As a college student, it may be difficult to come up with the proper funds to decorate your dorm the way you want to. There are so many items to take into consideration when it comes to decorating, such as bedding, desk space, wall art, bathroom essentials, etc. I remember when my mom and I were shopping at the end of the summer before my freshman year and thinking to myself, “wow, all of this stuff is really adding up!”Are you a college student getting ready to start the school year? Looking for some cheap, inexpensive ways to decorate your dorm room? Here are some ways to make your dorm beautiful for the year without putting a hole in your wallet!
Decorating now isn’t the same as it was years ago, with people being creative and taking alternative routes to make their living space both aesthetically pleasing and inexpensive to decorate. A friend of mine recommended a wonderful woman named Kathryn on Youtube, but she’s better known by her channel name, ‘Do It On a Dime’, in which she shows you how to decorate various parts of your home through simple and cheap DIY projects. Kathryn is one of many people who show you that you can have a nice looking place and not break your budget!
Inexpensive Ways to Decorate – Draw Inspiration from Your Own Life
Sometimes the best decorating ideas are from what’s closest to us! Being away from home in college can be tough and lonely, so why not use little things from home to decorate your dorm? Pictures are a great way to do this and there are so many options you have to decorate with pictures! To do this, try hanging photos with string, clothespins, and command hooks like Erica Yanus of Society19 suggests! You can make the look even cuter by adding some string lights alongside the string with tape. Inexpensive and a nice way to remind you of home!
Inexpensive Ways to Decorate – Make a Collage Wall
If you have a more creative side, making a collage wall is a cool way to decorate your dorm on a very small budget! You can buy some of your favorite magazines or a newspaper, and cut out different pictures, words, and pieces that stick out to you.
Then, glue or tape the pictures to poster board and voila- you’re done! If you don’t have money to buy a few magazines, you could even print pictures off at your school’s library and do the same thing, saving you even more money. For extra fun, add stickers!
Inexpensive Ways to Decorate – Hang a Tapestry
An iconic look of many college dorms usually always involves a tapestry. While some dorms don’t allow tapestries, if you are allowed to hang one, it is a great way to have a large decorative piece that isn’t very expensive!
Depending on the look and size of the tapestry, you can get sone from Amazon for as low as $12! Tapestries come in all different colors and themes, ranging from beautiful nature themes to your favorite sports team, and more! You can’t go wrong with a tapestry, as it is not only cheap, but it can also last you a while!
Try Decorating Your Furniture
When it comes to dorm room furniture, let’s face it – most of the time it’s not pretty and it’s just plain boring. To give your furniture a fun and more modern twist, try decorating with removable wallpaper. Kayla Kitts of HGTV Crafternoon suggests that there isn’t one place that you can’t try this, from the top of the desk, to the storage units, to even the front of the air conditioner! The great thing about this is that at the end of the year, all you do is peel it off, no trouble at all. You can get removable wallpaper from Amazon for around $30, a steal considering all the different ways you can use it!
When in Doubt, Be Thrifty
Inexpensive decorating isn’t all crafts and DIYs, sometimes it’s just about shopping at inexpensive stores where you know you can get good deals! Places like Walmart, the Dollar Tree, and even Goodwill for small decorations, candles, vases and fake flowers, picture frames, etc.
Jennifer Sellers of HowStuffWorks writes, “There are a number of places you can find useful, stylish and even trendy products without paying boutique prices. You don’t want to invest too much into what you buy for your dorm room. Over time, your taste and style will change.” So before you drop a bunch of money on a new comforter set, check at home or at cheaper stores to help save money!