Decorating Your Dorm Room

Decorating your dorm room can be a fun endeavor. Having a dorm room is like practice for having your own studio apartment. You have one room which needs to meet all of your practical requirements and yet still should express your personal style. This is not an easy task, especially if you have to share this all purpose room with a roommate-which most college students inevitable have to do. Here are some tips with which you can spiff up your residence housing.

Dorm rooms are rather industrial affairs. Constructed like any low-income housing project, these rooms are designed entirely for efficiency. A dorm room usually has cheap industrial carpeting and painted plaster or masonry walls. A dorm room is generally a perfect rectangle with a few windows and perhaps a radiator. Dorm rooms are usually furnished with detachable bunk beds, two dressers and two desks. The furniture is also of the industrial ilk, designed for durability and not style. There are a number of ways to make a dorm room more stylish and comfortable. One of the best places to start is with the lighting. Dorms typically are lit by harsh fluorescent white bulbs. Replacing these bulbs with some soft white traditional light bulbs in a couple of cool lamps is a good way to change the overall atmosphere of any dorm room.

Furniture is one of the best ways to change things up a bit. Of course space is at premium in any dorm room. One of the most obvious ways to save space is to stack your bunk beds rather than have them as separate. IKEA is a college student's best friend when it comes to inexpensive, stylish and space saving furniture. IKEA offers storage devices, desk sets, tables, chairs or whatever else you desire. IKEA's furniture is highly functional, light weight and affordable. Another great furnishing would be a rug. As previously mentioned dorm carpeting is a depressing industrial affair. Throwing down a small, simple Persian-style rug can quickly make your room more friendly and classy.

Beyond furnishing a dorm room, decorating is another key feature to creating a cool living space. Your decorations are an opportunity to proclaim your interests and personality. At the beginning of the year, many companies offer poster sales on college campuses. Movie, music or pop culture posters are one way to declare your interests and particular taste. Art reproductions such as Monet, Van Gogh or Dali paintings are another way of beautifying your space. Many college students prefer black lit posters on their walls-posters that offer a more psychedelic feel as a throwback to the 1960s. Whatever you choose to adorn your walls, make sure it is personal and in good taste. Realize that there are many Pink Floyd or Scarface Posters on the walls of dorm rooms nationwide. If you really want your room to stand out, choose posters that are tasteful and unique. A quick internet search can find countless posters that might express your particular interest.

One of the most important considerations when planning your dorm room is your roommate. In order to maintain a cordial relationship with your roommate, be sure to run by him or her any major decorative ideas that you have.