What didn’t I think of that? Dorm Room Hacks and College Tips. Creative dorm room décor ideas to create efficient space, loads of color, lots of fun, and a little reminder of home. From freshman to seniors, these Dorm Room Ideas for Girls will have you all set for school.
The Best Dorm Room Ideas
Whether you are a freshman or a rising senior, we all can use some organizational tips, especially for smaller spaces! We were so inspired by these Dorm Room Hacks and Tips that we even had ideas for our own home. Get ready to stock on no Washi Tape, Duct Tape, burst of color, creativity and more! We love these Dorm Room Ideas for all ages and living situations!
Tip: Also visit our Don’t forget our College Dorm Room Decor Ideas and Neon Rooms & Cool Lighting Effects.
Many of the hacks I share below come with items you can find easily on Amazon! The benefits of having an .edu (student) email address is getting 6 month free trial of Amazon Prime Student Account. Thanks covers you from August to February, cancel when you like!
Amazon for Students Prime Free
You first tip is trying free Amazon Prime for Students. Having the access of Amazon is great for purchases you quickly need shipped to your dorm. You mgiht even save on packing costs if you can purchase many of your Dorm Room Décor ideas and ship straight to your college dorm hall.
- Six Month Free trial
- Unlimited FREE Two-Day Shipping (with no minimum order size)
- Exclusive deals and promotions for college students
- Unlimited streaming of Prime movies and TV shows
- Unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos
- 20% off pre-order and new release video games
After your six-month trial ends, your Prime Student membership makes you eligible to receive 50% off Amazon Prime, and includes access to all Prime benefits.
Also pick up a month free trial to Amazon Music! Listen to tens of millions of songs on any device anywhere. After your trial, Prime Students pay only $.99 per month (this makes me extremely jealous – such a deal!)
Dorm Room Ideas
Let’s get started with these Dorm Room Tips, Hacks and Ideas. For the college freshman to the college senior, learn how to make a small space efficient with these college dorm room hacks and tips to create the perfect home away from home. Make your dorm room Pinterest worthy with these essential college dorm hacks and tips.
Dorm Room Décor DIY
This cheap dorm room décor idea is free. Print on Frugal Coupon Living, Dorm Sweet Dorm. Download this beautiful “dorm sweet dorm” free printable art work, Pick up a cheap white frame and hang with command strips.
For a perfect DIY Dorm Décor on a budget, make these cute flower string lights from an upcycled egg carton.
For dorm room décor for small rooms and space, make sure you get organized! Line your drawers with scrapbook paper like I Heart Organizing. Pick up these acrylic drawer organizers.
Never miss an activity with this Weekly Dorm Room Calendar – This dorm wall décor idea is so frugal to make!
Dorm Room Organization
If you lack dorm room closet organization or for dorm rooms don’t have kitchens, get creative with this Dorm Room Kitchen Cart from Jessica Slaughter. Get a metal dorm room car organizer in many different colors.
The dorm room set up you are given will likely be ugly. Hide the particle board on a dorm room desk with washi tape from A Girl and a Glue Gun.
Another dorm wall décor idea – Do you have ugly walls you cannot paint? Hang a Tapestry Damage Free with this tip from Drea’s DIY. Beautiful Tapestries under $15 here.
Tapestries are beautiful and can hide ugly cinder blocks. Also consider a macramé wall art. We love this boho wall décor but this macrame wall hanging might be a bit more affordable.
Dorm Room Hacks
Lift the bed but also make it efficient with these USB/Power Outlets Bed Risers on Amazon. This dorm room storage hack also gives you more under bed hidden storage.
Speaking of bedding, you will want this Dorm Room Docking Station for easy access to things you might need at night like ear pods or your phone. Find a similar one.
This bedside shelf will also work for staying organized when pulling together your decorating dorm room hacks.
Hungry, try this dorm room cooking hack! Make grilled cheese with a clothing iron. Dinner in five minutes! Idea from Grilled Cheese Social.
Don’t forget all of our Dorm Room Recipes and Grilled Cheese Recipes.
Dorm Room Décor Cheap
Hit the Dollar Tree for some Dorm Room cheap décor ideas. Stay organized. Sort Snacks with a Door Shoe Organizer on Drama Mama (no longer available). Grab a Shoe Organizer for your dorm room.
Want to light the room. Look at this easy tutorial on DIY Ping Pong Ball Light String. Use on a patio, porch, bedroom, dorm room and more. Also found in our Upcycle Christmas Lights post – cute ideas for living! Ping Pong Ball idea The Surznick Common Room
Also use this cheap dorm room décor organizer for easy access to school supplies with Door Shoe Organizer. Idea on A Bowl Full of Lemons.
Dorm Room Upcycle Ideas
Talk about an Upcycle, Make a Headboard Out of Cardboard – You heard us right! This cheap dorm room décor idea uses an upcycled box. Idea on Stars for Street Lights.
Dorm room décor on a budget? Utilize the outdoors with this Tree Branch Jewelry Holder from I Like Fall Blog. Think I saw something like this at Pottery Barn for $100s.
Organize a desk and cord area with upcycled binder clips. Source Unknown. The black clips are beautiful, but this binder clip set has a beautiful pattern.
Consider skipping a headboard for a Dorm Room Headboard Shelf. Source Unknown. They actually make Headboard Shelves to buy! I would line with Removeable Wallpaper as a DIY Dorm Room Décor Hack – a whole new look!
Colorful Dorm Room Ideas
Duct Tape and Washi Tape are your decorative friends – we love these Duct Tape Storage Ideas that look amazing from DIY Home Sweet Home – it makes them sturdy too!
Again, back to your decorative friend – Line Your Bookshelves with Washi Tape for some dorm room fun. Idea on Aunt Peaches. How beautiful is this Washi Tape Bundle?
Maybe it’s silly, but if you are lacking some color or a view outside your window, bring the rainbow to you with this Dorm Room Fan idea! A fan is a must dorm room essential. Source.
Dorm Room Storage
Dorm room storage hacks will help you stuff the room with all your needs. Maximize your drawer space with this T-Shirt Folding Tip. Have you seen this t-shirt folding board? It is thin enough to hide behind a dresser!
Speaking of clothing, display your dirties in style. Do you love this dorm room laundry tote as much as we do? It comes with the perfect handle to carry all that laundry home to mom!
ET phone home (name that movie!) Show everyone where you live with this zip code pillow (other options available like a reminder to phone home!) One dorm room storage idea is to fill your decorative pillows with clothing, socks, underwear and other essentials.
Dorm Room Essentials
We also think this Dorm Room Shower Caddy is the perfect addition for getting to the showers.
This space is totally personalized with photographs and so magical with the additional lighting – a perfect teen bedroom or dorm room makeover! This is a great Instagram craft idea. There is a great string light strand on Amazon that comes with a remote control and is very affordable. Change your settings, colors, brightness, etc. Also seen in our Teen Bedroom Ideas. and Upcycled Christmas Lights. A
A dorm room essentials list includes a calendar. Stay organized with this DIY project – a Paint Strip Calendar from DIY Ready. You can also look at our Paint Strip Calendar for a weekly line up.
Drawers and extra space are a rarity, so is dorm room décor. Display your earrings on this frame. Not only is it resourceful, it adds color and is cute!
Dorm Room Design
Who thought up Dorm Room Design? It is so hard to find places to hide things. Hide accessories and shoes underneath a bed skirt with the Bedskirt Organizer.
Get the smell out with this Dorm Room Hack. Use Febreze Car Clips and add to Air Vents to Help Freshen the Room! Source Unknown.
Command Hooks are apart of dorm room essentials. If you find yourself lucky enough to have a cabinet, use command hooks to hang your tools. | Source Unknown.
The best Dorm Room advice? Make your Dorm Room Décor Pinterest worthy with lots of color like this idea from Hobby Lobby.
Dorm Room Checklist
No idea what to pack? Take a look at this Dorm Room College Packing List from Society 19 for a list of dorm room essentials.
More Dorm Room Tips
Don’t forget our College Dorm Room Decor Ideas – Pin to Pinterest.
Looking for more Dorm Room ideas? Take some inspiration from these Vibey Lights & Neon Room Lighting Affects. Pin to Pinterest.
Take a look at our No Bake Dorm Room Recipes – Pin to Pinterest.
Going far? Also check out our Moving Hacks and Tips. Pin to Pinterest.
Originally posted July 3, 2016. Updated July 2021.
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