Pinterest always introduces me to new ideas whenever I feel bored. My pin recommendation feed taught me how to make a cat bed out of an old sweater and offered me the best Shepherd’s pie recipe that I’ve ever tried. Especially when it comes down to home décor concepts, I could scroll on different boards for hours.
Earlier this year while scrolling through kitchen backsplashes, I stumbled upon the pin that built the structure of my 2022 dream house. It was a picture of a laundry room with a minimalistic theme, but it had a colorful tile backsplash that caught my eye. Usually minimalistic designs have muted, earthy tones, but this one incorporated pastels that brought the room to life without going overboard.
Of course, after I found this pin, I forgot to save it to my “cute house interiors” board and spent a long time searching for the picture again. As I traced back through my search history to find my inspiration, I stumbled upon a great deal of other ideas that incorporated this mystery tile into the household.
I gazed at backsplashes in kitchens and bathrooms, as well as the surfaces of tables and floors — which were all decked out in lovely designs. Thankfully, I was able to find the photo that started it all, thus igniting my undying love for what I later learned is called Moroccan tile.
Moroccan-style cement tiles have different varieties of beautiful patterns and color combinations. You can find sets in nearly any color scheme, too. Any color you could name exists in these tiles from grays to black and whites, bright primary colors, browns and pastels.
An aspect that I truly love about the design is its flexibility. It could go with practically any household theme, as long as the right colors are incorporated. This led me to consider the possibility of somehow including tile in a dorm room.
Just to address the ever-so-obvious elephant in the room, putting tile in a dorm room would be practically impossible. Residents cannot use nails, which makes picture frames and heavier wall hangings obsolete. If one can not put nails in a wall, it is easy to assume that one also cannot spread mortar on said wall and lay tile onto it.
What is possible, though, are wall decals and posters. Tile sticker sheets can create a beautiful pop of color in the dorm while maintaining a neat and mature appearance. Not to mention, these leave zero damage to the wall or surface underneath.
E-Commerce websites such as Amazon and Etsy have plenty of sticker selections available at reasonable prices. “Stair Riser Decals/Vinyl Stickers Traditional Portuguese Moroccan Tiles/Kitchen/Bathroom Backsplash/Wall/Stair/Floor/Removable Peel & Stick” by 3DWallBoutique is advertised on Etsy for a minimum of $8. For such a pleasant color scheme and pattern variation, $8 is quite the bargain.
Keep in mind that you can put these stickers anywhere you please. Bland desktop? Shabby dresser drawers? Slap a sticker on it and watch the room transform. Don’t go too crazy, though, because if your set’s color scheme is on the flashier side, it will become the focal point in your room. If the entire room is decked out in bright colors, the environment may feel overwhelming for you and your roommate.
I hope my doting on these tiles has inspired new ideas for designing your dorm rooms. I tend to find a lot of the same ideas when styling my dorm and end up longing for a unique way to make the space my own. Embrace your creative side, and best wishes on your interior decorating adventures!