed, Bath and Beyond where you can purchase all of your bedding, towel requirements, etc. in one shopping spree. Click here to view many of those online options.
While researching for this post, I came across the best idea! Washi Tape! I’m sure you are all familiar with painter’s tape that easily comes off your walls without leaving any residue, well now you can get it in a pattern! In a dorm room or rental space, you can’t hang anything permanent. You can use this tape to decorate shelf edges – create frames on your wall, many fun ideas. Click here to view a variety of patterns at Target.com.
I love this idea as you can decorate a portion of a wall or even create a faux headboard, try removable wallpaper. It is a reusable fabric that can be easily removed. Click here to view the beautiful patterns available from ChasingPaper.com.
Instead of many posters covering a wall what about hanging a beautiful tapestry? There are many different patterns available, in researching for this article I found a fun site that offers many youthful patterns at TrippyStore.com.
Looking for a way to hang things non-permanently, click here for a list of many non-permanent hanging options from 3M Command.
Having had four kids go through this process I know it can be a time of stress, but also an exciting adventure for everyone involved! Enjoy the process and the rest of the summer!
Contact Debbie@RedesignRight.com with all of your interior design, redesign, paint color consultation and home staging needs.
Debbie Correale is founder and owner of Redesign Right, LLC. You can learn more about her at www.RedesignRight.com. Find her on Facebook.com/RedesignRight, Twitter @RedesignRight, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Houzz and Google+.