My favorite part about all things dorms is getting to decorate literally everything – including my nightstand. There are tons of ways to decorate depending on your style, your dorm room, and the type of nightstand you have. Decorating your space in the right way can really help you organize your space while still keeping it nice.
In this guide we will go over what we want out of decorating your nightstand, how to keep it classy while being functional and ideas for decorating. Lets get into it!
Tips for decorating your dorm room nightstand
When I think about decorating anything in my home or dorm there are a couple things I want (ahem, need!) out of my living space. These are:
1. Functional
When you’re as limited on space as you are in a dorm, you need everything to be functional. If you’re nightstand isn’t usable it’s just taking up valuable floor space! I would love to see extra outlets, books you are reading, a spot for jewelry or your phone. All these are great ways to get the nightstand to be functional everyday.
2. Classy
Keeping your dorm organized and clean makes any space look classy. You can get a super aesthetic look from using a minimalist approach and making sure you really use everything you have. This makes it easier to clean up your room, keep track of your stuff, and keep your room looking nice.
3. Goes with the space
In a small space it becomes that much more important for everything to go well together. When everything flows from one side of the room to the other, everything becomes seamless. If you’re dorm room nightstand is a neutral color, you probably want to find other neutrals to compliment it. After decorating something, step back and see how it goes with the rest of the room, it will help keep things flowy!
4. Lighting
Nightstands are made for lighting! No one wants to get out of bed to turn the light off if they don’t have to. Some dorm room nightstands come with built in lighting and a remote control. Others you can use a lamp or another light source instead. Also, you if read or are looking to journal before bed you will want a light! Either way, this is an essential to decorate your dorm nightstand.
5. Extra Storage
What’s the point of anything in a dorm if it doesn’t add extra storage space? Luckily most nightstands have shelves or cabinets to store extra stuff in them. If yours doesn’t, you can look at adding a fabric storage container to the piece to get that extra storage.
The best functional ways to decorate dorm nightstands
There are tons of ways to decorate your nightstand that you can draw inspiration from. Here are a couple of my favorite examples!
Functional and aesthetic
This is a great way to decorate your dorm nightstand if you have more stuff. You can use a lamp and some picture frames to tie the space together and keep it classy. Then, in the forefront you can have more functional items like your books, water, a candle, and jewelry. You can even top it off with a decorative piece to bring the whole look together.
Tiered nightstand
This nightstand look is perfect for the classic dorm room nightstand carts that everyone has! There are usually two or three tiers on each shelf, perfect for extra storage. The only downside is these shelfs aren’t covered, so its important to keep your things tidy and make sure they flow.
On the bottom, you can keep books, school papers or school supplies, or skincare. These are all great options! On the top you can hold your more day to day items like your alarm, water, chapstick, and whatever else you need. Top it all off with a cute little plant and the look is done.
Here is a great tiered white nightstand you can use to get the same look as above.
Book lovers nightstand
This nightstand look is perfect for anyone who loves to read! You can get a two tiered shelf to put on the nightstand that can hold books underneath or above. Keep your favorite books on display as well as your journal, current reads, and more. To finish it off you can add a lamp like they did above or you could add a holder for pens and other journaling supplies. You even have room to charge your phone.
If you do decide to go this route, look at the style of your space and what color scheme you want. If you have white bedding, maybe go with a white or tan book holder to compliment the space.
Here is a adjustable book holder than comes with a built in pen container, perfect for any dorm room.
The planted nightstand
If you are someone who loves plants and your whole dorm is basically a greenhouse – this is a great way to decorate your dorm room nightstand. You can add tall or short plants to give the area more dimension, while still having room for a lamp or reading light. You can add a little tray to the front of the nightstand to hold your phone and jewelry in as well. To top it off add a lavender spray or a perfume you love.
If you want to decorate your nightstand with plants its important to consider where the light in your room is from. If you have a tiny window, or just don’t get a lot of light in your dorm you may want easier to take care of plants. You could also think about rearranging the space to better fit your style and your plants needs!
This guide was all about how to decorate your college dorm room nightstand! I hope this helped. If you want to know more about how to style or what to bring to your dorm, check out my other posts!
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