Dorm decor galore: 5 DIY projects to brighten up your college room
College-bound freshmen: You’ve got your room assignments, you’ve Facebook-ed your soon-to-be roommates and perhaps you’ve already bought coordinating extra long twin sheets.
Let us ladies — just don’t call us m’aam — offer you a little friendly advice. Don’t freak out when you first open your dorm room door! That tiny square of institutional-looking space is your personal canvas to decorate.
We’ve found five projects that will surely add splashes of color and personality to your room and make it feel like your dorm sweet dorm.
And, they’re all do-it-yourself and can be done on a budget so, you know, you can still manage to write that tuition check.
Peace wreath: Lots of your fellow students will probably be stringing Christmas lights around their rooms to give it a little twinkle. But you can kick it up a notch and make them look like rookies. A lighted floral peace sign will give your room a cheerful and bohemian glow. Plus, peace is always in style. Lisa — an artist who runs LisaLoria.blogspot.com — posted the full tutorial on her blog. She used a rounded light fixture from Ikea and shortened some faux flowers to weave through the sign.
Drab to fab chair: We guarantee your parents have a few folding chairs collecting dust in the garage or basement. While they’re practical, they certainly aren’t pretty. Until now. Jenn — a DIY genius who blogs at My Fabuless Life — can show you how to transform them into the most gorgeous chairs ever. For the project, she armed herself with spray paint, fabric, a staple gun and 1 inch screws. For her paint colors, she used Valspar Brushed Rose and Mellow Spring from Lowes. These chairs are perfect for the dorm because you can fold them up to save space and unfold them when you have guests over. Check out Jenn’s full tutorial here and see the different fabrics she used for these fab chairs.
Instagram frames: You’re snapping awesome photos on your iPhone and dressing them up with filters. Those snapshots don’t just have to live on your phone or Facebook page. In fact, all of those cute Instagram photos can be turned into a perfectly curated collage. At Printsagram, you can turn your snapshots into a framed poster, mini prints, a poster or even little stickers.
DIY headboard: How awesome of a mom is Trish over at The Old Post Road? She crafted a headboard for her daughter to put behind her twin bed in her sorority house bedroom. Using a gray damask printed fabric, plywood, quilt batting, and a staple gun, Trish crafted the headboard. It perfectly complemented her daughter’s blue and green toss pillows. Here’s a full tutorial for the dorm room headboard.
DIY Tissue Paper Tassel garland: Jen and Jess are sisters who run the adorable blog Linen, Lace & Love, a depot of beautiful do-it-yourself projects, delicious recipes, and a dose of beauty and fashion. We love their DIY Tissue Paper Tassel Garland tutorial because it promises to give your dorm room a pop of glam. Just imagine it above your desk, draped across your mirror or strung above your closet door. They show us a little bit of tissue paper can go a long way. And this is most definitely a project you can do on a college budget.
Headed off to college? Save money on dorm room essentials at Target, Wal-Mart, Bed, Bath and Beyond and The Container Store.
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