Washington University in St. Louis Dorm Room Tour
I am currently sitting in the airport in Copenhagen, Denmark, ready for a new adventure. Since I spent the whole summer in St. Louis on top of being in St. Louis over the school year, I was starting to get cabin fever. Going to school in your hometown means you practically never leave unless you decide to vacation somewhere. In my case, I had taken a few weekend trips, but nothing major since last summer. Which is why, as I write this in a corner of the Copenhagen airport, I have butterflies in my stomach.
That being said, school is right around the corner, so this is the perfect time to gain inspiration on how to decorate your dorm room! Using a few tips and tricks, you can customize the space to be your own, taking it from a generic dorm room to a home. Your dorm room is where you will decompress after a long day of classes and activities, so you want to make sure you utilize the space to create a cozy atmosphere.
Here are some tips and tricks I picked up my freshman year:
I was a huge fan of turning my bed into a sitting area with the limited space I had freshman year, so I added a ton of pillows onto my bed. They also added some color to the otherwise beige room.
Wall clings will transform your wall in a way that posters never can. They are easy to put on and take off, so you won't be getting in trouble for putting something sticky on your walls!
Putting your pictures in frames and attaching those frames with command strips to the walls prevents them from curling. I noticed that when my friends would hang pictures up without frames, the bottoms would begin to curl up.
Indirect lighting will always make a space cozy. Using that glaring overhead lamp will not create the ~stress-free~ environment you are looking for.
I recommend a mini fridge (most people have them in their dorms) to make sure your food will never be taken from the community fridge
You can't light candles in your dorm room, but you can use LED ones! These create the atmosphere of candlelight without posing a threat to your surroundings.
Aside from that, if you can loft your bed, it enables you to add additional storage underneath, something that's very important when you are sharing a small dorm room with another person. While I'm going to be a junior this year and won't be decorating a dorm room, it brings me back to the pre-college jitters, when you are embarking on a new chapter in your life. As for now, I'm embarking on a different kind of chapter, but an exciting one nonetheless.
Enjoy!
-Sema