Looking for dorm room ideas? In just a few hours time we turned our daughter’s dorm room from a super basic “before” to a stylish, comfy “after” that feels like home to her! This post includes lots of dorm room ideas for girls to steal for your own!
We had a blast scheming up plans for my daughter’s dorm room in the weeks leading up to moving her into her freshman dorm (if you missed it, check out {this post on dorm room essentials} with all of our favorite dorm room bath, bedding, desk, and decor pieces that we found in our search). There’s definitely a night and day difference between what’s available for dorm rooms now versus when I went to college!
My daughter wanted a boho chic vibe for her dorm room with gray and blush tones complete with cozy pillows and throws. What she didn’t want was for her space to be too over the top or take more than a few hours to put together (translation: I was not allowed to hang around setting up and decorating her room any longer than any of the other parents 🙂 ). Done and done! We were both excited with how it turned out! (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})
Here’s where things started – a pretty typical small dorm room with a loftable bed, desk, and chest of drawers:
And here’s what it looked like a few hours later….
Dorm Room Idea #1: Tapestries are an Inexpensive Addition that Make a Big Impact!
If I had to pick just one thing that had the biggest impact on the room, it would be {this black and white tapestry} that we hung on the wall – it’s a stunner and took only about ten minutes to hang up. It’s SUPER reasonably priced so has some serious bang for the buck impact!
We initially hung the tapestry using double sided velcro Command strips along the top but they didn’t stick to the tapestry as well as we’d hoped so we ended up using {these Command clips} that worked beautifully.
And wall tapestries aren’t just for dorm rooms either – if you have a bare wall in one of your kids’ rooms, an inexpensive tapestry is the perfect simple decorating solution. Places to shop for great dorm room tapestries include Pottery Barn Teen {here}, Urban Outfitters {here}, and Amazon {here}.
Dorm Room Idea #2: Cozy Euro Pillows Are Must for Lounging
Many dorm rooms are small enough that students use their bed as their lounging spot too. Be sure to get at least one large (24-26″) square pillow like {this cozy Euro} that we used on my daughter’s bed in the powdered blush color:
It’s provides a large comfy spot to sit up in bed for reading, doing homework, or just lounging. We also added {this soft blush fur throw} to her bed and {this gray pom pom pillow cover} that’s made of a nice, thick textural fabric:
Dorm Room Idea #3 Add a Clip-on Light to the Bed
My daughter has never been one to sit at a desk to study – she prefers a more cozy spot! So we added a clip-on task light to the top rail of her bed so she has plenty of light when needed:
You can find similar clip-on task lights {here} on Pottery Barn teen or {here} on Amazon.
Dorm Room Idea #4 Take Advantage of the Space Under the Bed for Storage
Because dorm rooms tend to be so small, you need to take advantage of every square inch of space! Under my daughter’s bed, we pulled out the desk to place somewhere else in the room (I’ll show you that in just a minute!) but left the chest of drawers and added three of these three tier storage cubbies:
The exact ones we had were from Pottery Barn Teen but are unfortunately no longer available but there are a lot of similar options out there such as {this 3-tier storage dresser}.
Idea #5: Get a Stool Plus Storage All in One
If your daughter is going to loft her bed, she’ll want a stool to be able to hop up into her bed. We went with {this storage stool}:
The top opens up for storage which she’s using for shoes to free up space in her small closet:
Dorm Room Idea #6: Add Extra Storage Space with a Bedside Organizer
Another favorite addition to this space is this bedside organizer that we hung from the foot of her bed:
It’s perfect for extra storage at her desk area plus it’s accessible from the top of her raised bed so she can slip things into the pockets like snacks, headphones, etc. The exact one we bought is no longer available but {this bedside organizer} is very similar.
Now on to the desk area – here’s how this space looked originally:
Dorm Room Idea #7: A Large Pinboard Keeps Holes on the Board & Not in the Wall
We moved the fridge/microwave down to the left as far as possible, placed the desk that was originally under the bed here, and added in a few new things including {this awesome oversized no-nails framed pinboard}. We somehow didn’t look at the specific dimensions when we ordered it (it’s a whopping 36″ x 40″) and when it arrived, it was so much bigger than we had envisioned but it ended up being a great thing – it’s the perfect size for over a dorm room desk! It’s lightweight and comes with adhesive strips already attached to the back of the pinboard so hanging it up was a simple as pulling off the covering on each piece of adhesive and pressing it onto the wall – so easy! We outlined it in {these 16 ft battery-operated string lights} that we simply taped onto the corners with clear Scotch tape. Next time we visit, I’m sure this pin board will be full of all of the photos, magazine clippings, and mementos that she brought to pin on it.
Dorm Room Idea #8: Make Recharging Electronics Easy with a USB Lamp
On her desk, she has {this cute white and brass desk lamp} that has a pretty cool hidden feature – a USB port built into the base:
Now she has an easy, accessible spot to charge her phone and never has to worry about losing a charging plug.
And one final little detail that’s definitely the most special one – my daughter’s grandma (Jeff’s mom) cross stitched this pillow for her the year before she died – I know she’s smiling down on her seeing that it found a home in her college dorm room 🙂
My daughter is so happy with how her dorm room turned out and of course I’m so happy that she’s happy:
It’s been fun having you all along on this little adventure – I’ve gotten so many great tips and pieces of advice along the way that I appreciate so much! Best wishes to all of you who are in my shoes this year getting your kiddos settled away from home and for those of you with younger kids, hold them tight – this day will come before you know it!
XOXO,
Beautiful, unbelievable that you transformed such a basic dorm room to a stunner. You are so talented! You need to open a design store. Really have enjoyed watching you redo your home.
Vickie Carroll
That is a such a sweet compliment – thank you so much!
Kris!! Omg her room looks fantastic and all your little storage ideas and how to make the most of her space are so inspiring! I wish I had had your post for inspiration before I went to college (which in hindsight probably more resembled a jail cell haha!) And how special that her grandmother stitched that little pillow; this post was awesome.
Thanks Kelley! I want to go back to college for a dorm room redo too!! 🙂
All the beautiful colours, soft things to touch, patterns to inspire and all the thoughtfulness and love that went into pulling this together are very evident! It’s stunning and I’m sure your daughter will feel all that loved wrapped around her while she’s away from home.
Thank you so much Jen – I sure hope she does 🙂
You are fanatastic Kris! Decorating that small room was probably the most fun you’e ever had. Your daughter looked so happy.
Thank you! Definitely one of my most fun decorating projects ever!
Kris
WOW what a wonderful change to an ugly dorm room. Great, practical ideas !
Thanks Holly!
It turned out so beautifully! I was a freshman advisor at Clemson University and helped move hundreds of girls into ugly dorm rooms. Your wall hanging was a game changer!! This is one of the cutest rooms I’ve seen in my career! Best wishes for a successful freshman year.
So darling! Best wishes for your daughter’s college life!!!!
Thank you so much!!
Thank you Roxanne! You are so right – her room looked cute but just ok until we hung the tapestry – it made a world of difference!!
Beautiful ! The tapestry does pull it all together so well! Many school dorms don’t allow them -at least until the fire marshal leaves!
Thank you! I hadn’t heard that about tapestries not being allowed in some dorms – about half of the rooms in my daughter’s dorm had one!
This turned out lovely! And you gave great ideas for tween/teen bedrooms too! Thank you!
Thank you so much Annie!
Love it! Couldn’t be any cuter. Wonder what her roommate thought? Woefully sad that you weren’t her mom, too?
Ha! Actually her roommate did an awesome job with her side of the room too – their whole room was really cute!
OMG you have set the bar on dorm room decor. We just got our youngest off to college in the midwest and my friends can’t believe I forgot to grab a photo! Epice Mom Fail! xo laura in Colorado
Ha – thanks Laura and thank you so much for sharing the post! I’ve had several of those mom photo fails myself 🙂
PS Sharing on the weekend edit.
ahhh…her room looks great! best of luck to your daughter in her freshman year.
Thank you so much Laura!
Wow Kris! When I think back to dorm rooms in my day, they looked NOTHING like this! You did a fabulous job and I’m sure she’ll have the chicest room in the entire dorm, if not all the dorms. I love it all and what great inspiration for a teen bedroom. I’m sure she loves it too! Great job!
I hear you! We didn’t even have the options to raise our beds up – I remember dragging in cement blocks from the hardware store to put my bed on just to get a few extra inches – ha!
Kris,
What a great transformation. I love the wall tapestry and the betting is wonderful. I’m sure your daughter is thrilled with her new living quarters. What a fun time.
xo,
Karen
Thank you Karen – she was really happy with how it turned out!
What a beautiful space! And I’m sure everything was discounted or gifted from PB Teen since your photo is being used on their website. Not something everyone could afford, but I’m sure you can get a similar look for a lot less.
I’m sorry, that didn’t come across the way I intended. You did a great job, and I’m sure your daughter loves her dorm room. I was trying to say that others could do something similar on a budget.
Hi Cindy – yes, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post I did partner with PBdorm on it! Their prices are actually lower than you might think on a lot of things – like the humongous black and white tapestry I used is only $29 (and often on sale for less than that)! But I hear you – the college stuff adds up so hopefully this post gave a little inspiration for all budgets 🙂
Awl, bless her heart. She is a doll.
It’s been many a year since I drove my girls to freshman year in college – but my sister has one son whom just graduated in spring, and now two daughters in college. She just took one of them for her freshman year, and had fun helping her decorate and move in, too! She has her fourth still at home – so one last time to do it.
I wish your lovely girl a really wonderful year. Is she going through Greek/ Sorority Rush?
Thank you so much Michele – with four kids your sister must be a pro at it by now!! She’s not doing Rush this year – decided it just wasn’t her thing 🙂
Where did you get the actual bed frame from? Beautiful room!! Your daughter is lucky to have such a stylish mom!
Thank you! This is actually the bed that came as part of her dorm room!
I love this idea! I want to do this for my one-week stay at WT band camp this summer!!!