How To Decorate Your Dorm

The first thing you should do upon moving into your new dorm room is figure out how to decorate your dorm with your specific style. Many people think decorating their dorm is not a big priority, but the truth is that your new dormitory is your new home. You will not truly feel at home until you've made that space ooze with your specific personality.

1. Decide on a theme. The best themes are ones that you don't think too hard about. The dorm should reflect who you are, not some random idea you had when you first moved in. Think about what your previous room looked like. What about it did you like best? What did you like least?
2. Push that theme to the extreme. Unless you honestly feel your personal style is subdued, be sure to overdo it when decorating your dorm room. Not going far enough to show off your style is a common mistake. If you truly do go too far, fixing it later will not be as difficult as you think it will, while not going far enough will make you not enjoy your room nearly as much.
3. If your style has a specific color scheme, stick to it with everything you put in the room. Getting away with a brightly colored house will be difficult when you get older, so be sure to do it now while you can.
4. Show off whatever you're truly interested in. If you love sports, then make sure anyone who enters your dorm room will know this without even asking. If you're honestly into "Pokémon", don't flinch from putting up a Pikachu poster. It may sound dumb at first, but the regret you'll go through if you don't remain true to yourself is much worse than any good-natured ribbing you may receive for being fanboy.
5. Ensure every item a guest to your room can easily see is something that tells a story. If someone sees something on display in your room and all you can say about it is that you saw it at Wal-Mart, then you're doing it wrong. Every decoration should be a natural extension of yourself. Even if you bought it at Wal-Mart, you should at least be able to say why it caught your eye, and why you felt it deserved a place in your dorm.
6. When putting up posters or other items on your wall, be sure that you don't damage the wall in the process. Dorm rooms are inherently temporary residences, so you must make sure to purchase wall mounts that are easily removed a few months later. Try removable glue dots or purchase wall posters that have a light adhesive made explicitly for this purpose.
7. If you have a roommate, make sure to talk to them about your decoration plans before going through with them. Most people are willing to go along with ambitious decoration jobs, mostly because many students aren't willing to decorate on their own. If you encounter any pushback, be sure to talk to them about it before giving up. Once they realize how important decorations are, most roommates will acquiesce.
8. Check with your Residential Advisor to learn restrictions your dorm may have for how you can decorate. Most dormitories do not have harsh rules beyond “don't damage the room”, but you'll never know until you ask.
9. Don't neglect to show off your non-stylistic side as well. If you have strong political, religious or any other kind of nonstandard views, show them off. There's nothing wrong with putting up a quote by someone you admire, even if you just print it out from the Internet.
10. If you draw, paint, write prose, poetry, or if you have any other artistic talent, show it off! Nothing will be a more awesome decoration in your room than something that you created yourself.