Story By: Laura Moxim
Summer is over, bags are packed, and campus life is right around the corner. When it comes to decorating a college dorm room, many students are stressed on how costly a Pinterest-board inspired room can be. With these five budget-friendly tips on how to spice things up, you are sure to make a statement in your room.
1. Shien
Across the board, Shien is an online fashion website that was created to produce good quality products for a fraction of the price. What originally started as a clothing website quickly transformed into a store that sells fashion and design, to sheets and duvets. Whether you’re looking for a couple plants to set on the desk, dish towels to put by the sink, or a cheap alternative for LED lights, Shien has got it covered.
Bailey Douglass, student at the University of Montevallo says her dorm would be empty if it weren’t for Shien. “I was only given a little bit of money to spend on my room, but Shien pulled through with the different kinds of stuff they have.”
2. Amazon
Amazon has great finds and when it comes to decorations, finding good quality products that are shipped to your house in a series of days can be great when doing last minute shopping. Blankets, knick-knacks, pictures and more can be found on Amazon for a relatively cheap price.
Pro Tip: Look for big deals Amazon promotes like Prime Day during the summer months to reduce the price from “I guess I’ll pay that” to “I better catch this deal!”
3. Filling up empty space
After decorating your room and giving everything a look over, something still isn’t right. There are blank spaces everywhere. This is a simple fix by making sure that what you’re buying takes up space. Instead of purchasing a string light for the walls, try a strip of hanging lights to optimize the space. This way, the lights will take up more space and make the room look fuller than it is.
Another good tip is to buy a large tapestry to hang up on the walls with command hooks or tape. This way, the tapestry will take up a large portion of the empty space on the wall, making the room look more put together and decorated.
Keep in mind that not all empty white space is bad. It is important to leave some of the white space on the walls, so it does not look too cluttered.
4. Layering rugs
An essential in the dorm is a nice fluffy rug to put your feet on in the mornings after a restful sleep, but rugs can be pricey. Look for cheaper and smaller rugs online, in thrift stores, stores like Costco and more. Layer these rugs around the room to create a cozy atmosphere as well as giving you and your friends something soft to study, play games, and step on.
5. Posters and collages
Posters are a great way to optimize space in the dorm room while also expressing yourself. Print out some of your favorite music artists, celebrities, or a picture of friends and family and put it in a cheap frame from Walmart or the Dollar Tree to take up space and making the room more you. DIY projects are also a great idea to keep your budget goals under control while making the room you will live in during the year a little more comfortable.
The most important thing to remember is to not stress out over decorating a dorm room. Leave the stress for classes. Find what you can on online stores, cheap thrift stores, DIY and others. At the end of the day, it is your space, and you can decorate it however feels comfortable. Put up a couple posters, some lights, and a tapestry and you’re set for college life.
Vallo Vision News 