24 DIY College Dorm Room Ideas
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Your college dorm room is probably the first place you have where you can fully express yourself and who you are.
Unfortunately, buying a bunch of decorations, organization tools and anything else for your dorm can really break the bank.
There’s a lot of things you can do yourself, and this saves a ton of money. Plus, you get to customize stuff just how you want to make your college dorm room the best it can be.
Here’s 24 DIY college dorm room ideas.
DIY DORM ROOM IDEAS
1. MINI FRIDGE ORGANIZATION
The fridge in your dorm room will probably be the hardest to organize. These small drawers make organizing your mini fridge in your dorm a little bit easier!
Get them here:
2. FIRST AID KIT
Keeping a first aid kit in your dorm is a great idea! I didn’t have one my first year and I ended up borrowing a lot of stuff from my friends.
Making your own is a great idea and is a lot cheaper than buying a pre-made one! You can get most of these supplies at the dollar store.
3. HOLD YOUR GARBAGE BAG IN PLACE
Holding your garbage bag in place with command hooks is a really great idea!
Try and reuse any plastic bags with handles that you get from stores, too!
Get command hooks here:
4. MIRROR AND FLOWER DECOR
DIY decor is always cheaper, and allows you to customize your dorm room even further by making your own decorations.
Copy this:
5. DIY COFFEE STATION
A personal coffee station in your dorm is so cute, and super handy!
I love how this one uses two levels and has some faux flowers as a decoration.
Copy this:
{RELATED: 21 BEDDING IDEAS FOR YOUR COLLEGE DORM}
6. DIY CALENDAR
This calendar is super easy to make, and you can get paint swatches from your local hardware store!
This calendar is rainbow, but you can get paint swatches that match your dorm theme perfectly.
7. FOOD STORAGE
Keeping food in your dorm room is an absolute must, and this is such a space saving way to do it!
Copy this:
8. MICROWAVE/FRIDGE ORGANIZATION
I love how this college dorm room organized this shelving unit!
In my dorm room we stacked the microwave on top of the fridge, and then my keurig and brita filter on top of that. This worked, but this organization system looks so much more stable and neat!
Copy this:
9. GEOMETRIC PICTURE DECOR
This is such a great way to display pictures in your dorm. I love how the geometric pattern is rosegold, too!
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10. HANGING PLANTS
This is such a cute way to hang plants in a window sill!
These could be fake plants or real plants, just be wary of how much sun your room will be receiving!
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{RELATED: 17 DORM ROOM DECOR IDEAS}
11. LABELED DRAWERS
When it comes to your dorm room, you can never get enough organization!
This is a great way to label your drawers and keep some extra organization in your college dorm room.
Spray paint the drawers with black chalkboard paint, and add labels with a chalk marker!
Copy this:
12. IVY, LIGHTS, AND TAPESTRY
There are so many great ideas in this dorm room. I especially love the faux ivy, lights, and tapestry surrounding the bed!
Copy this here:
13. HANG A POWER STRIP
Hanging your power strip on your bedpost or another piece of furniture is a great idea!
I personally hung mine with both zip ties and command strips, because I found that just one or the other wasn’t strong enough if the cord got bumped at all.
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14. DIY GALLERY WALL
A gallery wall is such a cute addition to any dorm, and I love how this one uses posters that are larger than a general picture.
This DIY college dorm room uses a simple strand of lights to border the gallery wall. I think that’s a great idea, since it’s so affordable!
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15. TRANSFORM A TRASH CAN
This is such a great idea to transform a cheap trash can into a super fancy trash can or makeshift basket!
Copy this:
{RELATED: 18 COLLEGE DORM ROOMS YOU NEED TO COPY}
16. UPGRADE PLASTIC DRAWERS
Adding some extra drawers anywhere in your dorm room is always a great idea.
This DIY college dorm room idea is great for matching some cheap desktop drawers to your dorm room theme!
Copy this:
17. CANDY JAR ORGANIZATION
I love this DIY dorm room idea! You’ll realize quickly that you have quite a few odds and ends in your dorm, and this is such a cute way to store them.
You can spray paint the lids of these jars to match your theme even further!
Copy this:
18. 9 CUBE ORGANIZER
I love this idea of leaving some of the cubes in this 9 cube organizer for decor! This is such a cute way you can make a larger organization unit into a decor piece as well.
Copy this:
19. SPRAY PAINT CAN ORGANIZER
Here is a simple way to make a DIY desktop organizer! I love how cheap this is to make, and you can paint the cans to match your theme perfectly.
Copy this:
20. DIY BASKET
This is a great way to make a cheap basket for your dorm room!
since this basket is originally made out of a box, it’s perfect for picking the perfect size.
Copy this:
21. PEEL-AND-STICK ACCENT WALL
Most dorm rooms have those drab cinder block walls. If you want to bring these boring walls to life and take it a step further than wall art, a wallpaper accent wall is the cutest and easiest idea! Don’t worry, this peel-and-stick wallpaper is super easy to apply and remove, so you won’t do any damage to your dorm.
I love how it looks with wall prints and a neon sign layered on top for extra dimension.
22. MORE CLOSET SPACE
Here’s a quick trick for adding more closet storage space without bringing in any clunky plastic drawers–hanging closet organizers! This is the best way to maximize your dorm closet space and create more storage for socks and undergarments.
23. VINYL WALL ART
Hand-painted vinyl records are such a unique and crafty way to add decor to your dorm walls. I also think this would be a really fun activity to do with your roommate.
24. DRAWER ORGANIZERS
I got one dresser with three drawers in my first college dorm, which wasn’t nearly enough room. These drawer dividers will help you get the most out of your minimal space and keep it organized.
