Have you been moved to a college dorm room and shattered to observe its tiny size?
Or you have a great overseas opportunity (job, study) but find out that your dorm room isn’t that big?
No problem.
Because we protected you!
Here are 21 budget-friendly minimalist dorm room ideas that will let you live like a boss in your tiny room.
Storage, organization, privacy, decor, time-saving solutions – they have it all.
So why wait?
We can’t rank them by importance because there is so much variation in what people consider most important to their dorm life.
You are calling for a new place, a new life, and some new products that will enhance your life in a new, undoubtedly unknown place, and make it valuable and peaceful.
Check out all these dorm room ideas and be sure to implement them for a relaxing lifestyle. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
Table of Contents
1. Utilize the space under the bed
This is one of the best tips for a minimalist dorm room. You can’t miss using the under-bed area.
But what are the options?
You can put your things in organizer bags and slide them under. It can store your quilts, photo frames, unused clothes, take-home gifts, etc. may contain.
Or you can put your sports accessories like golf clubs, footballs, tennis rackets and helmets there.
You can also smuggle wooden boxes or chests from your College or nearby places and store items in them.
Whatever it is, remember to use the maximum of this space. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
2. Get a rolling cart as a bedside table
You don’t normally use all of your nightstand drawers. So how about a trolley where each shelf is assigned for a specific purpose?
You can dedicate the bottom shelf to your medicines, moisturizer (if you’re female), and sleep masks, and the other shelf to books, bottles, glasses or magazines.
The idea is to use it as a side table, coffee table and storage cabinet – all in one.
Great idea, isn’t it? (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
3. No bed in front of the cupboards
You either live or live with your roommates, such an arrangement is a big, fat NO.
It violates the laws of architecture, looks extremely wrong, and takes up too much space.
Your dorm bed should always be at 90 degrees to the cabinets. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
4. Fold the clothes to save space
Wrapping and folding clothes “space-saving” isn’t just for traveling. You can also use it for your narrow dormitory cabinets and lockers.
This trick comes in really handy if you live with roommates and have a specific cupboard space reserved for you instead of separate cupboards.
They can save almost 40% of your closet space. There are several ways to fold. This video teaches you a little bit. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
5. Use mood lighting for a homey effect
Mood lighting goes a long way in creating a home-like ambiance and is an integral part of any minimalist dorm room decor.
What do we mean?
Get fixtures that can make up for any situation!
For example, get a low-light and romantic moonlight lamp for romantic nights.
Or cute string lights to decorate a particular part of your room or as party lights.
You can also add a holographic gorilla lamp to your room to make grueling work nights less boring and boring. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
6. Don’t miss the “Mighty” Ottoman
It can serve as an additional seating area for you, your friends and guests.
Buy one that has a storage unit inside so you can complete some essentials. In this way, you will have a sitting unit combined with the storage compartment.
It also enhances the beauty of the room without taking up too much space. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
7. Place organizers in the drawers
We don’t realize it, but most of the time we under-utilize the drawer space.
Say hello to helpful drawer organizers on this one.
It’s a clean and organized way to handle your essentials: underwear, stationery, perfumes or towels.
You can also choose modern adjustable divider packs if you want more versatility and customization inside them.
They give you the luxury of making units of your own choosing. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
8. Utilize the window sill
Utilizing every available area of the room is key when making your dorm room a comfortable place to live.
The window sill is one of those places where you can put your vases, stationery containers, bottles, watches or headbands.
This will definitely brighten up this part of the room. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
But be sure not to knock over items placed there. You’re likely to do it, especially if you have a movable window pane.
9. Hooks and magic tape everywhere
There won’t be a single dorm room ideas video that won’t discuss this tip.
People often focus on using floor space and completely forget how much potential they have in wall space.
Instead of putting your frames on the shelves, you can stick them on the walls with magic tape; it can be a curtain mounted behind the bed with adhesive hooks; charms can be hung on a wall to create a focal area, etc. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
10. Don’t miss the vertical space
There are other ways to use vertical space.
- Install wall-mounted baskets to store flowers, cleaning supplies or groceries.
- Hanging bookshelves look charming and can clear a large area of your desk.
- Over-the-door laundry baskets and shoe racks are also a real space saver.
- Pegboards are ingenious. They come in various sizes, designs and attachments; some are made of wood and some are made of steel. They can hold your tools, decorations, notice boards and hanging items. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
11. Remember using the legroom of the study table
You only need space for two legs when working on your desks. The rest usually remains unused.
Be creative and try using that space as well.
Depending on your room, you can put your shoe rack, homework papers, books or sofa in a box. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
12. Hanging mirrors make your space look bigger
It is a traditional technique of creating the illusion of openness in small spaces.
There are several options: round, oversized, rectangular, Scandinavian.
Choose those that blend perfectly with the rest of the interior. They also reflect light better, so you have a bright room too. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
13. Nature never hurts
You certainly can’t have a well-balanced dorm room if you don’t combine some natural features with artificial ones.
And what could be better as a natural soil ornament than indoor plants.
It cleans the air, greatly improves the aesthetics of the room and gives the room a fresh look.
If you don’t have room for large potted plants with big leaves, plant the little succulents in tiny, cute containers and place them on shelves, on the table or on the window sill. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
Pay attention to the placement of the plants. Every plant has different light and moisture requirements.
14. Use pop-tabs to hang extra clothes in your closet
We bet you drank too many sodas in your college days. How about we tell you a way to use the drop-down tab of these boxes to hang extra clothes?
Slide the pop-up tab into one of the hangers and insert the second hanger into the hole of the pop-up tab.
It’s that simple.
Or if you’re ready to invest in collapsible hangers, you can purchase 8-in-1 configurations here. (Minimalist Dorm Room ideas)
15. Stackable bins can make your under-the-sink space useful
The space under the sink isn’t just for pipes and a musty smell.
You can also store your toiletries in the stacking boxes there. There may be plastic ones, or if you have a few dollars to spend, there may be slideable metal ones.
16. Spread Rugs & Covers to enhance the coziness
Rugs, carpets, blankets and tablecloths are simple and inexpensive ways to make your small room more comfortable, vibrant and colorful.
If you have a coffee table, spread a nice, neutral-colored tablecloth on it and put a rug under your bed or sofa.
Many people would prefer a fully carpeted room, but don’t mind that. It requires regular cleaning as dust particles like to hide in the carpet fibers.
17. Say Hello to bed raisers
For those who don’t know what it is; these polyurethane (or wood and metallic) inserts raise the base of the bed.
If you have a low bed that doesn’t allow you to take full advantage of the space underneath, you should definitely buy them.
Some even come with electrical outlets, which is extremely useful.
18. Invest in a charging station
Your dorm room will never have enough outlets, especially if there are other people living with you.
So invest in a stylish charging station for your smartphones, laptops and iPads that can get the job done.
19. Shield the extension board inside a shoebox
Extension cords running all over the room are unsightly. And in a small room this effect is even greater.
So what to do with it?
Get a shoebox and protect the extension board inside. Then drill holes for all the connections you want to make.
If you wish, you can also decorate it with elegant designs and ornaments such as lace, pearls, beads.
After all, anything that gives wings to the beauty of your room is acceptable!
20. Make steps of the bunk bed comfortable
Are you staying on the top floor of the bunk in your dorm room?
Spoiler alert!
Your feet will go numb soon after you climb up and down the steps.
Here’s how to avoid this.
Take some pool noodles and run them over the rungs before taping the ends. Match the color of the pool noodles with the walls or the bunk bed.
Creative, right?
21. Level up
Our final tip is to make sure everything hanging on your wall is perfectly flat.
Install a level app on your phone and use it while you work.
Bubble Level app is very popular as it is easy to use and accurate.
We are done
We’re done here. I hope our list of ideas has been useful to you. Now it’s your turn, share your dorm room hacks with us so we can all benefit from them.
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