College Dorm Room Tour & Organization
The time has arrived! It is back to school time, and I have got my cousin some Portable Storage containers ready and packed for her big move. As many of you know, I have been working on a college dorm room project for my cousin Jewel. She asked if I would organize and decorate her college dorm room as she starts her first year of college. I mean, if I had it my way, I would get furniture from companies such as antiques world, but I have to remember this isn’t my room! But she is such a awesome young lady which makes me so proud. Of course I said a big fat YES! This was such an amazing process and we had so much fun putting the space together. I hope she does everything she has dreamed of doing at college even if it means me turning a blind eye to her having a fake ID! I have several videos below where I share with you our entire process for planning, organizing and executing her successful move into her college dorm room. I hope you will enjoy following me on this journey!
In this video I take you on our journey of moving Jewel into her dorm room. This was such an exciting, productive and fun day! I hope you enjoy!
My goal for Jewel’s dorm room was for it to be filled with comfort, color and inspiration. I wanted her to really be inspired while living in her college dorm room space. One way in which I added inspiration was by using this gold wall decal from uwdecals.com which will be easy for her to pull off the wall at the end of the school year without damaging the walls. The name of this specific decal is called “Be You” and I got Jewel’s in the color metallic gold.
White and Gold Metallic Geometric Honeycomb Modern Pillow Cover –
14 x 14
14 x 14
Monogram Throw Pillow Cover – Gold or Silver – Square Monogram Pillow Cover
14 x 14
14 x 14
Denim Blue Duvet Cover-Handmade from 100% linen
Navy Blue White Pillow Covers, Decorative Pillows, Cushion Covers Premier Navy Blue White Geometric 14 x 14
Creative Faux Silk Solid Euro Sham / Pillow Cover 26 by 26 – Hot Pink
Lavender Scented Pillow
AmazonBasics Microfiber Sheet Set – Twin Extra-Long, Ivory White
Pinzon Basics Overfilled Ultra Soft Microplush Twin Extra-Long Mattress Pad
Jewel’s dorm room is set up apartment style. They have a shared kitchen, living area and two bathrooms. There are four bedrooms so each young lady has their own room. It is really a nice set-up. In the kitchen, each young lady has their own cabinet. Here is the cabinet that I organized for Jewel. You can see my dorm kitchen haul video (below) to see all the wonderful items I purchased for her dorm kitchen on a budget.
One of the main areas in a dorm room is the desk area. This is where you study and organize your school materials. I wanted to ensure that Jewel had a desk space that would function perfectly for her. In the video below you can see the desk items that I have organized for Jewel’s dorm space.
This desk was the perfect size and price for Jewel’s dorm room. This is such an efficient desk. Worked our perfectly!
In this video I share with you the items that I used to organize Jewel’s dorm room desk space. Enjoy!
So where did I start? I started with a plan! Many of you know that I always love to plan out my projects. This project was no different. I started with a written plan and moved forward from there. It made the process so simple. I also used bins to organize all of the items for the dorm room. Using bins is a awesome system to have when moving into the dorm (I learned this from my years of traveling with the military). I also labeled the bins using vinyl labels from Gibby’s Crafty Gifts.
In this video I share with you my initial process of planning Jewel’s dorm room. I hope you find it enjoyable and helpful.
I received some questions several times as it relates to Jewel’s dorm room. I answered as many as possible, but do to the volume I was unable to answer each person. I thought putting the questions here could be helpful.
What did you do with the original dorm room furniture (desk, chair and chest)?
We stored the chest under the bed behind the storage cubes so that they are hidden. The desk and chair are in their dorm living room. Initially I also had this under the bed, but Jewel and her roommates decided they wanted to use the desk and chair in the living room space.
How did you raise Jewel’s dorm room bed?
The bed in Jewel’s dorm room is adjustable. We were able to lift it to make it into a loft style bed. If you do not have a bed that lifts you can purchase bed risers to give your bed a little lift.
Where is Jewel going to store all of her bed pillows at night when she goes to bed?
Jewel absolutely loves her abundance of bed pillows. They will stay in the bed with her. She will just throw them at the end of her bed.
Where does Jewel store her clothes?
I did not capture video footage of her closet, but her closet is right beside her bed. We were able to get all her clothes unpacked and organized in her closet. She also has two pink storage ottomans that store additional clothing. Thanks to Organizeit.com her closet is beautifully organized.
How did you hang the pictures on the wall without putting holes or damaging the walls?
I used the Command Damage-Free picture hangers. They worked great and come in different sizes to accommodate different weights.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this series on Jewel’s dorm make over. You did an incredible job, Nikki. Be careful, next year all the returning students will be asking you to decorate their room also! I’d say it’s a lot more than decorating! I think this kind of series is smart – you create an anticipation of the finished product.
When I watched this, I thought “I bet Nikki could work magic in my Dad’s nursing home room!” Let me know if you start doing the decorate my space again – I may submit a few pics of his space.
Thanks for sharing! Hugs!
Fantastic job! What a lovely & functional dorm room!
Hey Nikki- great room! Question: How did you get the teal/gold wallhanging (around the window, over the bed) without damaging the walls? Thanks!
OMG I love this dorm room makeover!! I just discovered your blog via YouTube. I’m wanting to sew a chandelier cord cover and stumbled upon your video.
How did you make all the wall art? My daughter loves them. Can you do a tutorial on them?
Nikki.please I need to know where you found
The laptop computer bag. With lock please
Before someone stills my grandaughters as I
Don’t have anymore finance to repurchase.
Please text me email me anything. I am
Ruby Corbett Ph.252-341-1680 email
rjeancorbett@gmail.com
Please send store where you purchased the
Laptop computer mesh lock bag.
Thank you. Ruby. Corbett
So, how did it all work out. Can the two of you do a follow up and let us know what was the most useful, what needed tweaked and how it all held up through move out day? Will she be doing it again this year, did the wall paper come off as easily as they advertised? Was is storable, or will she need to purchase more each year? Did Jewel actually “cook” more than she thought, or was it nice to have it when it was needed? Did the storage solutions work out and was it easy for her to (did she) keep up on the tidiness. Was there anything she had which really was not necessary at all and she would not recommend taking. (this is based on her brothers comments on how she brought so much more of her belongings than they did). It did seem more first apartment than dorm, amazingly so, sometimes the institutions like to keep it sparse so there are less distractions, but we all know students will make it “home” and distractions are welcome for down time. Thank you for your time and for sharing your talent.