Maximize Your Dorm Room Space With Style

Whatever the size of your soon-to-be dorm room, you can be sure it will be small. What would be considered a large dorm room is typically no more than a 15 x 15 room shared by two students. Most dorm rooms are smaller. Space is truly a premium.

So, how do you live in what amounts to less than a 7 x 7 space? Where do you put all of your things? What things will you have to give up? There is a lot to consider and you will have to pare it down.

There are several things you can do to free-up what would otherwise be crowded space. Some of these things will rely also on your roomie’s assimilation.

Let It Roll

Put Everything On Casters! This may seem odd, but if you think about how convenient it would be to roll everything around whenever you wanted to rearrange, or to just create a different floor plan or mood for company. Making everything moveable makes dorm life easier.

Lofty Bunk Mates and Bunk Beds

If your bunkie is up for it and one of you is willing to take the top, bunk beds can free-up a ton of floor space. If that somehow takes away too much privacy being on top of one another like that, maybe two separate loft beds with desks beneath them is a better way to go?

Either way, you need two beds and two homework areas. That’s a lot to pack into a small space and still leave room for storage and a dash of personality (for each of you).

Under The Bed Bins

It used to be monsters, now it’s chaos or clothes (or both) under your bed. Bins that slide or roll under your bed are great. You can store a lot of stuff and they may become one of your best friends on campus, especially when you have unexpected company drop by and you can shove all of the mess inside before you shove it under and out of sight.

Personality With A Plus

Whatever you do, don’t forget dorm accessories. You have to surround yourself in things that make you smile and make you happy. Not everything has to have a purpose however, you will find a lot of creative options for fun storage these days and it is wise to keep storage or multi-use pieces in mind when you are shopping.

Since you probably can’t paint your dorm room, here is an easy tip to bring in lots of color (and pattern if you want). Hang fabric from the walls (or from a single feature wall). This is a great alternative and can pack a real personality punch.

Let There be Light!

Lighting is super important for studying, but it is also important for creating the illusion of a larger space and creating mood. If you have a window, great, but if you don’t have a window, be sure you have several lamps throughout the space. Overhead lighting is too sterile and not enough. It also will not allow your roomie to sleep while you read or vice versa.

Your college years are meant to be light, so remember that when you’re knee deep packing and getting frustrated about all of the things you can’t take. This is going to be a new chapter so why not start with a blank page?