How to Decorate Your Dorm Room

You've finally arrived at college. You've picked a major, got your classes figured out, attended all of the freshman orientation speeches, and you've just moved everything into your dorm room. But your dorm is, well, about the ugliest room you've ever seen. With the need to house hundreds of students on campus, dorm architects spend more time figuring out how they can get as many rooms as possible in a small space without thinking about how to make the rooms look nice. Fortunately, there are many different ways you can make your dorm room reflect your personality without spending all of your tuition money.

• Make your bed the focus of your décor. Chances are, it's taking up most of your room, anyway. You might as well make it look pretty. You don't have to buy designer sheets, but you should think about how to incorporate your bed into your overall room décor. Often, simply buying a single-color set of sheets that fits in well with the rest of your room is all you need to do, although print sheets that match your décor can be very eye-catching.

• Many dorm rooms are uncarpeted, so think about buying a small area rug in a color that accentuates your décor. The rug doesn't need to cover your entire room-there's no point in carpeting under your bed, for example. It will also add some padding to that hard and cold tile floor.

• Lamps are great accessories to have in a dorm room. With the many different colors, designs, and styles available, you can easily find a lamp to fit in with your theme, and as a bonus, you get more light in your room.

• One of the most under-utilized item in a dorm room is the trash can. While you can find a decorated trash can, there's an even simpler and cheaper way to spruce up your décor: buy a cheap, plain trash can and decorate it yourself. You can use sponges to make designs with paint or even draw on it with colored markers.

• Another easy and cheap decorating idea is a collage. Buy a cheap piece of foam board and hang it on the wall. As the year goes by, add clippings from magazines, interesting campus flyers, photographs, or anything that catches your attention. By the end of the year, you'll have a unique piece of art that not only adds to your décor but also chronicles your first year of college.

• Along the same lines, if you know any art majors, ask them if they will draw or paint you a piece of art. Many of them need ideas for class projects and would be more than happy to help you out.

• Most dorm room walls aren't very attractive, and if you can't find or afford enough art to cover them up, buy some cheap fabric to drape across them. You can usually find some nice fabric on sale at a local department store. Just tack it to your ceiling and you'll never have to stare at that ugly wall again.

College dorm rooms have built in decorating limitations: you can't paint them, they're small, and you usually get stuck with whatever ugly furniture that comes with them. However, with a little creativity, you can overcome this challenge and turn your dorm room into a place that really reflects your personality and interests and, using the ideas above, not spend a fortune doing it.