Make it your own

Decorating a dorm or apartment could be a bit confusing and stressful for some students, not to mention expensive. Whether you are going for a picture-perfect catalogue look or something more eclectic, there are ways to meet every student's décor needs.

The first key to designing your dorm or apartment is to organize before going out to buy anything. Becky Rivalto, owner and interior designer for Memphis based interior design company Rebecca Rivalto Interiors, said knowing your space is key.

"They need to make sure they measure the rooms they are going to decorate so they know how much space they have when it comes to knowing how much stuff they can put in there," Rivalto said.

Rivalto suggests that students not only measure all walls and rooms, but measure the windows as well. Also if you know you will need a lot of closet space, you should measure the closet as well to see if you will likely need any space savers or other organizational tools to help you better utilize the space.

Also, if you live in a dorm or apartment, you will likely have some rules you need to refer to before actually decorating. Students need to look into what kind of things you are allowed to decorate with. For example, if you live in a dorm you need to know if you can have candles, drill/nail holes in the walls, etc.

Living in a shared on-campus dorm room with those boring white brick walls, can make it tempting to slap a coat of paint up or plaster the walls with some sort of covering. Unfortunately paint is not allowed, and if you are looking to hang something on the walls or ceiling one should definitely make sure those things are allowed before doing so.

Those students who will be living in an off-campus apartment might not be exempt from rules either. Several off-campus apartments do not allow residents to paint, and others allow painting, but charge you a fee for doing so. So look into the fine print on your leasing agreement, and ask your landlord about any renter policies just to be safe.

Once students have measured their living space and reviewed all policies to see what they can do with the space, it is time to actually come up with a design theme.

After all, it is your space and you have to live there, so go for a style that makes you feel at home in your new place. Once you have chosen a design theme that fits your personality it is time to talk money. Yep, the "B" word - budget. Having a small budget does not mean you will have to cut back on creating a fabulous pad.

Allison Conley, recent University of Tennessee Chattanooga graduate, said her on-campus dorms were dull and gray throughout college. After moving in, she was able to spice things up, without going broke.

"I went all out on a budget! I totally did my last dorm room in a Bali-wood style décor, but I got most of the things from Wal-Mart and made a lot of the nick-knacks myself with some rhinestones, paint and shiny fabric," Conley said.

One key to making the most out of your available funds is to first do an inventory of what items you already have. There is no sense in going out to buy something new, when you already have something you could use instead.

This is a great way to decide which items you absolutely must have, instead of just carelessly spending money on items you do not necessarily need.

Some students might be unsure what a reasonable budget is. Interior decorator Becky Rivalto said the budget is something that can vary from person to person. Obviously some people are going to have more funds to work with than others, but the objective here should not be to see how much money you can blow on decorating your space.

Chere Labbe Doiron, assistant professor for The U of M Interior Design Program, agrees that people should keep things in perspective when deciding on a budget.

Paying for tuition and books should take priority over decorating your living space, she said.

"School's expensive. Spend your big money on real school. The room is temporary - (it) should be cool but remember it's a temporary dwelling," Doiron said. "Keep things in perspective."

After you get your budget planned out and everything fully organized, it is time to shop for your design elements.

When looking for furniture or decorative pieces, Rivalto and other interior designers recommend thinking about how the space will be used and how much time you will be spending there. For example, if you have an apartment, think about whether or not your place will be used for frequent entertaining such as dinners or parties. Or if you live in a dorm, think about whether or not you will spend most of your time there. And if you will mostly be in your dorm, will you mostly use the space for studying, relaxing and so forth.

Rivalto said students are not going to be spending too much time in there anyway, so they do not need to go out and spend too much money on designer sheets and other things that are really expensive. She recommends shopping with comfort and organization in mind.

"The things that are going to make you the happiest are the things that keep you organized because with so much going on in a college student's life, they are so busy and coming home to an organized dorm or apartment is going to keep them happiest," Rivalto said.

Some key organization tools would be inexpensive baskets or drawer systems to organize books, class notes, keys and other items. Also storage bins and crates are a great way to keep your place neat and organized.

In small spaces like dorms and apartments, it is easy for the space to appear cluttered if things are not properly stored.

One storage solution would be to buy bed lifters/risers, which lift your bed several inches from the ground. By lifting your bed you can have room to slide storage bins, shoes or whatever else you would like to under your bed.