My first child, our daughter, is officially a freshman in college and to say that is bizarre is a total understatement! She and I had a lot of fun planning and designing her room, you can see the thought process and how we planned it here (read more). She moved in over Labor Day weekend and although the first few days of orientation were tiring, she has settled in and having a ball! That is such a HUGE relief as she is a bit more trepidacious so I worried she would be homesick. I went to great lengths to make sure her dorm was cute but even more importantly, functional, cozy and homey so she would feel comfortable and secure.
We got a long grey bed skirt so when we raised the bed up high we could store lots underneath without it looking like a jumbled mess and the skirt has been perfect for that! Under her bed there is a small 1-drawer nightstand the school provided and under that we put one of the baskets with laundry and cleaning products. On top of the table are her extra set of folded towels. Next to that is the dresser that came in the room, she has clothes in the three drawers organized by clothing category. We brought another three drawer storage piece from Homz, that holds more clothes by category.
She is in Wisconsin and the weather changes a lot so she brought most of her clothes with her and lucky she did as it’s been chilly. We got a really pretty, super reasonable 8x10’ rug that is cozy and ties the two sides of the room together. Her roommate also did the same colors but it’s so fun to see the two different styles they have!
We put together a “kitchenette/nightstand” to go between the beds right in front of the window. Unfortunately we had to pull the beds forward just a bit so the unit could fit and this left a bit of unused space between the window and the head of the bed but fear not, I figured out a great use of that space! I got a Homz 3-bin laundry sorter and that fit perfectly in that space so she can sort her dirty clothes into the appropriate sections and when a section is full she can easily pull the bag out and be ready to do laundry.
The “kitchenette/nightstand” consists of 2 3-cube storage towers I found at Walmart, these hold all of their snacks, coffee, etc. My daughter uses baskets on her side; her roommate just uses them like shelves. The bottom cube is a little bit behind the bed risers and a basket would have been stuck in there so we just left that one open. I got the countertop for the unit at The Container Store and it fits the space perfectly and gives them a great surface to hold matching lamps, decorative items and the Keurig. Between the two storage cube towers fits the refrigerator and microwave, we made sure to measure them so we knew they would fit. Their dorm is on the fourth floor overlooking the Lake; the view is amazing and no one can see into their room so they leave the blinds open and enjoy their view!
My daughter’s bed is comprised of an Ikea white duvet and we got a Full/Queen sized one so it would cover the bed with lots of extra length. We got a body pillow with a super cute pink, Minky fabric cover I found on Etsy, a Black and Pink Rose pillow sham from Pottery Barn Teen, and a grey fuzzy lounge pillow from Target. The big grey monogram on the wall also came from Etsy. We strung up café lights from Amazon and these along with the lamps are all plugged into plugs that turn on with a remote (also from Amazon) so she can adjust the lighting to her needs. We got a grey storage seating cube, also from Amazon and she can use it to get up into her bed, store stuff inside and use it as a spot for friends to sit.
Her desk has an adjustable shelf which we lowered and attached a big black round mirror we had, giving her a spot to get ready but also bring a little sparkle to that side of the room. We added another little lamp for her desk lamp and some decorative accessories. The room came with a 2-drawer little table and that is under the desk on the right side holding school supplies. We stuck two sturdy Command Hooks under the mirror provided for her towels to hang and dry. She added a cute striped throw blanket from Ikea to the desk chair to give it some pizazz.
Her closet turned out great, and it holds everything else she needs that isn’t under the bed. On the upper shelf we fit three Ikea storage baskets (these match the others on the kitchenette) and they hold extra toiletries, snacks, etc. I got a pair of Ikea sheer curtains and we used a shower rod to hang them since her closet doesn’t have a door. She keeps them closed most of the time so her closet isn’t as visible.
We hung a Homz 5-shelf hanging storage piece on the left giving her spots to hold all of her folded sweatshirts and sweaters so they don’t take up all of her drawer space. Under the hanging shelves is a big basket we had that holds all of her shoes so they aren’t all tossed in the bottom of the closet.
To the right of that we have all of her hanging items using slim velvet hangers also from Homz. I love these hangers and only use them in my home, they hold onto your clothes so they don’t fall off and because they are nice and slim you can fit a lot more into your space.
To the right of the hangers we have put a pink 3-tiered rolling cart from The Container Store that is super cute and holds all of her beauty products. The top level holds makeup and makeup brushes, the middle level holds hair products and the bottom level holds her hair dryer, flat iron and clothes steamer.
Above the rolling cart she has hung her shower caddy; we attached a hook to it so it can hang in the shower and this allows her to easily hang it in her closet out of the way when not in use.
It was so much fun thinking of all of these ideas on how to maximize the little space you get in a dorm while making it functional, comfortable and cute. She just loves her dorm and her friends do, too! Nothing we did cost too much and all of it will continue with her to future dorms and apartments, too. By picking a color scheme of Pink, Grey, White and Black, it was easy for everything to coordinate and I love planning a space and keeping it on a budget.
My hope in doing all of this was to alleviate as much homesickness and stress she might feel and judging by how much fun she’s having I’d say it is a success!