How to Decorate a College Dorm Room
As a college student at Binghamton University, I have held a dorm room for two semesters and I look forward to returning to college for the fall semester and decorating my college dorm room once again. Here is an Insider’s Guide to Everything you need yo know about decorating your college dorm room and making it as cool as possible.
First: Location, Location, Location. Know the room that you will be staying in for the semester before you move in to the actual room. Get a rough estimate of the room dimentions. Important information to know is, do you get your own bathroom? Are you living in a suite or a single corridor style room with one other person? Are you friends with your roomate?
Knowing your roommate ahead of time is a bid advantage to creating a really cool dorm room. You can call, see each other and email each other about the items to bring and buy to bring into the dorm room.
First there are some essential items that you will be needed for any college dorm room.
The frigerator is one of the most important parts as you will be hungry for that late midnight/ early mourning snack. At the early hours of the mourning, dining halls on campus usually are not open so the refrigerator becomes very important. In addition, laziness will set in and sometimes college students will not want to leave their dorm room to grab something to eat or drink. The best idea that I recommend of getting a refrigerator for your dorm room is to call up a college campus refrigerator company. In most college campuses around the nation, refrigerator companies rent refrigerators to students for the duration of the school year. The rental price for the year will cost around $100 to $200 but it is well worth it. You can split the cost of the refrigerator with your roommate. Renting a refrigerator avoids the hassle of having to carry a heavy appliance all the way from home or having to buy one at a store and bring it all the way to your dorm room. By renting a refrigerator, the company will deliver it right to your dorm room within days of your arrive up at your college. You will find that many other students on campus rent refrigerators as well. At the end of the school semester, the company picks up the machine, hassle free. During the school semester, if you ever have any problems with the machine, you can call the company for help with a toll free number. If you are still having trouble with the machine, you can call up the company and they will replace the refrigerator with another one, free of charge. It is really the best method. Still, if you want to create an undue hassle for yourself, you can buy a refrigerator at a Walmart or appliance store near the school or you can bring up a refrigerator from your house to use.
The second basic essential item is the television. This item I recommend that either you or your roommate bring from home. If you choose to do so, you can buy a t.v. from a store as well. If you are living in a suite with other guys or girls, I recommend that you put a television in the living room of your suite. The living room of your suite will consist of couches and chairs and most people in the suite will sit there and talk and watch television or a movie. I also recomemend that one person in the suite get an extra refrigerator and microwave to put in the living room so that someone can easily grab popcorn or a soda while watching t.v. However this is only optional.
The next feature is posters and decorations. Most college dorm room come with white plain painting walls which look boring and dull. That is why it is your job to work out with your roommate any posters or stickers or signs that you might want to bring to make your dorm room as cool as possible. Suggestions and ideas for posters or signs include favorite movie actors, actresses, celebrities, sports players, bands, movies etc. Possible signs could be: Keep out, Wasup, Just Chilin, Got Beer? etc.
An interesting decoration that I have seen is the lighting in a room. Most rooms come with a small ceiling light or a small lamp in a corner of the room. I strongly encourage you to bring a full size lamp that you can buy very cheaply at any store like Walmart or Target. I have also seen Christmas decoration lights strung around the room that light up and can look very cool with the right room, set up and decorations.
Note: In terms of lighting, I have been asked about candles in dorm rooms. First off, most college campuses prohibit candles in on campus dorm rooms. Secondly, they can be dangeroud because the candles can catch on fire with very old items in the room such as the curtain or blinds that students have. I heard of one incident on an off campus housing complex that had a huge fire because a couple of girls left candles and lighting on that caught fire with clothing because they were not careful enough. I urge you not to bring candles into your dorm room.
The next essential is music. What is a college dorm room without music? Most computers and labtops play music that can usually be downloaded using Itunes or other free music programs. However most people like blasting music in their room and suites and for that you need to buy or bring speakers with you. The speakers hook up to your Ipod or computer and amplify the sound. By blasting loud music you and your friends can sing along to your favorite music and tunes.
When it is raining outside or you are feeling bored in your room, board games or billiards are great souces of entertainment. Dart boards and sets are cheap and most people have them lying in their house. Also a deck of cards or a poker set is what most college students play. A board game or two that you enjoy playing might also be enjoyable.
A Computer is one of the single most important electronic devices that all college stuents must have. A labtop is what most college students have and it by far much easier to have than a desk top computer. Labtops can play DVDs, games and serf the web for information for reports and homework not to mention to talk to your friends online.
The final items for a dorm room that most people do not think about are movies and play station games. Buying movies online is very cheap especially if you buy them from amazon or eBay. A DVD or movie collection comes in hand on a week night or weekend afternoon when there is nothing to do. Make sure that your labtop plays DVDs or buy a DVD player that connects with your television. Also I suggest bringing a playstation set or Xbox set with games to play and more than one controller to play with your friends.
These suggestions should come in handy and remember. Each room is unique so make it your own and put your own individual touch to the room!
