Picture Perfect

Sometimes, home away from home just doesn't feel like home. Waking up every day just isn't the same when the happy faces of friends and family are replaced with the grumpy groans of a sleep-deprived roommate. 

The answer? Pictures! Now you can wake up to mom, dad, Fido, and Ryan Gosling! Problem more than solved. 

But how do you keep pictures from looking...amateur? There are a LOT of blog posts to be had. But to start? Black and white! This way your photos form a nice backdrop for your room, subtly complimenting the design elements you already have in place. In a small room, color goes a long way - sometimes too far. 

I like to display my pics all together, so that it almost feels like a gallery. There are so many great places to put them! Here are some by my bed, which I hung on ribbons with glitter clothes pins (tutorial to come). Those awkward plastic tubes on the walls become works of art when you add a personal touch, as you can see to the left. Wherever you put them, be creative! With black and white photos, you can't go wrong! Make your dorm room a work of art.

Sleeping Beauty

Sleep is hands down my favorite pastime. Socializing, eating, going out, watching tv...they pale in comparison to the thing I love most. As college students, we know just how sumptuous sleep really is! Nothing could be more coveted than getting a full eight hours (can you imagine such luxury?!), and nothing could be more miserable than nodding off in chemistry class. So what could be more important than your bed?

For my bed, I like to stick with a few basic colors. I chose yellow, pool blue, and grey. In general, two "real" colors and a neutral work best. Mixing up your patterns makes your bedding much more engaging, and definitely ups the chic factor. I focused on one big pattern with a few smaller, subtler prints. In this case, I paired a floral bedspread with a heathered body pillow. (If you don't have a body pillow - get one! It will instantly transform your bed into a daybed, perfect for lounging, studying, or just vegging out.) I topped it all off with a pinstripe yellow pillowcase and a quilted blanket, and I love it! The more layers of texture you add, the more interesting your bed will be. But be warned, young grasshopper: if you have a bed this nice, people will take it as an invitation to sit.

So once I had my bedding in place, I took it to the next level with what I like to call "the fairy tale effect." How, you ask? Christmas lights, Christmas lights, Christmas lights! I have the bottom bunk, so I wrapped the lights around the reinforcement bar and then up and down the bed frame. The sheer white curtain on top makes everything instantly pretty! The lighting refracts through the curtain to create a soft, glowy look. 

Now the final step: the DIY canopy. It might look fancy, but it's actually just a twin XL sheet and duct tape. All you have to do is tape the sheet to the metal bed frame on top, and then drape it through the reinforcement bars. So simple! Your roommate's bedding will cover the tape, so everything will look completely polished. Good luck! I hope that you love your bed (almost) as much as I do. 

Welcome to my Dreamitory!

Hello world! I am a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, and I love to make my little dorm room beautiful. Together with my closet-gamer roommate and a suite full of lovely ladies, I have a pretty great life here! Come here to see what I do with my space, and to get ideas for yours. Stay tuned!