Dorm Sweet Dorm - Dorm Room Decor Inspiration
March 5, 2020 | 2:00 PM
Autumn Hobrock '22, Nursing Major
How will I decorate my dorm room? What do I want to bring from home? How will I set up my furniture? These are a few questions every college student asks themselves before moving into their dorm – whether it’s freshmen year or the very last move-in day their senior year. Some students bring a lot to their dorm room in order to decorate and fill every last nook and cranny, while others are inspired by minimalism and mainly bring the essentials. It all depends on how they want to make their dorm room their home away from home.
Most decorations include photos from home and are usually accompanied by photos from their time in college as well. Other decorations include posters, paintings, pillows, and lights strung up around the room. Sometimes, students even go as far as creating a color scheme for their room, I know my roommate and I did my freshmen year.
I wanted to see how other students around MacMurray’s campus choose to decorate their dorm rooms, so I asked some of my peers a few questions about ways they make their dorm room feel like home.
1. What’s one must-have for your dorm room?
- “A must-have for our dorm room is definitely some open space. We both agreed that although we are confined in here for the whole year, we can still manage to make it spacious, so we don’t feel that way.”
- “One must-have for your dorm is a box fan. We started out not having one, but we had two standing fans. This is also a good idea however if it’s hot because these fans help circulate the air. Having a box fan in the window as well helps a lot more.”
2. How did you make your dorm room feel like home?
- “I brought the feeling of home to my room by putting up a bunch of artwork to fill up the empty spaces.”
- “Just adding pictures of friends from back home, and just bringing memorable items from home to the dorm. It won’t quite feel like home, but having constant reminders of your home will help.”
3. How did you maximize your space in the room?
“We maximized our space by using bunk beds, and some storage containers. Considering the beds take up half the room if they are placed individually, we decided that if we bunk them then we would save up more space for activities.”
- “We personally have had a couple of room designs. We started with our beds in a sort of L shape and had them lofted so we could get the most space in our room. This worked really well at first, however, I had a huge surgery and couldn't climb into my bed. We then lowered our beds and moved them to separate sides of the room. This took away some of our space but made everything more accessible.”
- “Putting things under our beds helps give us space. So, you would have to have your bed lifted high enough to fit whatever you want under it.”
4. Why did you decorate your dorm room as you did?
- “We decorated our room with the accent color of gray so that things sort of match. Once we separated our sides, it also gave us each our own space.”
- “Our first way was a bed against the window and another on one side of the room. One dresser and one desk would be on the opposite wall. The other dresser went under my roommates’ bed but moved to under my bed. We did this to have lots of space in the middle, that way if we wanted friends over, we could without being crowded.”
- “We decorated our room in the simplest way possible, which is by putting up a Bob Ross poster. It is cost-effective and adds a happy, little touch to the room.”
5. Any additional device?
- “We both agreed that in order to maintain a nice dorm room, you and your roommate have to be really cooperative with each other. Considering this is where we sleep, eat and study, we need to maintain a type of cleanliness without losing the whole dorm room vibe.”
- “The faster you get to befriend your roommate the better because you can be more comfortable in your living quarters knowing that the space you have is perfect for both of you.”
No matter how you decide to decorate your dorm room, whether you’re living alone or living it up with a roommate, all that matters is that it feels like home to you. A game room, a bland room, a room with no space or even a room that becomes the normal hang out spot, it’s important to make it your very own dorm sweet dorm.
Thank you to roommates Brookelynn Cardwell ’23 and Emma Miller ’23 as well as Jake Huggins ’23 and Nathan Cronkhite ’23 for answering my questions and modeling off their rooms.