Welcome to part two of our decorating series. As I mentioned in part one, even if you don’t have a dorm room to deck out, many of these ideas are adaptable for an apartment office, bedroom, child’s room, or other small spaces. For those of us decorating on a budget, I’ve included wallet-friendly options with Pottery Barn style.
Planners and Calendars
Fail to plan = plan to fail. Lucky for you, there are lots of tools available to help you manage your time well, and keep track of your assignments and social life.
2. Budget: You’re almost guaranteed a lovely day with this floral ban.do planner from Papersource ($20.00). It comes with stickers!
Whiteboards and Message Boards
Make it easy for someone to let you know they stopped by, or just say hi.
5. Splurge: Make a great first impression with the Victorian Frame Dry-Erase Message Board Decal from Pottery Barn Teen for $59.00.
Hang out Space
Most likely, our favorite memories after four years of school will be the times you spent with friends. So make your space comfortable, and memorable!
Deck the walls with some decals!
7. Splurge: Apartment Therapy has this post on decals and removable wallpaper, with lots of options.
8. Splurge: When I went to college, I really liked the look of the blue and green bubble decals from PB Teen. But I didn’t have $50 to spend on them.
Seating
These round chairs might be the best reading chairs you’ll ever sit in. They are SO comfortable.
12. Splurge: these chairs from PB Teen cost over $100 each.
13. Budget: They might be a little smaller, but the price difference is enough to convince me they’re worth it. $50 for Dish Chairs on Amazon
Storage
When living in a small space, making the most of storage space is crucial. Let’s start with your closet:
14. Splurge: This classy shoe rack holds 18 pairs ($40.65).
15. Budget: I used one of these for my shoes, but you could use it for extra drawer space, storing books, towels, or whatever fits in the compartments ($14.99 on Amazon).
17. Make the most of your closet shelves with these dividers. I think these are pretty much genius! Use them to maximize your vertical shelf space in any closet.
19. Budget: For literally just a few cents more, you can buy TWELVE of these plastic shoe boxes. I can’t seem to have enough of these: they’re the perfect size for holding everything from craft supplies to all the cords to and chargers to various electronics to school supplies. And of course, actual shoes.
20. Here’s a tip I wish I’d known earlier: make use of your door space! You can always hang a shoe organizer over it. Apartment Therapy has 10 ideas for ways to use an over the door shoe organizer.
21. But what about an over the door ironing board ($36.00)?
24. A clothes hamper?
If you don’t have a loft bed, you can also make the most of the space underneath your bed.
27. Get more space underneath by putting your bed on risers, like these 6-inch black bed risers
29. Budget: Underbed storage bag, for $5.99.
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