Seven Ways to Decorate a College Dorm Room to Make it Appear Larger

College dorm rooms are notorious for being small, but decorating a college dorm room well can make the room appear larger. In this article, I am going to describe seven things that a new college student can do to make his or her dorm room appear larger through decoration.

Dorm Room Decoration Tip #1 - Avoid Dark Colors When Decorating

Dark colors make spaces appear smaller than they actually are. When picking dorm room accessories such as a bedspread and posters, try to avoid dark colors such as black, deep purple, or navy blue. Instead, see if there are other, lighter posters that appeal to you, and consider similar colors such as grey, lavender, and light blue.

Dorm Room Decoration Tip #2 - Have a Logical Floor Plan

If you and your roommate(s) all have beds jutting out from the wall and put desks perpendicular to walls, you're going to lose a lot of usable space in the center of the room and your room will appear much smaller than it actually is. Try to have beds, desks, and dressers parallel with the walls of your dorm room to create a large, open space. The only exception to this is if you wish to partition the room with a perpendicular desk to create two smaller, separated spaces.

Dorm Room Decoration Tip #3 - Be Conservative With What You Bring to College

Your dorm room will seem much smaller if it is cluttered with all of your worldly belongings. Don't skimp on essentials when going to college, but make sure that there is a good chance of you using or needing what you bring. Bringing one less tub of things can make a dorm room seem that much larger.

Dorm Room Decoration Tip #4 - Don't Bring Room-Dominating Objects

While it might be appealing to have a big-screen TV in your dorm room, the television will dominate your room and make it appear smaller. A reasonably-sized television will be just as useful, cheaper, and will make your room appear larger. Other things to avoid are large cardboard cutouts, large paintings, and anything else that would be disproportionately large for your dorm room.

Dorm Room Decoration Tip #5 - Bring Additional Lighting

Many college dorm rooms only have one fluorescent light that is situated on one wall. This means that some areas of the dorm room might not be well-lit, so the room will appear smaller. I suggest bringing a floor lamp and a desk lamp. This will allow you to light your dorm room more thoroughly, which will make the room appear larger.

Dorm Room Decoration Tip #6 - Don't Obscure Natural Lighting

Some college students put posters in the windows of their dorm room. I advise against this, as it blocks natural light from getting in and can make the room appear smaller. In a room that has only one window, a college student is giving up all of the natural light coming into the dorm room if he or she places a poster there.

Dorm Room Decoration Tip #7 - Bring a Mirror or Two

Mirrors tend to make spaces appear larger. Consider bringing a mirror for the door of your dorm room and a smaller mirror for your desk. There are even some picture frames that have space for photographs and also have mirrors built into them. Mirrors will make your dorm room appear larger on their own, and will also reflect what light there is.

Decorating a dorm room can be difficult before arriving at school. However, the above are all things to consider and plan for before moving in. If you are looking for ways to save space in a college dorm room, I give additional advice here. Have any further tips on making a dorm room appear larger? Feel free to share your suggestions in the form of a comment. Thank you for reading!