Sure, you can buy a colorful bed in a bag and all the blindingly bright clothes hampers and rugs you can find, but nothing shows real style like do-it-yourself design done right. Read on for seven low-cost and temporary dorm-decorating ideas. Keep in mind these four important things about college dorms:1) Personal space in most dorm rooms is VERY limited, 2) most college dormitories have strict rules about what you may or may not bring in or hang on the walls, if anything at all, 3) furnished dorms usually require that you use the existing furniture; no removal allowed, 4) you’ll be hard pressed to ever find a college dorm that will let you paint the walls or furniture. Be sure to CHECK THE RULES before doing any creative decorating to your child’s dorm room. All this is good news, of course, cause it means you and your college student have to get really creative. Are you helping your college student get a dorm room ready for the fall semester? Any creative DIY tips? Top image via Lovely Undergrad Other low-cost DIY headboard options: thrifted chalkboard headboard, painted canvas headboard, old shutter headboard, graphic adhesive headboards (they’re removable), or this embroidered headboard. Create colorful faux wallpaper. Love this bold but temporary geometric “wallpaper” created with round placemats. “Create your own pattern with a little double-stick tape,” explains Taniya Nayak, celebrity interior designer of HGTV.(See more of Taniya’s dorm room creations.) Find bright-colored placemats ($1.99 each) and more muted-color placemats ($2.99 each) at Bed Bath & Beyond. Or get wild with animal print placemats ($25.99; set of 8) at Overstock.com. These reusable DRÖMMAR Cake Doilies($1.99; set of 4) from IKEA — could also work well. Make removable changes to the room. Check out these removable painter’s tape stripes added to standard dorm room furniture for a little flair, as found over at Kara Paslay Designs. (Also love the vintage suitcase storage idea) Another fine idea: using pretty textiles atop a desk or bookcase to beautify ugly dorm furniture. Make a DIY pinboard. Great for hanging photos of friends and family back home and for organizing jewelry or paperwork too. If there’s no hanging allowed, prop it up on a desk or dresser. Stay organized with clipboards Hang a plain or decorated clipboard on the wall for each subject perhaps. Perfect organizing idea for above a computer desk or workspace. Make a handmade deer head Your child’s dorm room will be the talk of the student union. Love it! Take note: many dorms require you to use hardware-free expansion rods over standard curtain rods. Other creative solutions: turn old drawers into a bookcase, space-saving bedside shelf (instead of a nightstand), beautify a thrifted dresser. Another ideas to add personality: repaint a vintage desk chair for studying.
