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How To Make Your College Dorm Feel Like Home

If you're a freshman, you must be getting ready to spread those wings and fly. But let's make sure you land on your feet when you get on campus. The first step is walking into your new dorm room like you own the place. This is your room now and for it to feel like it, it needs to look like it. After all, you can tell a lot about a person by their room, and you want to attract the right kind of attention with your mature taste and good sense of style.
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Mid-adult woman lying on floor using laptop
Tetra Images via Getty Images
Mid-adult woman lying on floor using laptop

By Laura Weber, Content Specialist at Giftagram

If you're a freshman, you must be getting ready to spread those wings and fly. But let's make sure you land on your feet when you get on campus.

One way to ensure a smooth transition from one nest to another, from the home to the dorm, is by getting the things you need to set the bar and making your dorm room the envy of every freshman.

The first step is walking into your new dorm room like you own the place. This is your room now and for it to feel like it, it needs to look like it. But don't forget, you're in college so you should leave your childhood relics at home. After all, you can tell a lot about a person by their room, and you want to attract the right kind of attention with your mature taste and good sense of style.

Nesting means adapting to your surroundings and owning them. We built forts when we were young to keep us safe and treehouses when we were bored to keep us busy. Well, now it's time to build a dorm room to help get through the ups and downs of college life.

Here are 7 tips that will help you build the best nest on campus.

1. Lighting is everything.

Dorm room lighting is minimal at best and fluorescent at worst. Any additional lighting will go a long way and help set the mood. A desk lamp would be nice, a lava lamp would be better.

Featured product: Classic Lava Lamp/Image: LAVA Lamp

2. Don't be "another brick in the wall."

College students are notorious for their bad taste in posters. There are better ways to cover the walls that don't involve Art Deco or psychedelics.

Featured product: The Future is Now Art Print/Image: Blacklist

3. Find comfort in the little things.

Pillows and blankets are crucial to making a cozy nest. There is only one rule: you can never have too many.

Featured product: Shibori Indigo Throw Pillow/Image: Giftagram

4. Have desk appeal.

It's important to feel confident inviting that cute boy or girl to your room to study. It's more important to feel attracted to your own desk come study time.

Featured product: Izola Swift Catchall/Image: Izola

5. Don't drink the coffee.

You might have to drink the so-called coffee from the cafeteria if you don't make your own. A coffee subscription ensures you always have fuel to keep the engine running.

Featured Product: Pilot Chemex Brewing Kit/Image: Giftagram

6. Never hear the words, "What's that smell?".

Candles are more than just mood setters. Even when unlit they deodorize your dorm room and keep the funky smells at bay. They also double as pen stands when their time runs out.

Featured Product: Paddywax Smoke & Amber/Image: Paddywax

7. Mark your territory.

The dorm life can be a confined life, so feel free to venture into the hallway and add a final welcoming touch right outside your door.

Featured Product: Geometric Doormat/Image: blogTO

(And here's an extra tip just for you: share this list with mama bird because you know she's just itching to help you build your new home away from home.)

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