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5 Ways to Make Your College Dorm Room More Cozy

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UVA chapter.

Showing up to college and not knowing how to make your room more like you can be hard. Our rooms are our safe havens and places to unwind in college. Personalizing and decorating them for a more comfy vibe can totally help us get away from the bland, cold tile floors and white walls that we are subject to for the rest of the year. So, here are 5 simple ways you can make your dorm room more comfy this year.

Lamps With Warm Lighting

Lamps are some of my absolute favorite pieces to implement in any room! I have found that they completely soften the vibe of rooms. Especially dorm rooms. When you wake up in the morning and can’t handle the harshness of overhead lighting to get ready, what is the solution? A lamp with warm lighting. When you are winding down for bed? A lamp with warm lighting. Watching a movie, don’t want to be in the dark but also don’t want to look into bright LEDs? You get the point.

Pro tip: Get a couple of small lamps with cute shades (glass, patterned, coastal vibes, etc.!) & make sure you know what kind of lightbulb you need before you install the lamp! There is nothing worse than having a lamp without a bulb.

Fairy Lights

Just like lamps, I like to also have fairy lights with warm lighting. I usually put mine up towards the ceilings and drape them over the window and door frame. That way, when I want to soften the vibe, the fairy lights will surround most areas of my room! I prefer fairy lights, but you could also use Christmas lights, patterned lights, tiny lanterns, or vines with lights! Use whatever makes you happiest and fits the vibe of your room the most.

Pro tip: Use miniature, clear Command Strips to hang your fairy lights with ease!

WAx Warmers

Most dorms aren’t allowed to have candles, so I would recommend wax warmers. They are awesome to keep on a desk or a window sill, and they project scents wonderfully! As an added bonus, you can get wax warmers with lights on them. This helps to project a cozy vibe to your nose and your eyes. If you are sad about not being able to burn your favorite candles, you can always bring them with you and use their wax in your wax warmer instead of burning the wick!

Diffusers

Just like the wax warmers, this is another option that attracts your senses. If you don’t want to worry about a warm surface or hot wax, you can use a diffuser instead. They freshen up your room very quickly, and they give a spa-vibe to the room. In order to make your experience even better with your diffuser, I would recommend getting essential oils that fit your vibe or the current season. Stores like T.J. Maxx usually offer seasonal essential oil sets to get you in the mood for Halloween or the Holidays. Just be sure to add 1-3 drops of essential oils only!

Warm colored bedding

There is nothing better than walking back to your room after a long day and seeing your cozy bed waiting for you. This year, I have opted for a neutral base comforter and blanket with warm-colored throws and pillows. This combination brings a warm vibe to the bed. I usually keep about two throw blankets with different patterns and textures at the end of my bed, a couple of cute throw pillows, and warm-colored pillow cases for the rest of my pillows. That way, when the Holidays or Spring comes around, you can opt for a different theme within your throw blanket and pillows, and you can keep your versatile, neutral bedding.

Gracie Firgau is on the writing team at the Her Campus at The University of Virginia chapter. Beyond Her Campus, Gracie studies Pre-Commerce and German at the Univerity of Virginia. She is a second year interested in Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Information Technology. Gracie has also done research on topics such as Video Game Preference and Sensorimotor Skill Maturity Compared to Age and Ultraviolet Radiation’s Effect on Drying Duration of Automotive Paints with Resin Filming Agents. She has interned for the Nau Center at UVA on the Letters Home Project, worked with her professor in the History Department on transcriptions of documents from the 1800s, and interned for Galax City Public Schools in Information Technology. In her free time, Gracie enjoys weightlifting, cooking and baking new recipes, and experimenting with new fashion and beauty. She is also involved in Chi Alpha at the University of Virginia and is always searching for new areas to explore her passions while also building new relationships.