When Lacoste asked me to work with them on styling a dorm room around their new bedding collection, I jumped at the chance! Why? Well, I’ve not had the opportunity to style any dorm room decor since I was at college myself over a decade ago, so I relished the chance to create a dorm room that was youthful yet stylish, while also being attainable. I love how the space came together and thought it would be useful to break the space down into five key steps so it’s easy to recreate. OK, let’s do it!
1. Start with statement bedding
When it comes to styling dorm room decor it’s best to start by turning your attention to the main design real estate in the space. In almost all cases this will be the bed because, well, let’s face it dorm rooms don’t offer space for any other major pieces of furniture. Start by dressing the bed in a set of statement bedding, like this graphic yellow, blue and gray stripe design by Lacoste. It’s part of a brand new bedding collection that’s exclusive to Bed Bath & Beyond (much of what you see here is from BB&B, too!). This is a great way to set a design theme and focus of the whole room. Making the bed the focal point of the room means you can then use the color and pattern in the bedding as a reference point as you come to style the rest of the space.
2. Introduce a large scale rug
It’s true that the bare bones of dorm rooms are often clinical and cold. However, dorm room decor doesn’t have to be so at all. Lay a large scale rug on the floor, preferably coming out from underneath the bed, so that it covers the majority of the floor space in the room. This is a great way to quickly layer in warmth and texture to the dorm room. Having a tactile material, like jute, underfoot makes the space feel more welcoming and personal. Plus, jute rugs tend to be on the more affordable end so they make great economic sense, too. This neutral rug is the ideal style to temper the bright color and pattern of the bedding.
3. Co-ordinate the furniture with accessories and textiles
In a small space, like a dorm room, it’s best to create a harmonious scheme so that the eye doesn’t tire. The best way to do this is by coordinating additional items of furniture (such as a desk chair) and textiles (drapes etc.) to the bedding so that all the elements of the room come together in a cohesive manner.
4. Add pops of playful pattern
Introduce personality and visual interest into dorm room decor by adding flashes of bright color and pattern into the room. Perhaps it’s an irregular stripe, as seen in this Lacoste bedding, or maybe it’s a striking typographic throw pillow. A wall hung card display is a lovely way to display photos of loved ones and save mementos from fun adventures, such as concert tickets.
5. Make the space versatile
In a dorm room the bed often has to function as both a place to sleep, relax and, if we’re being realistic, a place to work, too! With that in mind, it’s a great idea to layer in additional textiles onto the bed. These can be used for friends to sit on if they are on the floor hanging out in the room, or the can be piled onto the bed along the wall to turn it into more of a day bed-meets-sofa.
// Styled by Will Taylor in partnership with Lacoste.
12 Comments
Showing this to my son….I know he’s gonna love it! thank you will!!
@Wendy – Oh, yay! Glad you found it inspiring, I hope your son will love it too! 🙂
Nice job. Do the shams come with the comforter?
@Jack – Yes, I believe one pillow sham comes with the twin comforter set.
Looks magazine ready!
@PDL – Oh, thank you! 🙂
I wish my room would have been so nice and bright and airy as a student. Mine was dank and had old carpets on the floor. Perhaps I am showing my age
@Caroline – Mine wasn’t anywhere near as lovely as this either! I wish I had followed these tips back then to make it this inviting! 😉
Wow, my college dorm room never looked this pulled together. Makes me want to go back to school!
@Marlee – Glad you found it inspiring! Thank you for the lovely comment!
It looks so nice. Thanks for sharing these steps. The final outcome of this dorm room decor is awesome.
@Furntastic – Thanks very much!