Our “Before” & “After” Dorm Room Makeover!

Last weekend we got my oldest daughter moved into her freshman dorm and all ready to start her first school year away from home (cue the tears!!). We had a blast scheming up plans for her dorm room in the weeks leading up to move-in – if you missed it, check out {this previous post} with all of our favorite dorm room bath, bedding, desk, and decor essentials 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! It’s been so fun partnering with Pottery Barn Dorm on this transformation – I’m excited to show you all how it turned out! And as an added plus I just saw that with Premiere Day specials, everything is 25% off and ships free today! (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….

Scroll & Click/Tap Images to Shop Her Dorm Room:

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 (we used double sided velcro Command strips along the top). It’s SUPER reasonably priced so has some serious bang for the buck impact! 

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. Pottery Barn Dorm has all sorts of colors and patterns to choose from:

Since her tapestry has a fairly bold pattern, we went with solid colors for most of her bedding pieces. To add some softness, we used {this soft blush fur throw} on her bed and underneath that is {this super cute tassel duvet cover} with gray tassels (it’s available in seven other tassel color options too). We paired those with {this gorgeous paisley sheet set} which I LOVE – it’s similar to a block printed pattern with lots of shade variation:

The trio of decorative pillows on her bed includes {this cozy Euro pillow cover} in blush (truly the softest pillow cover I’ve ever felt!), {this gray tassel Euro sham} that matches the duvet cover, and {this gray pom pom pillow cover} that’s made of a nice, thick textural fabric: 

My daughter has never been one to sit at a desk to study – she prefers a more cozy spot! So we added {this clip-on task light} to the top rail of her bed so she has plenty of light when needed:

Under her 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}:

What I really appreciated about these cubbies is that they arrive flat and compact so were easy to pack in the car but they were also quick and simple to put together when it came time to set them up (and can be easily disassembled when it’s time to move out). This is key if, like us, your kiddo is going to college hours away and everything has to fit in a single car load!

We also used {this storage stool} which is a really great purchase if you have a partially lofted bed – my daughter uses it as a step stool to hop right up!

The top opens up for storage which she’s using for shoes to free up space in her small closet:

Now on to the desk area – here’s how this space looked originally:

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 pretties:  

Scroll & Click/Tap to Shop This Space:

As expected, we didn’t have the most beautiful furniture to work with (the decorator in me REALLY wanted to swap out that ugly desk chair!) but we chose a few key pieces from Pottery Barm Dorm to dress it up and give it a little bit of style! You can just barely see it peeking out but we added {this cute round fur pillow} to the chair for a little extra cuteness and comfort. In hindsight I wish I had also brought a little throw to drape over the back of the chair – next year!

The biggest impact came from adding {this awesome oversized no-nails framed pinboard} that has a linen fabric look. 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 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.

Another favorite addition to this space is {this footboard organizer} that hangs at the end 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. 

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:

And since I have such a love for list making, I also couldn’t resist getting her this cute weekly list desk pad:

Her desk will double as a vanity so she has {this fun vanity mirror} with a tray on the bottom that’s perfect for storing a few pieces of jewelry, makeup, or hair ties. The rest of her jewelry is stored right next to it in {this hexagon jewelry box}

I also gave her my little snake plant that had overgrown its space on the corner shelving in our kitchen – he’s in {this cute tabletop planter} that’s one of my favorites! I’ve kept that sucker alive for a year now which is nothing short of a miracle so if any plant will survive my daughter’s dorm room, this is the one! 

Just three last little details to share and it’s a wrap – (#1) we added {this darling blush tassel chain garland} to the window between my daughter and her roommate’s beds to dress it up a little bit since they didn’t want curtains (we simply draped the garland over a Command hook stuck to the wall on each end):

(#2) My daughter is using {this wire shower caddy} for her shower supplies and {these cute gray and white towels}:

She is lucky enough to have a sink in her dorm room so she only needs it for her actual shower supplies – having a wire caddy like this that’s open on the bottom for easy draining when you bring it into the shower is key! For kiddos that don’t have a sink in their rooms, a mesh shower caddy like {this one} is a great choice because it’s better at holding smaller things like a toothbrush, contact lens case, etc.

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,

Bedding: Gray tassel duvet cover | Blush fur throw | Gray paisley sheets | Tassel Euro sham | Blush fur cozy pillow cover | Lumbar pom pom pillow cover

Bed Accessories: Black & white tapestry | Clip-on task light | Footboard organizer | Striped storage cubbies | Storage stool | Tassel chain garland over window

Desk Accessories: Oversized pin board | Desk lamp with USB port |  Brass vanity mirror | Hexagon jewelry box | Weekly list desk pad | Round white faux fur pillow (on chair)

Shower Accessories: Gold wire shower caddy | Gray geometric towels