13 Ingenious Small-Space Decor Tips (Inspired by Seriously Tiny Rooms!)
Moving into college means starting over with new classes, new friends, and, of course, a new room.
Decorating a totally empty dorm room can be so exciting — and also a bit overwhelming, tbh. If you’re looking for dorm room ideas to help make your space more aesthetic, more like your personality, and more like home, keep reading. Here are tons of decor tips, hacks, and secrets, inspired by the real rooms of Dorm Therapy contributors and other college students. (Obviously make sure to follow your dorm’s specific rules for what you can and can’t bring and hang.)
1. Consider a color palette.
You should do you in your dorm — and if that means including all the colors of the rainbow, absolutely go for it. But if you’re looking to streamline your design choices a bit, or struggling to choose between decor items, picking a color palette is a great place to start. Need some inspiration? Check out Haley Karinja’s dorm tour of her Fordham University double decorated with light pink, white, and gold accents. “My friends often describe my room as having ‘cozy, pink princess vibes,’” she said in her dorm tour.
2. DIY a fancy headboard.
A headboard can majorly upgrade a dorm bed, and you don’t have to spend tons to get the look. Angie Arias, the current Apartment Therapy Media Audience Growth intern, made one using *checks notes* five pool noodles from Five Below. She broke down the project here.
3. Display an *unexpected* gallery wall.
Take this classic decor style to the next level by swapping out posters and photos for something else that’s meaningful to you. Su Tashan, the 2023 Dorm Therapy TikTok Contest winner, made one using a “collection of street signs and car plates from all over the world,” she said in her dorm tour.
4. Add fun with throw pillows.
It’s so important to infuse a standard space like a dorm room with your own personality. An easy and often budget-friendly way to do so? Cute throw pillows for your bed, like the flower and star shapes Amarra Lopez showed off in her single.
5. Spotlight your clothes on a clothing rack.
When you hang your favorite ‘fits on a clothing rack, the storage item instantly doubles as decor. “My clothing rack is front-and-center in my bedroom and holds all my go-to pieces — it’s often the first thing I see in the morning when picking my outfit for the day,” said Nabihah Ahmad in her dorm tour. “I’m quite proud of my sense of style, so having my clothes artfully arranged and visible helps express my fashionable personality. The rack itself is minimalist and streamlined, aligning with my modern aesthetic.”
6. Turn your accessories into decor.
In her University of Vermont dorm, Katie O’Driscoll had the ingenious idea to hang hats as part of a gallery wall, creating storage and decor in one. You could also do this with glasses, jewelry, shoes — the list goes on.
7. Fake a bigger room with a smartly placed mirror.
Dorm rooms are small. Mirrors *always* make rooms feel bigger, so use them strategically, like Sofia Andrade did in her room!
8. Buy a rolling cart.
Seriously. You can use it for storage, to display decor, as a nightstand, and for pretty much a billion other things. Look how cute Isabel Petrou’s is in her dorm tour. If you buy the IKEA version, the RÅSKOG, you can nab the HÖGSMA top shelf to make it even more functional.
9. Roll out some peel-and-stick wallpaper.
If your dorm allows you to use peel-and-stick wallpaper, highly recommend! In her Christopher Newport University dorm tour, Maryann Reese called her wallpaper her favorite element in her room. “[I]t adds so much to such a small space, she said in the tour. “Dorm walls can be boring and cold, so it helps warm up the room!”
10. Introduce some greenery.
Plants — real or faux — make a room feel way fresher, happier, and more inviting. Current Dorm Therapy intern Nyjah Harris’s junior year dorm tour is giving preppy boho chic, thanks to the dripping greenery she hung in her space.
11. Cover cinder blocks with a full wall of curtains.
Benedetto Rebecca‘s junior year dorm room had cinder-block walls and linoleum floors, and he wanted to amp up the sophistication. His solution: a curtain wall. “The curtains ended up totally changing the energy in my room and added the element of softness I had been longing for,” Rebecca previously wrote for Dorm Therapy. “The way the light accentuated the fold of the curtains and the added warmth they brought to my space truly brightened my day.” Find his instructions for your own version of the DIY here.
12. Hang twinkly lights.
If you’re not a fan of the Big Light but you are a fan of sparkles and ambience (of course you are!), twinkly lights are a game-changer. They come in so many shapes and colors, and you can put them up wherever and however you choose. In her dorm tour, Arias molded hers around a daisy decal. So cute!
13. Go for a storage ottoman.
A multifunctional textured ottoman means more storage, more space for guests to sit, and a pretty burst of decor. Win, win, win. In her Ithaca College dorm tour, Maegan Bellassai’s blush seat has subtle glam vibes.
This post originally appeared on Dorm Therapy. See it there: The 13 Best Dorm Decor Tips Straight from College Students (They’re So Easy!)