Top 5 Tips!

Well we’ve come to the end of these blog posts. Kinda sad really. Cue dramatic montage of me staring at my computer screen for 2 hours. I thought to wrap it up I would give you my top 5 favorite tips from these posts. I hope you can take these and implement them your room or just enjoy looking at these cute pictures. Ok lets jump into it.

Tip #5 – Photo Lines

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This was a really popular trend in a lot of the rooms I covered. They are a cute and easy way to cover wall space.  In these pictures they are present four different ways to execute this Idea. The lower right picture, Lobna, used decorative ribbon and little cloths pins to show of a bunch of cute photo strips. The rectangular photo strips fill the space really well. Maddie in the bottom right has matching polaroids matted on grey paper. Very cohesive and put together if thats the look your going for.  Lucy’s photo strip in the top right is all classic printed photos on twine inter-spliced with some cute quotes which just gives off really positive vibes. Finally in the top left, Emily, has a little bit of everything, give it a cool eclectic look. These are a multitude of cool and creative ways to display pictures.

Tip #4 – Covered Bulletin Boards.

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These bulletin boards from Maddi and Lizzie’s room are still one of my all time favorite dorm hacks.It is an easy and cheap way to add a major pop of color. Maddie’s mom bought them each a pad of scrapbook paper in complementary colors (Pads run at $10-$20) and then stapled them all up and cut them to fit in every little corner. Cute. Easy. Love

 

Tip #3 – Cute and Functional Decor

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This has been one of my old reliable tips throughout these posts. Make you decor cute and functional. Molly’s bed on the left, has some on theme bins underneath to store extra food, cloths you name it. These bins tie in perfectly with her bed spread and do a good job of hiding the less than pretty contents inside. Kristen’s room on the right, has her wall covered in cute and functional things. She has a cute gold calendar that adds decorative and organizational elements. As well as a black white board to leave nice little notes. Cute. Functional. Love it.

 

Tip #2 DIYs, DIYs, and more DIYs.

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These are two of my favorite DIYs. on the right have Taylors room. Her bulletin board and mirror were both thrift shop finds that she transformed. The bulletin board she covered in fabric and studded on the edges. As for the Mirror, she painted the frame blue, giving this piece new life. On the right we have Molly’s DIY Penn State Lily Politzer poster. How she made this I have no clue. But its beautiful and I want one.

Ok now the moment we are all waiting for. Number one. Drum roll please……….

 

Tip #1 – LIGHTS!

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Mood lighting has become on of my favorite things to see in a dorm. On the left is Nicks lights that change color from blue to green to purple to red. I loved these lights. They made your room a party. What more can you ask for? On the left are Kristen’s ceiling star lights. These were hands down the coolest light placement. She made her own little constellations and I’m involve with this idea. What a nice thing to fall asleep too.

Well thats all for Dorm Sweet Dorm. Thank you to everyone who read these past 10 posts. Let me know what your favorite room or tip has been. Until next time… or I guess just goodbye.

XX

Pretty in Pollock

Hello! And welcome back to Dorm Sweet Dorm. After a week off I am back and ready to give you another great dorm so lets go head and jump in to it.

This week I went to Lobna and Simran’s Dorm in Ritner Hall. Lobna Is a good friend of one of my friends and one night she volunteered to do my make up. So I went into her room and saw how cute it was and knew I had to cover it. She and her roommate are so sweet So lets take a look starting with Simran’s side.

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Simran has created a cool and functional space. One thing I really like about the dorms in Pollock is that they have these great shelves that give the room some great organizational features. This also allows for some great design opportunities which brings me to tip one! Tip #1 – Use the features in the room as additional decor. Simran put pictures and quotes on top of her book case which is a super easy way to decorate. Just place them on top!

If you look to the right of Simran’s desk you see she put a little vertical bookshelf on her desk. This is a really smart tip I definitely would not have thought of. Tip #2 – Use a vertical shelf on your desktop to add more storage. Vertices shelving is always the way to go in a a dorm room size space, because there isn’t a lot of horizontal space.  This is a super simple way to add more storage without taking up more space.

It seems like every dorm at Penn State has an ugly cork board in the middle of the room. Simian covered hers with a big beautiful blue calendar. Tip #3 – A calendar is a cute and functional way to cover space. There are all kinds of really cute calendars out there that you can purchase to keep you organized and bring your color scheme to an other wise dull part of the room.

Ok thats all for Simran’s side! Lets move on to Lobna’s side.

454bdce6-fe98-40a8-bc6e-69cf0376a4c8 cc3ddbc7-0200-4723-a608-a586c088407f aa59bed2-fc08-41e6-9f07-bb9e0fee2e76First lets look at Lobna’s desk. I am in love with her bullient board. She had a lot of photo strips she wanted to display so she did it in a really creative way. Tip #1- be creative with your photo displays. Loan’s got string and tiny cloths pins and put up her photos like a cloths line. Plus she had enough to cover the whole board so the ugly brown color is almost completely gone. I love the look of this and the creative aspect of it is so cool.

The rooms in Pollock come with the two beds touching each other forming an L shape.  Lobna and Simran weren’t crazy about that shape so they rearranged. Tip #2 – don’t be afraid to switch up your room. The two beds being vertical opens up the room and creates a lot more space for activities. Just switch it up and see how it looks! Can’t hurt to try!

Above Lobna’s bookcase she has these really cute lantern lights. While lights are a very common dorm decoration you don’t have to always use the typical christmas lights. Tip #3 – Use  different types of lights to create different moods in your room. These lights lighten up the space and are a really unique touch!

Well thats it for this dorm! Let me know what you think! Only one dorm left after this one. Its kinda sad because there are so many more cute dorms to explore. Well anyway, until next time!

XX

Top of Tener

Hello! Welcome back to Dorm Sweet Dorm. This week  My hall mates on the 9th floor were kind enough to let me tour their space. I have been wanting to do their dorm for awhile so lets jump right in!

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Meet Kirsten (left) and Siru (right). Siru is an international student from Shri Lanka, a small island off the coast of india. Kristen I from a suburb outside of Pittsburg. Lets look at their room starting with Kristen’s side!

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Kristen’s side of the room is pink and gold! Her comforter is adorably adorned with little gold elephants and on top she has a pink boyfriend pillow which is perfect for doing home work in bed. On her back wall she has some firefly lights, which are smaller and more delicate than christmas lights. Either light can give your room some cool ambiance it just depends what kind of a look you are going for.

749a7889-6378-487f-b15d-e0d5bf961df1The rest of her decorations include a DIY galaxy painting, a black “white” board and a gold calendar (cue tip 1). Tip #1 – Use functional items to cover wall space and keep you organized. This adorable gold calendar covers that white wall space and keeps Kristen’s head on straight by telling her when things are! Cute and functional! Love it.

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Kristen has these adorable little succulents living on her desk that give her room life. Tip #2 – Use plants to liven up your room. These cute little cacti were $3 each!! $3!!  They are so cute and affordable and easy to, you just place them somewhere that gets occasional sunlight and water them a little bit once a week. Such an easy way to add life to your room.

Now this is mine, and Kristen’s, favorite part of her side. When you lay on her bed and look up you see THIS:

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THAT”S RIGHT! In Kristen has created her own little constellation on her ceiling and it is beautiful. Tip #3 – Use christmas lights to create your own star show. This lighting gives the room some dim, warm, light and just looks amazing. I’m in love with this idea.

Ok Lets take it to the right and look at Siru’s side!

a36f1803-129f-45fb-9cb6-40fe0edebb96The first thing you notice about Siru’s side is BLUE. She was a very clear and consistent color scheme that really pops against the white walls. Tip #1 – Don’t be afraid to take one color and run with it. Her bed and her desk are covered in blue accessories giving it a very cohesive look.

If you’ll notice, Siru’s bed faces the opposite way than most people’s beds do in east halls. She was her head near her desk and her feat near the window. This got me thinking, this isn’t such a bad idea. Tip #2 – face your head toward your window for a nice view when you wake up. If you let natural sunlight wake you up its better for your mental health.Wake up the way nature intended, with the sun in your face.

As an international student Siru understandably gets very homesick. So her walls are covered in memories and gifts from her friends. She has a canvas covered in her friends hand prints, a canvas with pictures and messages from her friends and a little pillowcase her friends made her (I didn’t match her bed’s color scheme so she hung it on the wall). On bolster next to her bed she has tons of pictures of her friends from back home but her favorites are these two.

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Tip #3 – Make art with your friends from home to decorate your dorm. This personal and sentimental art can get you through tough times in college. Plus remind you of home. And you can personalize it to match your room perfectly.

Well thats all for this post! Let me know what you think of Kristen and Siru’s room!

Until next time!

XX

Party at Athertons’

Hello! And welcome back to Dorm Sweet Dorm. At this point in my blogging adventure you might be wondering why I haven’t done a boys dorm yet. Well obviously its because boys are icky and they have cooties and I’m not willing to put my health at risk. But this week I put my own interest aside and ventured into Nick and Melecio’s room for a tour. Now as I have found about most boys dorms, their decorations are minimal, so I’ll be giving three tips for the whole dorm, hope thats ok with everyone. Ok now lets jump into this room!

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The first think you notice when you walk into this room is THE LIGHTS! Is that not the coolest  thing you have ever seen? A dorm can be a stark, white and bland space but with a simple strand of LED’s they have completely transformed the room! Tip #1 – Turn your room into a party with colorful LED lights. College can be hard, so this fun twist can lighten your mood and bring in an element of fun. Your room will no doubt become the hang out spot for all of your friends. Bring the party right to you.

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Next lets look at Nick and Melecio’s Beds. Melecio is on the left and Nick is on the right. As you can see, they both have a flag hanging on their walls representing the countries their families are from. Melecio is has the flag of Mexico and Nick has the flag of Ecuador. This a great way to put a little bit of you on the wall. Tip #2 – Flaunt you heritage. Theres really nothing more personal than your ethnicity, so this might be the personal touch to end all personal touches. Nothing can speak more about who you are than a flag, plus they are in expensive and take up a lot of wall space; a win, win, win!

Nick’s wall is decked out with posters. He has one of Biggie and Tupac, one of the New York City Skyline and one of his favorite movie. Once again I will tell you all UTLIZE THE POSTER SALE! Tip #3 – Check out school events like the poster sale. Poster sale is convenient, easy and affordable way to get decorations and cover wall space. Plus they have something for everyone. Your favorite artist, your favorite movie or just pictures matching your room theme, almost anyone can find something to  match their room theme and personality.

Side note: how cute is nicks bed spread? He said his mom got it for him and it has horses on it so he used it. She was so happy about it he could not say no. I love it so sweet.

Thats it for this weeks dorm! Let me know what you think of it! Thanks to Nick and Melecio for letting me explore their room. If you have a cool dorm and want me to cover it, come up and say hi! I would love to see your room. Well, until next time!

XX

Atherton Safari

Hello and welcome back to Dorm Sweet Dorm! This week I ventured to the honors dorms in Atherton Hall and I have to say I am jealous. The honors kids have it made down there. Air conditioning and private bathrooms? Ugh. Anyway I won’t get into it lets get to this weeks room.

img_3308-jpgSo as I said, this weeks dorm is in a Atherton, in the dorm of Allie and Taylor. Allie and Taylor have two very contrasting sides. Look at this dope panorama that Taylor took for me! this gives us a really cool 360 (well not quite) view of their room. So of course per usual, lets work left to right, starting on Taylor’s side!

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Taylor’s side is a pink and blue paradise! She uses a navy comforter to anchor the room. Navy is a neutral color so it acts nicely as a base for her room. Her pink pillows and light blue blanket then build up off the bed and onto the walls. On her walls she has a bulletin board and  mirror that she got from a yard sale and revamped, which is tip number one! Tip #1 – Check out thrift shops and yard sales for items to transform! Taylor took that old mirror and gave it a new life by painting it a cute shade of blue! She also took an old bulletin board and covered it in cute fabric, which is a really cute and cheap way to make an amazing decoration.

Hanging on their ceiling are these adorable paper mache starts. If you look at the top of the picture you can see one dangling above the room. She got these at a local shop in her home town so of course this is tip two. Tip #2 – Check out local shops for cool and unique decor. This is an easy way to have really decor no one else has. Your room will be one of a kind.

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In Taylor’s closet she has cute and functional storage bin! If you often read these posts you know thats one of my favorite things to have a in a room, things that are cute and functional. But she put hers in her closet for added storage. Tip #3- Put stage bins in your closet for added organization. In college, a lot of time your closet just consists of a negative space in the room, so buying bins for storage can help you organize your cloths.

Ok thats all for taylor’s side! Lets take it to the right for Allie’s side.

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Immediately, you notice the difference between the two sides. I like this element of the room because you really see the personalities of these two girls. Allie’s side is inspired by her travels in Kenya (hence the super post title, Atherton safari, like african safari). Her whole wall is filled with souvenirs from her journey. When telling me about her room I could hear how passionate she was about Kenya. “I love that country to much”, she expressed to me several times, so this has to be Allie’s first tip. Tip #1 – Decorate your room with things from your travels. Of course not all of us have been lucky enough to travel like Allie,  vacations are usually happy memories so having memorabilia from trips can put you in an uplifting mode.

Allie’s comforter is a tapestry used as a blanket. I love this because people often forget the original use for a tapestry, it’s a blanket! Tip #2 – Get a tapestry as a blanket. Tapestries make a great base for the room and for colorful pillows like the orange ones in this picture.

img_3311When looking around their room one of the things I immediately noticed was the license plate hanging above the door. I asked them to tell me where it came from and Allie told me her sister brought it back for her from India. This piece immediately triggered a conversation between the two of us, which is my 3rd and final tip for Allie. Tip #3 – put up conversation pieces to start conversations with potential friends. Making friends is hard, like really hard. So having a conversation piece, can make that difficult process that much easier.

Thats all for this week! Big thanks to Allie and Taylor for letting me invade their space. Until Next time!

XX

Double the Roommates, Double the Fun

Hey friends! Welcome back to Dorm Sweet Dorm! This is my 5th post which means were halfway though our time together which is sad because I’ve loved doing these posts every week. But all thats aside, I have a really cool room for you this week so lets get into it!

This week we have a quad. Thats right a QUAD. Double the roommates, double the fun.

img_1577Meet (from left to right) Luci, Emily, Molly, and Haleigh. You probably recognize Emily from our class. She was nice enough to ask me to come over and cover her dorm so big shout out to Emily for being so awesome. This week I’m gonna switch it up a little bit and move left to right (I know I’m wild). So lets start on the far right with Emily’s area.

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I’m loving the vibe in Emily’s part of the room. She has used yellow, orange and brown tones to create a really vintage feel. The use of the neutral patterned bed spread coupled with the solid, pop of color blanket adds a layer of dimension to bed. She incorporates a lot of colorful pillows which can serve a functional purpose during the day, turning the bed into sort of a couch. Then at night when its time to sleep, the pillows will make it super comfy.

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Emily’s favorite aspect of her space is her personal photo line’s hanging above the bed and above the desk. These mimic an old fashion cloths line which furthers the rooms vintage theme, while adding a super cute personal touch.

My favorite part of Emily’s area has got to be her dresser.

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This record player is the icing on the vintage room cake. It adds an old world feel that only this true relic could add. Record players like these aren’t all that uncommon surprisingly, but one like this could be purchased at urban outfitters (you know the one in downtown state college?) So if you digging this feel maybe take a trip to UO and pick one up!

 

Ok on to the next section of this room, Luci’s area!

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Lucy’s part carries a lot of the themes of Emily’s over creating a really cohesive look. They both use muted tones, pillows a create a sort of couch, and clotheslines to hang pictures. Lucie adds some quotes written on a sort of repurposed wood surface. This coupled with the tie-dye print bedspread adds some boho chic to her space that I’m loving. Plus she has a lava lamp on her desk, which I am jealous of because who wouldn’t want a lava lamp. My favorite part go her area though, has got to be her Keurig. Let’s face it, what college student doesn’t need coffee? A Keurig is a quick, easy and CHEAP way to get coffee.

Alright moving right along, next we go into the little room attached onto the main room. This Room houses Molly and Haleigh. Lets take a peak at their stuff starting with Haleigh!

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Haleigh’s bed is covered in my favorite animal, ELEPHANTS!  Her  whole bed is very tribal with the elephant pillows and blanket plus the tribal print comforter. One great thing Haleigh did here was, she was not afraid to mix colors. She has blue’s and pinks and greens, that compliment each other really well. Color mixing can really go wrong if not don’t appropriately but Haleigh nailed it. On her wall, she shows a different way to display personal photos. Her’s are very clean and linear. Not to say one is better than the other, there are just multiple ways to arrange personal photos based on your personal taste. Next to her bed she as an adorable white night stand. The white works really well because it is a neutral color so you can easily build off of it. She has put a little terrium which brings some life to space and an alarm clock. Under neath she has a few accessories in metallic tones which play nicely off of the white night stand. Love this touch!!

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Haleigh’s desk has to be one of my favorite pats of this whole room. She’s filled it with cute desk decor thats both functional and pretty. Even her bins at the top are copper wire which add a really cool metallic element to the space. I’m totally loving this desk.

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On the opposite side of her bed she has just put up a few finishes touches. The cork board makes for a great organizational tip with just a few decorative elements to really make the space feel complete. Plus a little Penn State swag because why not? Haleigh really decorated every inch of her space which makes it feel really comfortable and home-y.

 

Last, but definitely not least is Molly’s area. Molly loves color and patterns which is definitely reflected in her space.

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Molly’s room a very different style then her roommates. She has a ver cohesive and colorful room. All her pillows and decor match her patterned bed spread. She even has a cute DIY’d “WE ARE” poster in her chosen pattern. Plus the cute little seasonly appropriate white board. Even the little whale on her wall matches her bed spread, and is also storage! Once again cute and convenient.

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Molly is also making the most of her under the bed storage. In color appropriate baskets (of course) she keeps everything from food to beauty products!

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Molly’s desk continues her theme of blue and pink patterns. She has pink frames and storage and even her desk calendar matches her room theme. She’s got some cute personal photos that brighten up her desk and add an element of personalization.

 

My absolute Favorite part of this dorm is how you can see each girls personal style reflected in their area of the room.  they even each have a monogram on their desks that reflects their personal style (and it wasn’t even planned!) Aside from the fact that they are the first letter of their names, you can clearly tell whose letter is whose.

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Well thats all for this dorm. I think its been my favorite one so far. Tell me whose room is your favorite in the comments! Again big thanks to Emily for showing me around her place. Well, until next time!

XX

Coral in Curtain

Hey Guys!! Welcome back once again to  Dorm Sweet Dorm! This week I ventured out down the hall from the dorm last week (I know I’m so brave) To Kasey & Liz’s place and I was lucky enough to have then show me around! So per usual, lets start from left to right and take a look around.

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Here we are on Kasey’s side of the room. Her side has multiple coral accents (look the lamp almost blends in with the bed). This bright pop of pink contrast so well with the white cinder block prison like feel of the dorm. on the back wall she has son personal photos hanging on a super cute cloths line type thing that adds a really cool boho feel. but of course the back wall is the star of the show and is also Tip one!

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Tip #1 – Use a Tapestry to cover a lot of space easily. It can get tedious and expensive, so a tapestry is a really easy way to take away some of that harsh white (because like I said, its prison like). The next thing I noticed about Kasey’s side is the lights right above the bed. So cute right? Tip #2 – Be creative with your lights. Everyone does christmas lights in their dorm, if you arrange them in a cool and creative way, it can be a really interesting way to personalize your dorm. Alright lets take a look at Kasey’s desk.

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Now Kasey is the most Spirited student at Penn State. She has loved PSU ever since she was little so naturally she has a Penn state football poster so obviously this is tip three. Tip #3  – Show your school pride.  Here they sell Penn State EVERYTHING so check out some local shops for some cool PSU decor for your room!

Ok lets move on over to the right and take a look at Liz’s side.

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Liz has a gold and teal theme and if you read my week one post you know that I LOVE gold. So tip one is one of my personal favorites. Tip #1 – Use metallics to offset the white of the room. Metallics really contras with the white walls in the dorm so this will really add a pops of color as you can see on her back wall with the polka dots and the “E”. Now lets take this over  to Liz’s desk shall we?

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Liz also has those touches of PSU swag and the covered bulletin board adds a really sophisticated touch. Tip two has to do with the cute little items on the desk.

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Tip #2 – add cute little touches in your color scheme. LOOK AT THAT ADORABLE OWL MUG. Ugh I have serious desk envy here. These accessories really complete the room and make it look whole and well thought out. Then as we move down her desk we see a very important thing, storage.

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Tip #3 – Look for cute and functional desk accessories. She has multiple cute desk accrues that double as storage and organization pieces that are also gold and fit in her color scheme. I love the color conjugation through out this dorm. It is really well thought out and cute!!

Alright thats all for this time! Tell me what you think of these tips and Kasey and Liz’s dorm! Special thank you to them for letting me invade their space! Well be sure take a mint on your way out! Until next time!

XX

Corridor in Curtain

Hey!! Welcome back to Dorm Sweet Dorm! Got a great room for you this week so sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

Meet Sereita and Kayla. They are residence of Curtain Hall in East and two of my best friends. Their dorm is my go to hang out spot so lets take a look at what they got. dorm3-1

When you walk in this room is really inviting. One of my favorite parts of their room is the magnets on the fridge. It’s just a fun touch that makes you laugh and adds a little humor to the room. Alright, lets work through this room from left to right. dorm3-2 This is Sereita’s side of the room. hanging above her bed are some christmas lights or  “fairy lights”. Which takes me right into Sereita’s first tip! Tip #1- Use christmas lights to add mood lighting. Christmas lights are a really easy way to spice up your space, for cheap. You can get them almost anywhere, but I find amazon has the best prices and variety. On Amazon you can get 40 foot strands, which make it really east to wrap them sound you whole room.

Next, on the wall Sereita has two posters, VOUGE poster and a poster of the classic New York times square kiss. She bought them both at the university poster sale at the hub, which is tip number 2! Tip #2- Check out events going on on campus! At the begining of the year (and through out the year) the university will often hold art shows or poster sales to help you decorate your new space! Take advantage of these opportunities to find col unique artwork to liven up your space. The Last tip and Sereita’s favorite part of her room: her picture wall. dorm3-3dorm3-4

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sereita filled her bulletin board with personal photos. Tip #3 (Sereita’s favorite tip)- Print a lot of personal photos. If you are someone who finds no use the giant bulletin board you are provided, cover it with photos! This adds a home-y element that will give you a cozy feel.

With that lets move (Beyoncé voice) “to the right to the right” to Kayla’s side!dorm3-5As you can see the lights continue over on to Kayla’s side (see the long strands work out). She has 3 signs that read (left to right) “Live With Intention, Be Bold in the Face of Adversity, Live The Life, You Were Destined For”, “You Are My Sunshine”, and “I Love You To The Moon and Back” (and of course the big light up “LOVE” sign.) Her wall is covered in cute insperational quotes, which is also Kayla’s first tip! Tip #1 – Put up inspirational quotes to keep you motivated throughout the year! Let’s be real, college can really get you down at times, so its important to keep your head up. Nothing can give you good energy like a good old fashion inspirational quote.

Kayla’s next tip if for those late night homework nights.

dorm3-6That’s right! Tip #2 – Get a bed side lamp for late night homework. We’ve all had to pull all nighters and this is a great way to have a light source that will only cause a mild irritation to your roommate if he/she is trying to sleep. This lamp is perfect for this room because the neutral grey color fits seamlessly into the room and the color scheme.

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On Kayla’s desk she has some personal photos of her and her adorable little siblings. But tip 3 is what makes her desk so comfortable. Tip #3- Bring your own chair from home for added comfort when studying. The chairs provided in your room are not the most comfortable, and studying is already not very fun. Luckily you can store you chair in the basement of your building and bring in a new chair to take a little bit of pain away from studying.

So whats Kayla’s favorite part of the dorm? Well if you lived in this room it would be your favorite part two.

dorm3-8Thats right!! The AC unit. It keeps there room so cool and they are one of the only people in their building (and in all of east) With AC. I know. I’m jealous too

Well thats all for this post! Thanks for hanging out! Let me know what you think of these tips and Kayla and Sereita’s dorm!

Until next time!

XX

Pink and Navy Paradise

Hey! Welcome back to dorm sweet dorm! Sit down and stay awhile!

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(Lizzie left, Maddie right)

This week I got a tour of Maddie and Lizzie’s dorm. Maddie and Lizzie live in Geary Hall in East residence halls. I met Lizzie at New Student Orientation and then Maddie once we had all moved in. They are the sweetest girls with a really cool sense of style so lets jump right in!img_1428

Right when You walk in this dorm has a really home-y feel. The first thing my eye goes too and personally my favorite part of the room is the adorable PSU banner. This banner was a gift that Maddie’s ultra crafty mom made for them to welcome you as you enter the room. Let’s take a closer look at each individual side, working from right to left so, starting with Maddie’s side!

img_1436Maddie’s side is really customized for her with, not one, but TWO monograms! “I got the M and the gold dots from Etsy.” Maddie told me. Which takes us to Maddie’s first tip! Tip #1- check out Etsy! Etsy is like eBay but for crafty things, so you can get some really unique and personal decor there to make your room really personal.Next, Maddie’s bed is covered in all kinds of pillows. This an essential for every dorm room because when your living ing a tiny room your bed doubles as your couch! So pillows are a must. “I got them from pottery barn and hobby lobby””, Maddie told me. This brings me to Tip two! Tip #2 – Don’t be afraid to shop around for the perfect pillows. If you get a lot of different pillows in your color scheme it gives your bed a cool eclectic vibe. Maddie’s final tip is about what is under the comforter and the sheets. Tip #3 – GET A BED BUG PROTECTOR! The ugly truth is, you have no idea how many people have used this mattress before you. So its important to get a bed bug protector to save yourself from a possible infestation.

Lastly, I asked Maddie what her favorite  Part of the room was she said “My M with all my pictures on it because it reminds me of home”

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This is a really cute personal touch. It incorporates a very theme apporpriate monogram and some personal photos.

 

Next we move to Lizzie’s side of the room. img_1440

Lizzie’s side has is navy and pink (of course) with pops of gold. She has an adorable little DIY painting of Pennsylvania on a wooden slab she purchased from Michaels. Next to that is a little gold clock from Walmart which plays nicely with the big gold monogram above her bed. She finishes the wall with a string of some personal photos. Lizzie’s first and most important tip is: Tip #1 – utilize under the bed storage. 

img_1429 “You can get bed risers so you can fit more stuff underneath. You can even get cute bins to hide the stuff inside.” said Lizzie. Here you can see under her bed she has snack, extra cleaning supplies and other things that just need a place to live. This way these little essentials are out of the way, keeping the room organized and clean

Lizzie’s 2nd tip is one of my personal favorites. Tip #2 – fill your room with nice smells. As a candle enthusiast I was bummed out about the no candles in the dorms rule. But Lizzie and Maddie have found two ways to incorporate nice smells into their room.

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On the left we have flameless incense and on the right a yankee candle plug in. The liquid in the incense evaporates filling the room with a fresh clean smell and the plug in periodically releases smell to prevent the old dorms fro smelling musty. This is a great tip because when your room smells good, you will feel good. Its good for your mental health and general well being, and its something you may not think to bring to college.

Lizzie’s 3rd and final piece of advice was one to live by. Tip #3 – Have at least 5 things that make you happy, otherwise its like prison. Its true these cinderblock walls can be quite depressing if they are naked. A happy room means a happy you so take advantage of the opportunity to create your own little oasis!

Finally, Lizzie’s favorite part of the room. “I love my pineapple pillow, and all my pillows on my bed”
img_1423Its no secret that I love gold pineapples (throwback to last post with my gold pineapple wall.) This adorable pillow is from Dormify.com, and serves as a bold pop of metallic on her neutral navy bed. I love this pillow and the statement it makes in the room.

So whats my favorite part of Maddie and Lizzie’s dorm? I’m so glad you asked! I love the way they DIY’d the heck out of their cork boards with pink and navy scrapbook paper.img_1434img_1437This is a super simple and cute way to add color to your otherwise white and brown room. All you need is a pad of scrapbook paper (available at Target, Walmart, Michaels, etc.) in your color scheme and a stapler and ta-da! You have a beautiful customized cork board!

Thanks for stopping by Dorm Sweet Dorm and an extra special thanks for Maddie and Lizzie for showing me their place. Let me know what you think of their room and their tips!

Until next time!

XX

 

(P.S. – If you think you have some good advice on dorm decor and would like to be featured one week come up and say hi! I;d love to feature you!)

CAS 137, Welcome To My Crib

To kick off my blog I thought I’d share my dorm! I had so much fun decorating my room and I’d love to share my wisdom on tiny interiors. So here my own personal 1/2 of a shoe box. (Note: My roommate preferred that her half of the room not be shown)img_1296

 

My first tip would be choose a very clear accent color. Obviously mine is gold. I wanted to go for a kind of luxury look, so I included a fur and a bull skull* (faux of course). The main wall has 3 8.5 X 11 posters, one world map, and a a gold “DREAM BIG” poster I purchased from Paper Source. Paper Source is a great hack for dorm purchases. They sell all kinds of cute stationary for really affordable prices. I finished the wall with some personal touches, which is also Tip #2! Personal touches are the quickest and easiest ways to turn a dorm into a home. On the right side I have two pieces of artwork my best friend of 12 years made for me. The top is an oil canvas painting that says “Dorm Sweet Dorm” (also the inspiration for this blog name) and the bottom is a smaller canvas with a picture of Ohio and Pennsylvania (She goes to Ohio State. Gross right?) with a quote that reads “Though life may take us miles a part, a friend is always near at heart”. Everyday these remind me that I always have her to depend on, plus they give me good vibes. Lastly, the bottom of the wall is some  black and white prints of my favorite album covers.

To tie the main wall together I have a few decorations on my bedside bolster. moving from right to left I have a  little gold rhino I got at target that perfectly brings my accent color to that aspect of the room, plus who doesn’t love rhinos? Next to that I have a little cube that says “All you need is love and a dog” which reflects my obsession with dogs (ask me about my dogs if you want to have a 2 hour conversation). Lastly I have a blooming monogram I DIY’d with my friends. Tip #3 is DO DIYS. They are a great and budget friendly way to add personal touches to your room.

And I couldn’t end this without talking about my PINEAPPLE WALL! This is by far my favorite Part of my room. I wanted a head board but I wasn’t sure how to go about this in college. Plus they can be pretty expensive. So when I came across WallPops.com which has tons of peel and stick decor, perfect for dorms. So I created my own Pineapple headboard for $14.99. Cute and cost effective!

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After that I finished with some gold desk accessories and a gold calendar on my cork board. Also I have to point out my cute little yellow coffee cart. I found it at an antique store in my home town for $30! my 5th and final tip for this post is check out antique and thrift stores for cheap, unique finds.

Well CAS 137, I hope you enjoyed my crib! Until next time!

XX

 

 

*Tragically, about 5 hours after being hung, my dear bull head, Sebastian, fell and broke. So he no longer hangs in his place of honor.