By Emma Gargiulo

Dormitory halls have become synonymous with the American college experience, and, for many, the “dorm life” experience is a major influence on their college career. “Dorm life” is the perfect term for the experience because you are now expected to live there. This small room is now expected to be your home away from home for six months, for four years. But how do you make a strange new room home?

Making a dorm room home can be a challenge, but it isn’t impossible. The “oldest building on campus does not come with luxury,” says student Caroline Honsel about 102-year-old Ulman Hall. The “jail cell” look of white cinderblock walls and hospital-esq fluorescent lights that many students describe can be intimidating at first. It may feel like “there’s no way I can make this feel like ‘my’ room,” says Stephanie Ferrara. However, despite that initial shock or fear, many students have successfully come to make their dorm room home.

Then, how does one make the jail cell special feel like home?

Stephanie breaks down the idea of home as “you feel safe and have community.” Many other students use the words “comfort” and “familiarity” when describing the theme of how they make their room feel like home. Whether that is items that bring comfort, like sentimental items, or items that feel comfy like soft blankets and warm lighting. Cloe Rusch lists two main things that have made her room feel like home. One is cozy lights. Cloe is anti “big light” as she calls it, to the point where the main light switch to the room is inaccessible, hidden behind a desk topper filled with books. Cloe also loves adding plants to her space, as do many other students. Filling one’s dorm room with as many plants as possible is a common occurrence here at Delaware Valley University. At some schools, students ask their neighbors for sugar or batteries. Here, we ask our neighbors for soil.

Caroline has filled her room with “bits of home”. She loves putting up pictures of friends, family, pets, and adventures she has gone on. Margaux Gensler also uses the concept of “bits of home” to feel at home in her dorm by bringing her favorite blankets and trinkets from home.

Another large part of making DelVal feel like home for Margaux is her cat Onyx. Margaux has her cat here as an approved emotional support animal, and he has been essential to making her dorm feel like home. She describes her room as feeling lifeless without Onyx there.

Despite the challenges of dorm living, most students interviewed said positive things about living in a dorm. Stephanie Ferarra describes dorm life as “sort of like having a sleepover for four years”. Many students enjoyed the experience of getting to explore themselves more through customizing their space.

TLDR – Tips and Tricks on Making Your Dorm Home

Making your dorm room home is a very personal thing. Every room is unique to the person living in it, and everyone has a slightly different approach to how they make the dorm theirs. However, there are a few tips and tricks of the trade.

Caroline Honsel suggests having a room spray or essential oil diffuser to make your room smell nice. Caroline also says to keep in mind that you are making this your home, not your family’s home. Decorate how you like.

Stephanie Ferrara took a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. She used FedEx to print out posters from her Pinterest board and create a poster wall in her room. She also stresses that you don’t have to have the perfect dorm room right away. Sometimes it takes a year or two to figure out your style.

Cloe Rusch recommends making your room a “mirror of yourself”, and Olivia Marion says to surround yourself with things that bring you joy.

Margaux Gensler likes to decorate the front of her door. She says it “feels more like its mine when I go through the door.”