For most college freshman, you will be living in a dorm with a number of people and sharing a room. It’s hard to have time alone, so having a comfortable space to do that is a must. This list will show you all the essential items to bring to college with you.
With that, follow this guide for dorm room decoration tips to make sure your new home is as cozy and cute as possible. For more inspiration college and apartment related, be sure to visit the Design page!
1. A Cute Bedspread
A bedspread is a number one essential. There’s not a lot of room for furniture or decorative objects, so make your bedspread the centerpiece of the room. Urban Outfitters has really adorable bed sets in twin XL, which is the typical standard size for a dorm room bed.
Bedding can get super expensive, but you don’t have to break the bank. Target is a great place for bedding basics especially if you plan on moving to a bigger bed after living in the dorms. That way you aren’t spending a ton on a set of bedding you won’t use more than one year.
A comfy bed is a MUST when you’re in college. You won’t regret spending a little more for a good nights sleep.
2. Mattress Topper/Cover
Since we’re on the topic of bedding, grab a twin XL mattress topper. The beds that are provided in the dorm rooms are not always the softest, and multiple people have used them before you making this item essential. Having a barrier between yourself and the mattress will increase your comfort and be more hygienic.
If you’re buying a mattress topper, I would also suggest a hypoallergenic or waterproof mattress cover. This goes over the mattress and protects it from getting dirty, but also seals it in and protects you as well.
3. Sleep Noise App
When you live in a dorm, it gets noisy. You’ll have roommates in and out of your dorm as well as other people living on your floor coming and going. People will be partying on the weekdays and whether or not you want to join, you are still going to want to sleep.
The Sleep Pillow app located on the apple app store is an essential app for sleepless nights. It has a free version and a variety of sounds to listen to. This app has saved me so many times and additionally can be used when traveling!
4. Bathrobe
I recommend a bathrobe over a regular bath towel when showering in the dorms. It’s so much easier to put on a bath robe and have it tied secure around you while carrying your shower essentials back and forth from the showers.
Besides the security of a bathrobe, I find that they’re so plush and thick that they absorb water nicely! Additionally, you can put your bathrobe on when you’re cold in your dorm, so there’s multiple uses!
5. Power Strip
There are for sure not enough plugs in the dorm rooms, so a powerstrip is a dorm essential. I always had a light, my phone charger, computer charger, bluetooth headphones charing etc. plugged in constantly.
By getting a power strip, you will always have enough outlets. Mine sits on the floor next to my bed because that’s where I choose to do most of my homework/blogging.
You can easily find power strips for cheap at Office Depot, Target or a similar department store.
6. Bluetooth Speaker
Get a bluetooth speaker. Whenever you want to host friends in your room before going out, you’ll need music! These can get pricey and I really recommend the JBL portable waterproof speaker.
The sound quality from this specific speaker is super good. If not this speaker, then get something waterproof so you can take it back and forth to the shower with you. Some of the best memories in dorm living can funnily enough be made in the communal bathroom.
7. Mesh Shower Caddy
When carrying your things to and from the shower in the dorm, you’ll need a shower caddy. There’s the traditional plastic bucket looking ones, but I recommend going for a mesh one.
This mesh shower caddy on Amazon is only $9 and will make sure you’re not bringing back tubs full of water from the showers. With a mesh shower caddy, water can easily drain and the whole think can air out until your next shower.
8. Storage Bins
If you don’t have a bunk bed, get some soft storage bins you can push under your bed. I recommend soft ones so you can squish them down to fid beneath your bed if you need to.
You can use these for clothes, toiletries, office supplies, etc. If you have a bunked bed, you can easily get shelving that these bins can fit in and act as drawers as well.
9. 10 Foot+ Charging Cord
Regardless of if you live in a dorm or not these 10 foot long or longer charging cords are so convenient. I mostly use mine for night time when I have my phone plugged in on the floor outlet, but I want it to reach my bed.
Being able to roll over however I want in bed while my phone is charging is so nice. You’re also just not limited to one spot in your room either.
10. Soft Laundry Hamper
When you have limited space, you need to reduce the amount of bulky products you have in your room. Instead of getting a plastic hamper, get something that is soft and squishable.
That way you can fit it under your bed or in a small corner and you won’t have your dirty clothes taking up precious space in your room. A fabric hamper will be easier to carry down to the laundry room as well since you won’t be dragging a big bulky one through the dorm.
11. Throw Rug
Something essential to make your room personalized and cute is a simple throw rug. Not only will this add style to your room, but it will keep your feet off the dorm floor.
My dorm had coarse office style carpet in it, which is kind of gross considering people lived there before me. Putting a carpet down to cover the floor adds a whole new level of cozy, and gives you peace of mind.
You can purchase a cheap throw rug from Walmart or Target. Otherwise, rugs are actually pretty expensive.
12. Small Kitchen Set
If you’re not keen on going to the dorm cafeteria every night, make sure you have a couple plates, bowls, utensils handy. Most of the dorm rooms I’ve been in have microwaves and mini fridges, so you’re able to get a small amount of cooking done.
It’s always nice to have the option to make a bowl of cereal or soup when the cafeteria isn’t open.
13. Mini Coffee Maker
If you’re anything like me, coffee is essential everyday multiple times a day. I would recommend getting something like a mini Coffee Mate or Mini Keurig.
I’m definitely not a fan of single-use pods, but you can always get the small mesh pod that can be refilled for a single cup of coffee at a time.
A small coffee maker is perfect to grab a quick cup before you head off for class, or to give yourself a boost in the middle of the day.
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