21+ Aesthetic Dorm Room Inspo | Dorm Room 2024

This post is all about dorm room 2024! I'm here to give you all the dorm room inspiration to create your dream room for your freshman year of college!

High school graduation season is in full swing, which means this summer you’ll probably be planning every little detail for your freshman year of college! From game day outfits to picking out your classes, one of the most important parts of freshman year is planning out and packing for your dorm room! As you get ready to take on this exciting new chapter, transforming your dorm room into a functional, comfortable, and personalized space is essential.

I had so much fun decorating my dorm when I was a freshman and I’m so excited that now I get to finally help YOU with dorm ideas. The dorm room 2024 trends are already out there, so the time to start looking for college dorm room ideas girl is now! Your move-in date will be coming up faster than you know, so it’s never too early to look into dorm room inspiration.

From dorm room essentials to cozy dorm room ideas and dorm room organization tips, there’s a lottt to keep in mind when you’re beginning to plan out what you want your dorm room to look like. Especially if you’re living with a roommate, there’s a lot of coordination that goes into a college dorm room. You’re probably asking yourself all sorts of questions, like what are the best dorm room ideas? How do I find cheap dorm room decor? Or what are the best stylish dorm room storage solutions?

If thinking about all of this stresses you out, don’t worry! I have tons of ideas for you that will make this transition from your room at home to a small room with roommates way easier and a lot more fun.

THE BEST OF DORM ROOM 2024:

From my own dorm room experience and all the research I’ve done on dorm room 2024 ideas and trendy dorm room aesthetic, this post will help you prep for dorm life and make your dorm the place to be. So, keep scrolling for the best small dorm room ideas for freshman year!

1. Bold and bright colors

One of the biggest trends I think you’ll see this year is the bright and fun colors of dorm decor. Don’t be afraid to add bright colors to your dorm room color schemes. It can really brighten up the space and make it more personalized! If you’re unsure about adding a fun color, don’t stress too much because it’s just for a year! You can always change it up or do something different when you’re out of the dorms next year.

2. Cute throw pillows

Throw pillows can be a pretty fun purchase and add a lot of personality to a dorm room. One of my absolute biggest space-saving dorm room hacks, though, is to only buy 1-2 pillows! Places like Dormify have such cute throw pillows, but they can be super expensive and they always take up much more space than you think.

More than 2 throw pillows will make your bed look smaller than it already is. They’ll also be so annoying to have in your dorm room if you’re not making your bed every day. I’d suggest finding just a couple of cute decorative pillows and I can guarantee that it will make your life so much easier.

3. Fun wall decor

Next up we have fun wall decor! I think unique wall decor is a really good way to spice up your dorm room decorations. I’ve recently been finding super cool and unique wall decor in the most random places and a really good place to find unique dorm room accessories is Pinterest or Instagram.

Just searching for wall decor on Google will bring up really basic finds, but social media will show you such cool decor and stuff that no one else will have. I’ve recently been obsessed with looking on Pinterest for inspiration for just about anything, and I wish I was able to find all the cool decor I saw now when I lived in the dorms!

4. Simple bedding

I love the look of having simple bedding and spicing up your dorm room in other ways. Simple bedding is my favorite dorm room decorating ideas for guys because the girls know they always have awful bedding…

Simpler and more basic bedding is also typically cheaper than bedding with designs or textures. You know we’re always looking for cheaper and budget-friendly options! 😉 While we’re talking about bedding, two bedding essentials I couldn’t live without in the dorms were this mattress topper and a long bed skirt to hide everything I put underneath my bed.

5. Little pops of color

One of the best minimalist dorm room ideas I’ve found is to add pops of color to a simple dorm room. Little pops of color look so sleek and add the perfect amount of personality to your room. My biggest tip with this is to keep everything else super neutral so that the color is really noticeable and looks its best.

6. Cute sitting area

If you’re lucky enough to have a big dorm room like this one, a great way to make the most of your space is to have a cute seating area. Make sure to check out your dorm room dimensions before buying anything, though! This is the perfect way to make space for guests and to add functional dorm room furniture to your space.

7. Peel-and-stick wallpaper

If you want to get really creative with your dorm room decor, peel-and-stick wallpaper is one of the best DIY dorm room decorations. Make sure before you do this, though, that your dorm is okay with it!! There are very random things that you can’t have in your dorm room and wallpaper is sometimes one of them.

8. A light above your bed

If you spend a lot of time in bed, having a light above your bed is a really smart idea. Having your own light is really respectful to your roommates and can make your room much cozier.

Another one of my favorite dorm room lighting ideas is string lights around your room. Me and all of my friends did this when we were in college and I know it’s still so popular now. Both of these ideas are great eco-friendly dorm room decor ideas because they’ll save energy with the main lights off, too!

9. Personalized pillows & knick-knacks

Living in a dorm can be super hard and such a weird change from living at home. One of the things I did to make this transition easier was to personalize my room with my favorite things from home. Photos of my friends and family and personalized dorm room decor made the transition much easier for me.

10. Matching bedding with your roomie

This next one is a no-brainer to me!! The best way to make your dorm look super cute and put together is to have matching bedding with your roommate. In general, all of the dorm room ideas aesthetic I’ve seen have matching bedding. So I think this is the best way to do it!

Unless you're doing a random roommate then you should definitely coordinate everything with your roommate before moving in. Including bedding!

11. Matching desks with storage underneath

Another way to make your dorm look put together is to match desks with your roommate! A super useful tip I found with this idea is to add a bed skirt to your desk and this way you’ll have more dorm room storage space. You can keep way more underneath your desk with it hidden than if you didn’t have a skirt on your desk. This will obviously just make your desk way cuter and really add to the vibe of your dorm.

Perfect student dorm room ideas because now you have a cute place to study and do homework!

12. A cute area rug

An area rug can really pull a space together. Especially if the floor in your dorm is super uncomfortable or ugly, an area rug is perfect.

If you want to spend money on a nicer rug, I recommend looking at Ruggable because their rugs are easy to clean. Your rug will be getting dirty, so either splurge for a nice one or get a cheap one that you don’t really care about.

13. Trendy headboard

Even though you don't need a headboard in your dorm room, it can really pull together your dorm bedding. This could be a cute way for your bed to match with your roommate too. It's definitely not necessary if this wouldn’t work in your dorm or if you just don't want a headboard.

14. Vanity mirror with lights

Vanity mirrors are one of the absolute most important dorm essentials, especially for girls! You'll certainly need a place to get ready that isn’t the dorm bathroom, and you’ll need better lighting than your overhead lights.

There are so many options for vanity mirrors, but I definitely recommend one with lights. And the size is up to you! I had a small one freshman year that I still use for traveling. I also knew people who had big ones and absolutely loved them, so it’s definitely a personal preference.

15. Hanging string or fairy lights

As I have said, string lights are one of my favorite things I had to decorate my dorm with freshman year. As can be seen in this dorm room transformation, they make your space so much cozier and aesthetic. All you need to hang them up are some Command Hooks which are so easy to use! Just make sure your dorm allows them.

16. Window curtains & black-out curtains

Adding curtains to a dorm room will make the whole space seem softer.

One of my biggest dorm essentials to make sure you get good sleep is blackout curtains. These are a huge necessity in the dorms and saved my life when I had to get lots of sleep. The curtains that come in your room will barely block out light, but these black-out curtains will. They're easy to put up and will add to your dorm inspo cozy!

17. Photo collage of friends and family

Photo collages are the sweetest way to incorporate photos of home into your new room! There are so many different ways to make photo collages and they’re typically super easy. My favorite way to make a photo collage is by creating a DIY pinboard! It’s so easy and cute and you can attach anything you want to it.

18. Personalized LED light

Another good idea for dorm room lighting ideas is to buy a personalized LED light. These are so cool and would be perfect for matching with your roommate! If you’re looking for another piece of decor to fill some wall space, I would look into getting a cute LED light.

19. A useful entryway

Like the sitting area idea, this is only possible if you have a big dorm, but it’s also really cool! Adding a bar cart and some wall decor to a space like this one will give you extra storage space. It'll also create a welcome area right when you walk into your room.

I don’t know how many dorm rooms are this big, but I do love these double dorm room ideas.

20. Fake flowers

Flowers or any plant can add a lot to a space and give it a fresher feel. Fake flowers are especially nice in a dorm because they don’t need sun or water so they’re easy to take care of. If you have any empty surface space, flowers would be the perfect addition to brighten up the room.

21. A theme of something you love

I love this surf theme that this college freshman did last year! It’s so simple yet adorable and makes her space more cohesive and purposeful. This is where you can really play around with modern dorm room themes that fit your vibe and make your room feel like home.

22. Matching appliances

A lot of schools already provide a fridge and microwave so definitely look into what your university gives you before buying appliances. If these aren’t provided for you, consider getting a matching microwave and fridge! This would cost you more money, but these are also things you’ll use after freshman year.