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1. Minimize the number of furniture in your room

 

To some students, the dorm room is just a workspace or a space to lay your head after a long day of lectures. It is not necessarily having to be furnished with too much stuff. The first thing to keep in mind is that a clean and clutter-free space help you create a minimal look. That comes with the first rule: Don’t buy too much furniture.

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One chair, one desk, one big lamp, one closet or rack, one wardrobe is enough. If your dorm room doesn’t come with a bookshelf that is attached to your desk, you can assemble a light-weight wooden bookshelf by yourself. You may want a removable and easy-to-carry type of bookshelf. Check out this cabinet bookcase. You can assemble it easily into 6 blocks. You can also use it as a closet organizer.

 

 

2. Declutter your room often

 

The second rule: Only keep useful and necessary items. College dorm rooms can get very messy sometimes. Hours of study section with a punch of books, order take out, pizza boxes, free t-shirts from many events. A schedule of 30 minutes on the weekend to filter out your items and give away is essential.

 

In the Japanese concept, Danshari means the art of decluttering. It’s not that you have to take minimalism into an extreme. An influence from minimalism can balance your room, bring in the fresh air, and give you more space to create. If you feel like you have been hoarding several kinds of stuff such as old clothes; books that you have finished reading; miscellaneous items that you have been collecting from college events, it is now time to declutter your space.

 

 

3. Choose a neutral color theme items for your dorm room

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The best match for minimalism is neutral colors such as beige, white, black, grey and pastel tone of every other color. The trendy pastel colors in 2020, according to Valspar, are mint, blushing pink, gray brook, utterly blue, etc. Maria Killam, a true color expert in interior design, shares her ideas on how to mix neutral colors: pick on one color that makes the other one look obvious. In this case, the cream and ivory color make blue accents pop up.

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The good thing about neutral colors is that they can blend in everything and match each other. However, don’t use more than four colors to decorate your room in order not to confuse the eyes. Since no colors stand out too obvious, a sense of harmony is created in all aspects of the room.

 

4. Apply the color theory to make your space unique

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If the whole room is monochrome color, you can make it pop up with other outstanding decorating items such as neon lights and signs or colorful posters. Choosing the minimal theme color for your bed sheet is also an option. There is a possibility that your dorm wall color will be all white so you can make it align with whatever color theme you want. Make your space unique but still align with minimalism.

 

If you ever take an art class and hear about the color theory, you can apply it to your space. There are many rules you can apply: using 3 colors next to each other on the wheel, opposite colors, rectangle rule, triangle rule, square rule. It gives the room a logic behind it. That’s when harmony meets the eyes.

 

5. Change heavy storage accessories into simple ones

 

Students may have only a small space and share with other students. Therefore, there is no necessity to collect too much stuff. Small space needs to be neat and not cramped. An idea for light-weight storage accessories is to replace a big wardrobe with a rack, foldable storage boxes or copper storage baskets. Make sure the rack easy to be assembled, easy to move. Light-weight material for the storage boxes can be fabric and bamboo.

 

6. Use multi-purpose items

 

Be practical when it comes to saving space. Another idea is to combine items as one to serve you in many ways. Choosing multi-purpose items is one solution. Treasure a few useful items instead of having several objects that serve the same purpose. If you like to cook and don’t want to carry too many pots and pans, you can use this instant cooking pot. This cooking pot can play many roles: pressure cooker, slow cooker, baker, soup maker, fantastic rice cooker, etc. A cool item you may pick is the clipper/spoon which you can use to measure your coffee power and keep your opened coffee bag as one.

 

7. Be creative with regular items

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For extra light, use items such as a minimal standing lamp that flood the whole room. Wooden boxes can be a creative idea for both storing your shoes and backing up a house plant . Heavy hook sets can be replaced by lightweight and simple knobs for your towel and jacket. Turn your clothes hanger into a lighting device by putting string lights around it. If you want to make it more consistent, pick everything in metallic colors: golden, silver and copper theme.

 

8. Use environmental-friendly items

 

Environmentally friendly items are made from materials like bamboo, non-plastic, fabric, reusable purpose. You don’t have to throw away your money. You can recycle these items. Environmentally friendly: Plants: cactus, aloe. Adding some green and plants to your dorm space will bring fresh air and morning productivity and inspiration.

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