Dorm Room Decorating Ideas
Looking for some great ways to turn your dorm room into a cozy, comfortable home away from home? We asked students at Carthage College for their best decorating and space-saving tips and ideas. Get inspired by the photos below and make your dream dorm room a reality.
Decorating a College Dorm Room
1. Save space by playing with possible layouts.
Carthage students often arrange their beds in an “L” shape or bunk beds to create more space.
2. Start with the big stuff.
“When packing your car, try and make it so that the big, important stuff is accessible first,” says London Shanahan ’25. “I make sure my carpet, fridge, microwave, and storage furniture are the first stuff I get to, and things like clothes and decorations come in last. It makes the move go so much faster.”
3. Choose a color scheme.
“Every aspect of my room plays off of each other, almost like musical notes on a sheet music,” Kasia Kurz ’25 says. “The whites and creams are major keys, and the pinks and greens are minor keys, each in tune with another creating a harmony of decor and furniture wrapped into my room with a large ribbon bow.”
4. Organize your space with extra storage.
Add extra storage with shoes racks, key hooks, door hangers, etc.
“Get as many organizational pieces as you can,” says Alli Pacocha ’25. “Having a clean decorated room makes being at college so much more comfortable!”
3. Coordinate decor with your roommate.
“My roommate and I coordinated our color scheme over the summer as a fun way to get to know each other better, ” said Ellie Pavletich ’27. “We ended up going with light pink and sage green, which are our two favorite colors. We went shopping for posters together as a way to make our sides look more similar. I even decorated my laptop case using stickers that match the color scheme of our dorm!”
4. Use your door sign to make friends.
“I love the way everyone decorated their doors with whiteboards and has a ‘question of the day/week,’” Marija Mahorcic ’27 said. “Everyone interacts and writes their answers. Everyone is very respectful and super welcoming, even if you don’t know them.”
5. Bring yourself — your family, your culture, your passions — into your space.
“The decor in our room is calm and very personalized to our individual likes,” says Madison Bazylewicz ’26. “We have little touches such as family and friend photos, plants, stuffed animals, and artwork to express our style and personality.”
6. Bring a rug and lots of lights!
7. Incorporate things you just love.
“It makes me very happy having what i love in my room,” Gianna Pokorney ’25 says. “I decided to stick with my country toots, and it even makes it better when I play country music.”
8. Make your bed comfortable.
with a cozy blanket, pillows, and stuffed animals
Plants
Consider curtains!
ORIGINAL COPY BELOW
Carthage students seeking dorm room decorating ideas can read student-generated tips below.
Remember to check in with your new roommate on who will bring what and other ways to make the room feel like home. Take a moment to check out the list of things to bring and Carthage’s residence halls policies.
Dorm Room Decorating Ideas
- Arrange your dorm in an L shape or bunk beds to create more space
- Make your bed comfortable with a cozy blanket, pillows, and stuffed animals
- Add extra storage with shoes racks, key hooks, door hangers, etc.
- Purchase some small or large rugs for your floor
- Decorate your walls with photos, band posters, or inspirational quotes
- Hang fun, colored lights to brighten your room
- Coordinate your decor colors to match the colors of your college or social organization
- Incorporate plant life with hanging leaves or potted plants
- Buy air fresheners that smell of things you like
- Bring knickknacks from home to personalize your room
