Moving to college and starting a new life away from home is a thrilling experience. It’s also when you get the chance to design your “home away from home.” Your new room is a blank canvas that calls for wall posters, string lights, Polaroid photos, polka dot bedding, and other room decorating items that will define your college years at MSU. Feel free to be creative; this is your Spartan space!
Knickknacks From Home: Bringing small items from your room back home can help fight homesickness and will make this feel like your space, not just a room.
Space Planning: Before decorating, make sure the room is organized how you like it. Try moving the beds to provide space in the center of the room. Maybe your futon, couch or TV stand will work better underneath one of the beds to save room.
Small Couch or Futon: Having a small, comfortable and colorful couch or futon in your room gives it a more personal feel, helping your room more like home. You’ll be spending a lot of time here, so make sure it feels like home.
Beds/Bedding: Because your bed takes up more room than anything else, make it visually pleasing. Happy bedding makes for a happy room. Maybe add a few throw pillows or comfortable blankets. Just a quick reminder, Spartans: all residence hall beds are 80-inches long and require twin-XL sheets.
Photos: Adding photos will make your space more inviting and give life to your room. They’ll definitely help you when you’re missing friends and family back at home.
Organizers: Residence hall rooms may be smaller than what you’re used to, so staying organized is key and will allow your room to feel bigger. The more you can store, the more space you will have to hang out or study.
Floors: A carpet can make your room more inviting and warmer during the winter months. Putting a lighter color on the floor will brighten up the space.
Lights: A bit of additional lighting is practical and can be a nice decorative touch. You can even hang a string of lights under beds or along the ceiling of your room to add a nice ambiance at night.
Color: Talk to your roommate about picking a brighter color scheme to decorate around and make your room come to life.
Wall Space: Rules prohibit you from drilling holes or permanently attaching objects, but you can still display picture frames, posters, bulletin boards and other decorations with things like command hooks. When decorating your door, remember all materials on doors need to be covered with contact paper! Learn more about this in the On-Campus Housing Handbook.
