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32 Best Dorm Room Ideas to Upgrade Your Living Space
A big part of your college experience revolves around the time you spend in your dorm. Whether you share a dorm room with a roommate or you have your own, most dorms feel bleak, sad, and boring. That’s not the type of environment you want to spend several years living in.
With the right dorm room ideas, you can add your own personal style to your dorm and transform it into an awesome living space. Additionally, the environment in your dorm should be an area that decreases stress levels, promotes productivity, and helps you feel comfortable.
Ahead, are the 32 best dorm room ideas to upgrade your basic dorm into the ultimate college living space. These ideas will give you all the inspiration you need to have a dorm room worthy of living in and fits your lifestyle.
Lighting Ideas
Proper lighting can completely transform the look and feel of your dorm. You’d be surprised how well a few inexpensive lights can revamp a basic looking dorm room and serve other useful purposes. The lighting ideas you’ll find below are not only affordable but also decorative and functional.
LED Light Strip
When it comes to lighting, setting up LED light strips around your room is an excellent dorm room idea. Light strips are quite popular in colleges nowadays because they’re inexpensive, easy to install, and are aesthetically pleasing. Here’s a 50 ft light strip that comes with a remote so you can conveniently change between all the different colors.
You can also use the smart app control on your phone to adjust the colors and different settings. The strip uses a super strong adhesive that will easily stick to any hard surface in your dorm. The lights even have a built-in microphone that can sync to music playing.
USB Clip Light
This high-tech cordless light is super convenient to use in a college dorm. You can clip it to your desk when studying or to your headboard when you’re reading in bed. The light features four brightness levels, five different color modes, and a fully adjustable design. It even has a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts up to 60 hours.
Himalayan Salt Lamp
Having a salt lamp in your dorm is another solid dorm room idea to improve your living space. Its integrated dimmer switch allows you to adjust the brightness and warmth of the lamp. It comes fully assembled with an extra 15-watt bulb in the box.
This handcrafted salt lamp will bring good vibes into any dorm room and make it feel cozy. Its ambient orange glow creates a warm and relaxing environment that will help you unwind and relieve stress.
Foldable Wooden Lamp
This is actually one of the coolest and most unique lamps I’ve ever seen on amazon. Adding warm and ambient lights to your dorm is always a good idea, but this light adds a whole new decorative element to it. As you can see, the lamp can transform into several different shapes.
Storage Ideas
Utilizing effective storage items in your dorm help maintain a clean work environment and increase organization. With a clutter-free dorm, you’ll benefit from reduced stress and increased productivity when completing coursework or other tasks.
Locking Safe Bookshelf
Need storage ideas to keep your dorm organized? Installing this bookshelf from DormCo above your desk or around your room is a good place to start. The top half of the shelf has plenty of storage space for your items and can keep your valuables safe with the built-in locking compartment. The wide-open bottom half creates lots of workspace for your laptop, papers, and supplies.
Tall Shelving Unit
You’re going to need space in your dorm for larger items, such as a mini fridge, microwave, and coffeemaker. This shelving unit is capable of storing all your big items, and it’s skinny profile will be able to fit nicely in your dorm. It comes with four adjustable shelves and is made out of metal with a durable epoxy finish.
Hanging Closet Organizer
This closest organizer comes with six shelves and five organizer drawers. The all-purpose pockets can be used for a variety of items, such as clothes, towels, shoes, hats, and more. Hanging organizers are smart to use in dorms because they neatly organize your things so you don’t have to worry about clutter taking over dorm.
Iron Brick Trunk
This rugged, American-made trunk is constructed out of a high-quality PE plastic and is over 20 inches deep and 33 inches wide. It comes with plenty of space for any valuables, electronics, clothes, or anything else you need to keep safe.
The trunk’s construction is also waterproof, dust-proof, impact-proof, and corrosion resistant. The locking clasps allow for the addition of a lock to keep your things secure, and the rolling wheels make for easy transport.
Over Door Organizers
Storage space in dorm rooms are always limited. These over door hanging organizers will help maximize the storage capabilities in your small dorm room and keep your things organized. Both organizers have sturdy deep storage pockets and two clear pockets. Insert the strong metal hooks into the metal loops at the top of each organizer for easy installation.
Bedding Ideas
College beds are known for being notoriously uncomfortable. It’s going to be difficult getting a good night’s sleep when you’re laying on a hard, worn-out mattress. Luckily, there’s a variety of smart ideas for adding comfort to your dorm bed. This way you’ll be able to get the sleep you need to be energized throughout the day.
Temper-Pedic Mattress Topper
With a Temper-Pedic mattress topper on you bed, you’ll feel like you’re sleeping on clouds. This 3-inch thick mattress topper is designed with the same pressure-relieving TEMPUR material found in Temper-Pedic mattresses. The material responds to your body’s temperature, weight, and shape for comfort and support.
The TEMPUR material is also very durable, so you’ll be able to get many years out of it. It’s available in the common Twin and Twin XL college mattress sizes.
Electric Heated Blanket
One of the best ways to stay warm while you’re sleeping or relaxing in your dorm is by using a heated blanket. This blanket from Bedsure is Amazon’s #1 bestseller. For materials, it uses a super soft sherpa fabric on one side and a fleece flannel fabric on the other.
Heating wires run through the inside of the blanket. It has several heat levels and time settings that can be customized on the controller with a max time limit of four hours. The blanket also has ETL-certified overheating protection.
Layla Sleep Weighted Blanket
If you’re not allowed to have heated blankets in your room, the next best alternative is a high-quality weighted blanket, like this one from Layla Sleep. They have tons of comfy bedding items that can improve your quality of sleep.
Layla Sleep’s weighted blanket is perfect for keeping you warm and cozy, not to mention all of its other features you can benefit from. The blanket’s deep touch pressure provides a relaxing experience that will help you sleep better at night and can even relieve stress and anxiety.
Pillow Headboard
Unlike regular headboards, this triangular wedge shaped pillow provides both comfortability and support. There’s also no annoying assembly required. All you have to do is lay it on your bed to instantly upgrade your basic dorm mattress. Additionally, the pillow is stuffed with high-density polyurethane filler with a machine washable cover.
Elviros Pillow
The ultimate sleeping experience wouldn’t be complete with the right kind of pillow. This funky looking memory foam pillow form Elviros has been specifically designed to support your back, head, and neck for perfect alignment. The contoured, ergonomic design helps relieve back and neck pain when you sleep as well.
The pillow is made out of a dense memory foam and comes with a breathable pillowcase. This is Amazon’s best selling pillow for a reason. I highly recommend it for college students and anyone else who is struggling to sleep at night
Kitchen & Cooking Ideas
You won’t be able to fully upgrade your dorm living space without some smart kitchen and cooking ideas. Below, you’ll find everything you need for cooking, eating, and storing food — along with some other useful dorm room ideas.
Panasonic Microwave
A must-have item for making your college life a lot easier is a microwave. Instead of going out and buying food, you can warm up your favorite microwave meals or some leftovers, which will save you time and money.
Thanks to the compact design, this microwave from Panasonic will fit nicely into a small dorm room and comes with powerful inverter technology that cooks food more evenly.
Mini Fridge
If I had to recommend one item to buy for your college dorm, it would be a mini fridge. I also recommend having a mini fridge with a separate freezer compartment, like this one. It’s always a good idea to have one of these in your dorm because they’ll save you loads of time and money.
Keurig Coffee Maker
Here’s an essential for all you coffee drinkers out there. Personally, I was never into coffee, but it does have it benefits, especially if you need energy for your early morning classes. This is the Keurig K Supreme plus; it brews quality coffee in just a few minutes and should fit nicely in any dorm.
Dinnerware Set
If you have a kitchen in your dorm, then you’ll be able to store your own reusable plates, cups, and eating utensils. This eco-friendly wheat straw dinnerware set is perfect for a college dorm because the material is practically unbreakable. The set comes with plates, bowls, cups, flatware, and more.
Kenmore Cookware Set
It might be kind of hard to cook in that kitchen without any pots or pans. Rated one of best cookware sets of 2021, this 12-piece set from Kenmore comes with everything you need to cook tasty meals in college.
All the pots and pans have a non-stick ceramic interior, heat-resist handles, and come with tempered glass lids. A wooden spoon and turner are also included in the set.
Furniture Ideas
When it comes to furniture for your dorm, you need to consider two big factors: style and functionality. Having furniture that makes your dorm look warm and cozy is great, but it’s even better if the furniture can serve other useful purposes. Having furniture that is multifunctional will make your living experience more enjoyable and less stressful.
Fluffy Area Rug
Here’s a good example of style and functionality; not only will this rug boost the look and feel of your dorm right away, but its high-density sponge interlayer also makes it really comfy to lay on. The rug has a soft velvet-like shag material on top and a non-slip bottom. It’s also available in several other colors.
Related: 15 Stylish and Affordable Dorm Rugs
Velvet Desk Chair
This comfy velvet desk chair is excellent for those long study sessions as your desk. It also has a very comfy and ergonomic design that is great for lounging in. The chair features a 360-degree swivel with adjustable height. The velvet material and soft sponge padding adds lots of comfortability.
Big Joe Fuf Bean Bag
To clarify, this bean bag chair isn’t actually filled with beans. It’s filled with Big Joe’s patented shredded foam, which means it will never go flat or need to be refilled. These cozy bean bags are excellent for relaxing or napping in after a long day of classes.
And they provide a comfy place for your friends to sit when you have people over. The bean bag seen here is their large size, but they have other sizes available to better fit the dimensions of your dorm.
Folding Storage Ottoman
This ottoman has a multifunctional design that can used for seating and storage in your dorm. It’s covered in soft velvet upholstery with a removable padded sponge lid. The ottoman also comes in a smaller size for less spacious dorm rooms.
Cleaning Ideas
Having a clean living environment is important for your physical health and your overall well-being. With your mental stability constantly being tested in college, having a clean dorm is essential. If you need effective dorm room ideas for keeping your living space clean, check out the items below.
Lysol Cleaning Kit
Here’s the perfect cleaning kit for any size dorm room or college apartment. The multipurpose disinfecting spray can be used on almost any surface in your dorm, including your desk, trash can, and countertops. When the bottle is empty, refill it with water to the fill line and drop in a new cleaning cartridge so you can reuse the bottle up to 25 times.
Shark Cordless Vacuum
The best way to keep your dorm room clean is with a compact and lightweight vacuum. Not only is this vacuum from Shark compact, but it’s also cordless, so vacuuming in tight spaces won’t be difficult. Also, you’ll get 40 minutes of runtime and can detach the top to use it as an even lighter hand vacuum.
Bissell MYair Purifier
An air purifier is a very underrated item to have in college. This one from Bissell uses a 3-in-1 filter that captures 99.7% of particles as fine as 0.3 microns. It easily captures pet dander, pollen, allergens, smoke, odors, and dust to keep your dorm clean and smelling fresh.
The smart auto mode monitors air quality in real-time and automatically switches fan speed based on the air quality. For fan speeds, it has a high and low setting, including an extremely quiet sleep mode fan speed. 100 square feet is the recommend space for the air purifier to be used in. It also has a built-in night light that glows around the bottom of the purifier.
Microfiber Floor Mop
Depending on where you live in college, you might not need a mop, but it’s definitely smart to have one if your floors are more than just carpet. You can use this microfiber floor mop to wipe away dirt or stains on any hard surface. All you have to do is wet the mop pad and start cleaning, then you can wash the pad once it’s dirty.
Tech Ideas
Tech related dorm room ideas will make your college experience much more rewarding. With the right gadgets and tech items, you’ll be able to make the most out of your college living space. These items will help you push through and survive those tough college semesters on campus.
Surge Protectors
A must-have for any dorm is a surge protector power strip to protect your devices and anything else you have plugged in from power spikes. You also won’t have worry about running out of outlets with these in your dorm. These power strips from GE have a 10-foot extension cord that should easily reach anywhere in your dorm.
HP OfficeJet Pro Printer
A useful item to have in your dorm is a high-quality printer, like this HP one. There’s will be other printers to use around campus, but they might not be available 24/7. If you need to print something late at night, you’ll be out of luck unless you have your own.
It’s also a hassle walking across campus to the library or a computer lab every time you need to print something. Having one in your dorm will save you a lot of time and energy. This HP OfficeJet Pro comes with all the bells and whistles you’ll need for college at an affordable price.
TCL Roku Smart TV
Sometimes it’s nice to just lay down on your bed after a long day of lectures and watch TV. With this TCL 3-Series Roku Smart TV, you’ll be able to watch over 500,000 movies and TV episodes in crisp 1080p.
The 32-inch model is quite affordable and shouldn’t take up too much space in a dorm room. You can use the easy voice control to find movies, launch or change channels, and switch inputs.
Lenovo Ideapad 3 Laptop
Every student needs a reliable laptop to be successful in college. High-end laptops can be quite expensive, but the Ideapad 3 is a relatively affordable option for those who are on a tight budget. It’s packed full of great features, such as the fast AMD Ryzen processor, AMD Radeon graphics, and a 15.6-inch FHD display.
Multiple storage and memory options are available for the Ideapad. It also has a premium fit and finish that is common with Lenovo’s line of Ideapad laptops.
Kodak Pocket Projector
In the mood for a movie night? You and your friends will be able to immerse yourselves into an awesome world of entertainment with the versatile Kodak Luma 150. This pocket projector produces vivid and crisp widescreen imaging and supports 4K resolution.
The top of the projector has simple one-touch controls and multiple inputs on the side for universal device compatibility. You can also wirelessly connect to it via Airplay or Miracast. The portable size of the Luma 150, along with its tripod mount feature, makes it very easy to setup anywhere in your dorm or in classrooms for presentations.
Need More Decor Ideas?
Pop Chart specializes in creating unique and incredibly detailed infographic posters that would really help decorate the walls of a dorm room. They have a range of different categories for their print posters, such as fashion, Americana, music, sports, tech, and more. Click here for 20% off your first order of $30 or more.