DECORATE YOUR DORM

By Kathy Passarette of Creative Home Expressions and Buttoned Up’s Home Expert

Creative Home Expressions Offers 5 Easy Tips on Sprucing Up Your Son or Daughter’s Dorm Room

With the college season in full swing, your son or daughter might be feeling a little homesick. Although he or she may be limited in what they can do in a dorm room, as far as decorating goes, interior decorator, Kathy Passarette, offers these tips that will not only help you get the most “bang for your buck,” but also bring warmth and a more home-y feel to any dorm room:

1. Starting with the window in your room, you can add some fun, bright curtains, without putting holes in the wall for a rod. Tension rods, which range between $4.99 to $6.99 at WalMart, Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond and other home stores will solve this problem, while allowing you to add some color and softness to your window.

2. Bedding for dorm room beds usually run longer than regular twin size bedding. Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond carry reasonably priced sets in colorful solids or prints to make your bed feel more like home.

3. Add your personality, and a unique touch, to dorm room walls with your favorite quote, name or saying using Wonderful Graffiti (www.wonderfulgraffiti.com). Press it on, peel off the back and it’s done! It is easily removable and won’t damage walls. It stays in place until you are ready to remove it. A sentence that fits a space 3 inches high and 4 feet long costs about $25.00. Also visit Wallies (www.wallies.com) for self-adhesive cutouts that also provide temporary decoration. The very cute “shopping girl” is only one of many available. For the guys, check out “poker suite”.

4. Since storage is always an issue, start with an over-the-door laundry bag from WalMart, Target or any home store. To use every inch of space, utilize under bed storage as well; hangers that hold more than one article of clothing, and hanging shoe bags {which also come as over-the-door or closet hanging pieces}. Use the shoe bag to hold other things like health and beauty products; hair brushes; items you need on a daily basis but also want to keep out of the way. Over the door coat hooks are also available if that is your preference.

5. Keep your desktop as organized as the rest of your room. Many stores, including Best Buy, carry lamps that are also organizers and have plugs for your small electronics built right in. Making sure that you can get more than one function out of anything you bring into your dorm room will best utilize this small space.

Do you have a decorating question? Send your questions to Kathy Passarette at kathyp@creativehomeexpressions.com and put “Buttoned Up” in the subject line. Kathy will answer your questions right here on Buttoned Up.

Kathy Passarette is an Interior Decorator based on Long Island, New York. For more information please visit www.creativehomeexpressions.com.