Your dorm room is your first real home away from home. It’s the place you get to call your own for the first time in your life, regardless of whether you have a roommate.
While many people advise college students not to go overboard decorating their dorm rooms, there’s really no reason not to make sure your dorm is comfortable. It’s where you’ll live, sleep, study, and survive your college years.
You might as well make it as relaxing, rejuvenating, and comfortable as possible.
Put comfort first
It doesn’t matter if you sleep on a mattress on the floor, a bunk bed, or a luxurious king-sized bed. If your mattress isn’t comfortable, you’re not going to sleep well.
Do yourself a favor and make sure that the first thing you do when furnishing your dorm is to install a comfortable mattress on which to spend your resting hours.
Check policies
Since you know you can have a bed in your dorm, there’s no need to check college policies about that. However, before you go buying appliances and other decorations, check with your college to be sure it doesn’t restrict what you can and cannot have in your room.
It’d be a crying shame to spend all that money on a new mini-fridge and toaster oven, only to find out you can’t have them in your room after all.
Consider your space
Again, before you go out and let mom and dad spend a ton of money on expensive desks and/or other furniture, check the space in your room and consider what you can really afford to put there. You want space to spread out and not feel cramped, so don’t go overboard with the decorating.
Additionally, you might have a roommate and that means you’ll need to consider what he or she might bring into the space. That being said, be ready to pare down your furnishings a bit to accommodate your roommate(s) if need be. You don’t want to start off your dorm life on a bad note.
We could list a number of specific items you might need and not need in your dorm, but the fact of the matter is that furnishing this room is a highly personal task. Some students might not have a problem with borrowing the printer at the library, but you might need your own in your dorm.
The above tips will help you furnish your room to the best possible manner, and allow you comfort and stability.
