Whether it is your first or last year of living on campus we all know the feeling when you walk into an empty dorm, regardless as to whether is it suite or apartment style: sheer emptiness. The walls are bare, the furniture is plain and the whole room or apartment looks like it needs some loving. This may be hard for a first year student who has lived in the comfort of their own room with walls painted a vibrant color and the furniture matching their personality. So, how do you make this old dorm or apartment your new home?
Bedding
One of the best things about your bed back home was probably your amazing bedding! I know the bright pink sheets and the thousands of pillows really helped me relax, but now that it’s time to live in an extra-long twin sized bed where there may not be room for more than two pillows at night and bedding can be pretty selective. When choosing bedding make sure you choose something comfortable; I went with an extra-soft comforter from Bed Bath & Beyond. When I saw that the XLT comforters were extra soft and came with everything I needed (including decorative pillows!), I was sold. Also when choosing your bedding, remember that you will be seeing this bedding every day. Don’t pick bedding that could eventually become too plain or too obnoxious.
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Bath
When living on campus, odds are you will be sharing a bathroom with one or more roommates. This can be the ultimate time to get to know what your roomie(s) like when it comes to style. Make sure to collaborate on what shower curtain, rugs, etc. you want to amp up your bathroom with. Some roommates don’t care and may let you do it all, but there are some who have been waiting for this college life experience and have had their bathroom designed since their freshman year of high school! Just make sure to have an open mind and most importantly, to compromise. Bed Bath & Beyond, Target and Dormify.com are all great places to buy your bathroom necessities. Make sure you also discuss the financial aspect of this with your roommate to evenly divide who buys what.
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Wall Art
After a day of staying in my dorms that had completely bare walls I knew the only way to make it feel more like home was to incorporate my style into the wall art. The first places I looked for good wall art were places like TJ Maxx, Ross and Marshall’s. I found some awesome picture frames, whiteboards and corkboards that I was able to add my own pictures to. The next thing I wanted was some kind of sticky wall art so I naturally went to the campus bookstore where I found some great wall art originally from Wallpops.com. Dormify.com also has some great motivational, A-Z, and Greek decor for you walls. Of course, the most important thing about incorporating wall art into your dorm or apartment is to have COMMAND HOOKS! These are adhesive hooks that stick to the wall and come off easily at the end of the semester or year. Command hooks can be bought in several different sizes and can be found at places like Walmart and Target. Some items at Dormify.com come prepared to hang like this Pixel Wall Decor!