Now that it’s 2023, many people are well into working on their new year's resolutions. For some people, that can mean adopting a whole new decorating scheme for their bedroom. Whether you are trying to include a new dorm room look to your list of new goals for yourself, or you’re simply bored with your current style, there are some fresh ideas that will make your dorm room more than livable. 

If it is your first time living in a dorm room, decorating it can be really exciting for you. Even if you’ve already lived in a dorm room before, decorating your dorm room to your liking is always an enjoyable time. Your room is your own personal sanctuary, and the right accessories will make sure that it always feels that way. To have a room that you’re excited to walk into after a long day of classes will make dorm room living even better than you already expected it to be. 

Finding ideas to make your dorm room into a great space doesn’t have to be difficult. We have some great ideas that any guy can use to transform his space. Your dorm room can be a creative space and a relaxing sanctuary when you pick out decorations that suit your tastes the best. You likely already have the essentials in your dorm room, like a desk, a bed, and a closet, now all you need are some ideas to make it feel even more like a home. And that’s why we are here to help. We’ve put together some great ideas that any guy can use to make his dorm room an amazing living space!

How Should You Decorate Your Dorm Room?

When decorating your dorm room, you should keep in mind the kinds of elements that make you happy. When you live in a dorm room, you don’t have as much space and freedom as you would at your parents’ house, which requires you to get a little bit creative. You need to compromise when it comes to certain things, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make your dorm room an amazing place to spend time in. As you make sure that you have all your necessities and pay attention to dorm room restrictions, you can do a lot to completely transform a plain dorm room. 

Aside from the mandatory bed, desk, and closet, you get to fill your dorm room with anything that looks nice to you. You get to choose your bedding, your rugs, your wall decorations, and anything you can think of to add to the space. You can choose bedding that contributes to a specific look, or decorate around more plain bedding. Storage is something that is also needed in a dorm room, and can be used as decoration as well. You can use certain kinds of storage to store items that don’t contribute to the overall theme of your dorm room. 

You know your own tastes and personality better than anyone else, so make sure to let that show in your choices. You would want to decorate your dorm room in a fun way, but just don’t yet know how to go about that. Or maybe you have a few ideas, but are just not sure about how to express them, or how to combine two or more ideas in a coherent way. Whether your mind is blank or you just don’t know how to implement your ideas, we  will help you find a dorm room decorating style that suits you the best. If you are a gamer, your dorm room can show that off, and if you enjoy sports, that can also be shown off. The options for how you can decorate your dorm room are pretty much endless. 

Eclectic Maximalism

If you’re a guy whose room is often filled with all kinds of things strewn around the place, you can turn that tendency into a whole dorm room style. If you haven’t heard of eclectic maximalism, you might just find that it’s the right dorm room look for your space now that you’ve discovered it. It’s a look that is the direct opposite of minimalism, and is characterized by eclectic details that will add a lot of fun into your dorm room. Anything you can find that is bright, somewhat unusual, and full of character belongs in an eclectic maximalist dorm room! 

This “Don’t Tell Me What To Do” art print will let everyone who enters your dorm room know that you have a sense of humor and that they shouldn’t tell you what to do. No one likes it when other people tell them what to do. What better way to get this important message across than on an iconic image? 

This distorted smiley face poster will definitely add an odd element to your dorm room in a fun way. This will work great on your walls as one of many cool decorations you will either get from your old room or from any art or poster shop that sells unique creations similar to this one. 

This lightning bolt neon sign offers cool mood lighting and artwork all in one. The lighting can change colors from blue to purple to yellow, which will only enhance your dorm room’s eclectic maximalist vibe. 

Industrial Style

An industrial style space needs to be bold and gritty. It should give off a somewhat rough vibe that makes a living space feel more exciting. An industrial space often involves exposed brick and wiring, and elements that look as if they were not quite finished. Metal is another common feature found in an industrial space. While you can’t have exposed metal built into your dorm room, you can certainly add metal elements or ones that appear to be metal to the space. 

Peel and stick wallpaper will help you achieve an industrial style in your dorm room. It can mimic the look of exposed brick that you often see in industrial style homes. The color gray also goes hand in hand with establishing an industrial feel in a space. 

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You can get metal, steel, or iron items to add throughout your room. You can use these items as wall decorations, floor decorations, and even table top pieces. In a situation where you can’t find the right item made with one of these elements, you can simply choose items that are gray. The color gray is prominently featured in industrial style rooms, and can give the impression of being something like metal even when it isn’t. 

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Even though your dorm room likely doesn't already have naturally industrial elements, you can still easily add some. Adding neon lights to your walls can add industrial elements like exposed light fixtures and wiring to your room. There are several types of neon lights you can try out and many cool ways to display them. 

‍This storage trunk will be a great addition to an industrial style dorm room. Since an industrial style exposes elements in a room that tend to be hidden, you should keep this trunk out in the open. Not only does it serve as great storage, it can work well for many other uses as well. You can use it as a makeshift coffee table, a bench, and even a stepstool. Whatever you can think of to use this as, it will easily work for. This trunk is constructed from steel hardware and is extremely sturdy. It is made up of elements that shine in an industrial styled space. 

Black and White

Using a simple color scheme like black and white will turn your dorm room into a cool and sophisticated space. A room filled with black and white can look just as vibrant as a room that is decorated with other colors. The stark contrast between the black and white makes the colors stand out. This color combination also leads to a feeling of serenity. 

You can use only black and white in your dorm room, or you can even choose one or more bold accent pieces to complete the look. Any color you add to black and white will look great since they go with everything. This other color will also stand out immensely amongst most of the black and white items in your room. Adding different textures to your space is a good way to make simple colors pop. Different prints can also make black and white appear more dynamic. Stripes, florals, and polka dots look great in black and white. 

This area rug will add a lot to your black and white room decor. It has a great geometric pattern that will stand out along with the black and white colors. It will add a put together yet still fun vibe to your dorm room. 

Rustic

A rustic style can be a great one. A rugged cabin-like interior could work very well for your dorm room space. The word “rustic” refers to a look that is weathered, charming, and aged. A rustic look gives off a casual feel that looks somewhat old fashioned. Achieving a rustic look requires you fill your space with several wooden objects. You can add wood through several different methods. You can use a wooden headboard, temporary wallpaper that looks like wood, and wooden seating. The color brown needs to be a prominent feature in a rustic-style bedroom. You can achieve this with new wooden items or with vintage wooden items. 

While the color brown dominates a rustic interior, you can use other colors as well. You can pair brown with just about any other color since it is a neutral one. Pairing all the brown in your room with another color that you like will add more fun to your space. If you would like a more subdued theme, you can pair brown with other neutral colors like tan or white, or you can go more bold with a bright color like yellow or blue. 

You can up the rustic factor of your place by adding different wooden items throughout your dorm room. You can even use wooden branches as pieces for decoration. Wood can even be used to create a branch ladder, which can work for decoration as well as storage. 

A faux succulent in a wood planter will add a hint of the outdoors into your dorm room. The wood container paired with the steel handles will add several rustic elements into one corner of your dorm room. 

Sports Themed

This room will certainly keep your head in the game. Image courtesy of Pinterest. 

A sports themed dorm room will bring your interests right into your living space. If you are a sports fan, you probably spend a good amount of your time thinking about, playing, and watching sports. Why not decorate your dorm room with relics from one of your favorite pastimes? 

You can go with a single sport, or if you’re a fan of many, decorate your space with objects from several different sports. If you have been playing sports for several years, you likely already have some of what you’ll need to create a sports themed dorm room. Any sports memorabilia that you have, even from early childhood, can be used in your dorm room. 

You can use basketballs, footballs, and even a surfboard as decoration. You can display these items in really simple ways. Any trophies you have won in the past and even jerseys you have worn will make great display pieces. Trophies can be placed on shelves and jerseys can be hung on the walls as if they are posters. You can even have them displayed inside of picture frames. Pictures of you playing sports or even posters of your favorite sports stars will also make great wall decor. 

Game Room

If gaming is your favorite way to enjoy your free time, you should make your dorm room reflect that! You can turn your dorm room into a fun space that celebrates your favorite games. You can center your decorating around video games, table top games, mobile games, or any other games you might be a fan of. 

One way to turn your dorm into a game room is by buying decorations that resemble gaming items. You can add gaming posters to your walls and even use gaming memorabilia as decoration. If you have old gaming systems that you no longer use, you can place them on shelves as display pieces. Old gaming consoles can always be used as a wall decoration. 

There are so many options you can take when it comes to achieving this style. You can get yourself pillows, stuffed animals, or action figures modeled after video game or mobile game characters. You can then place these items across your bed and along your shelves. There are even vinyl wall decals you can buy that will make gaming life a prominent feature in your space. You can also get stickers and refrigerator magnets to make surfaces like your closet or your mini fridge resemble a gameboy. DIY gaming displays will also work. It’s possible to turn a shelving unit into a super Mario tribute with just a few boxes and some paint. 

This steel side table looks like something out of a video game bedroom. This brass fixture is modern and unique, and will help give your dorm room the game room feel that you’re looking for. 

Urban Legend Room 

The Urban Legend room is all about bringing a slice of city life into whatever dorm room you move into. This look is characterized with lots of grays, blues, and blacks, colors you come across often in an urban space. Put these colors together with elements that remind you of busy streets, and you’ll have yourself an urban legend dorm room!

This gray shag rug will make your dorm room floor look like the city streets. It’s the perfect color for an urban space and its shaggy surface is really comfortable to walk across. 

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This “Thank You” bag art represents an image you see in big cities all the time. People walking around carrying various plastic bags in the city is so ubiquitous, this bag will easily remind you of it every time you take a look. 

This New York City art print can complete your whole urban jungle. What’s more reminiscent of the city than a picture of one of the biggest cities in the world?

Decorating your dorm room can feel like a difficult process, so if you’re having a hard time making tough decorating choices, these ideas can get you started on the right path. Go ahead and pick a dorm room theme that suits you best and build on it from there. Your dorm room can easily be turned into the kind of space you will love spending time in!