Campus Castle: Creative Ideas for Decorating Your Dorm Room

One of the biggest problems with dormitory life is that there is a long, tedious list of things that you cannot do with your room - which, incidentally, probably costs more per semester than your high school spent on prom. The rules laid out in your contract usually forbid holes in the walls, anything with an open flame, and weapons, but each school has its own specific restrictions. Once you've consulted your housing contract to figure out what you cannot do, you can find ways to decorate your space without irritating your RA.

First and foremost, you must remember that any health or safety violations will endanger everyone who lives in your room or suite as well as earn you a large fine. If, for example, your dorm handbook forbids hanging things from the ceiling or off of fire sprinklers, find other places to display your model airplanes, posters or other decorations. It's not worth the risk or the extra money: isn't the school already getting enough as it is?

Now that the boring part is finished, you can take a step back and look at your room from as many angles as possible. Figure out where light hits the walls and windows. Look for odd-shaped nooks or cut-outs that can be used in creative ways. Take in the colors of the walls and carpeting, as well as any furniture or personal effects that are already in place, and imagine what colors and shapes will work with them. The more aesthetically pleasing your room, the more you will enjoy spending time there this semester. Remember: this is the place where you will sleep, study and hang out for the next three and a half to four months.

One example is to find a small cutaway in one wall: a place where it dips in, possibly because there is an electrical access sector or some other important thing on the other side. What will fit in that nook? You can use your imagination to dream up all sorts of decorations that you can put in that place. Remember to think about colors: a lime-green end table with a hot pink inflatable flamingo sitting atop it just won't work well on beige carpet.