Dorm decor:
Budget-friendly tips for a temporary space,
Pens and notebooks may be at the top of most students’ backto-school shopping lists, but for those moving away from home, colourful bedding and accent furniture are a must-have.
Drab, cramped dorm rooms and apartments can make any student feel homesick, but 20-year old Teddy Kozela, a fourth-year bachelor of social work student at Carleton University, says spending a little time and effort to make them a reflection of your personality can help ease anxiety about being away from home.
The trick is knowing what you can and cannot do.
“We live in (these) rooms for eight months. It’s important that students make themselves at home, to ensure they feel comfortable in their new surroundings,” says Kozela, who has decorated her room with bedding in her favourite colour, photos of family and friends from her hometown of St. Catharines, and a small cabinet painted with chalkboard paint so friends can write over all it; similar to one she had at home.
Robbie Paquette, community adviser at the University of Ottawa, says decorating dorm rooms to reflect a student’s unique tastes is not only a way to fight homesickness, but can help them make new friends.
“Decorations in rooms can be excellent ice breakers,” he says. “If someone visits your room and sees a Rush poster, they’ll say, ‘Oh, you’re into Rush. I love Rush,’ and it’s an easy way to start a conversation.”
Kozela agrees, saying she spends the summer picking items to display in her room that will tell her story to peers. “It’s about showing who you are.”
Dorm rooms and apartments are like blank canvasses, providing plenty of opportunity for imaginative students to unleash their creativity, says Ottawa interior designer Laura Boisvert. She and Paquette offer the following budget-friendly tips to spruce up your home away from home.
Get the rules first. Before decorating the room of your dreams, be sure to ask for the rule book. Although most universities encourage students to put up posters and photos of friends and family, Paquette advises using sticky tack instead of tape to avoid peeling off paint.
Painting and nailing anything to the walls is prohibited. “We want to make sure the room stays in the same condition when students come in and when they leave,” says Paquette. There can be similar restrictions in off-campus housing.
Lighten up. “Lighting is really important because it helps soften the space,” says Boisvert. She recommends incorporating at least three light sources — a task lamp for the desk, a soft night table light or floor lamp and a ceiling fixture.
“The more light sources you have the warmer a room is going to be,” she says.
Coloured or patterned lamp shades are also an easy way to add colour and interest to the space.
As the largest piece of furniture, the bed is the most obvious focal point of the room. Embellishing with interesting and colourful bedding is a simple way to instantly add personality to your dorm room.
Add more colour with a cork board. While they’re great organizational tools they are rather bland, so jazz one up by painting it an interesting colour. Boisvert recommends buying a sample size jar from the hardware store for about $3.
“That should be enough to cover a small cork board,” she says.
Draping your cork board in fabric is another way to add a splash of colour to the room, albeit slightly more expensive.
Less is more. “People tend to go crazy in a small space,” says Boisvert. “They want it to feel like home so they just gather everything they can, but less is more in a small space.”
Avoid covering walls from top to bottom, opting instead to display photos in one area of the room only, grouped in a collage or framing select photos on your desk.
And avoid large pieces of furniture, instead adding interest with small accent pieces such as a colourful desk chair or night table.
Consider roommates. While enthusiasm over decorating your first space away from home may cause you to run out and buy every item that catches your eye, Boisvert advises bringing only a few sentimental items and saving the rest of your shopping for when you meet your roommate.
It’s common for roommates to have different tastes; asking your roommate to go shopping for things to decorate your room together is a great way to avoid squabbles.
“If you’re including them in the decor decisions, you’ll find you end up compromising more (and maybe fighting less),” says Boisvert.
The same goes for shared suites with four or five students. Paquette advises students living in these units to discuss ahead of time what items they would like to bring into the space and divide the list among each other.