Heading off to college and looking to make the most out of your dorm room space? These space saving dorm room ideas will not only maximize your dorm room space, but will make it feel like a true home away from home!
College dorm rooms are like an empty box just waiting to be transformed! You may not have a ton of space in your dorm room, but with the right products and a little imagination you can create a great space that is conducive for studying and will show off your personality and style!
I am very proud and excited to partner with Ikea and serve as one of their Brand Ambassadors! Be sure to read all of the way to the bottom to hear about our exciting giveaway!
I am the parent of an incoming college freshman. Sending your child off to school is a dream of almost every parent. A great education is a gift that we all want for our children, but at the same time, it is so hard to let go and watch them leave.
As a parent, I want to set my son up to be successful in this new life away from home, but honestly, I didn’t know where to start in helping him prepare for packing up and moving up to school. I was so excited when IKEA asked me to partner with them to develop a guide that shares some Space Saving Dorm Room Ideas using some of their great products.
What I love about IKEA is not only is everything so affordable, but I love their style and innovation. They show you great ways to use their products that you would never think of!
BUT, here was my challenge. My son, who is going to school this fall, is a counselor at summer camp all summer and has a week and a half after he returns and before he leaves again for school. So shopping for his room fell on to me! (Bonus when one of your best friends daughters is in the same exact position – so what do we do – FIELD TRIP for the moms to IKEA!!)
Now, if you have kids of any age, you know generally whenever you go shopping for them, you always pick out the wrong thing. So I saw that IKEA had a “Determine Your Dorm Room Style” quiz to take to determine what your college dorm room style is! Hallelujah!!
So, my friend, Julie, and I had our kids take the quiz. My son, Jake, got Rustic and Adventurous and my friend’s daughter got Playful Pastel. This made it so easy to help get an idea of what type of bedding and accessories Jake would want for his room! Would you believe that when I showed him the bedding I picked out, when he came home for his day off, I got an “Awesome. That is perfect!” I just about fell over! SCORE for the IKEA Find your Sytle Quiz!!
One of my favorite things to do is walk around IKEA and see how they layout rooms. They are so creative and innovative. I would never, ever think of any of these great uses for products that they do. I love how they SHOW you different ways to use their products! I swear I want one of their designers to come over to my house and help me decorate!
They are particularly good at maximizing small spaces, and they don’t get much smaller than a dorm room! So Julie and I spent a few hours walking through IKEA looking at the way they used some of their products (not to mention they have an awesome area dedicated specifically to dorm rooms and a college checklist which is great for apartment living too!)
Here are a few of the items we found (and purchased) for our kids rooms! I cannot wait to get them up there and try these products out!
I love these KNAGGLIG boxes! They are so versatile. You can paint them any color to match your decor and you can stack them so they take up very little space!
Floor space is so limited, these carts go vertical so that your space is tripled! These RASKOG carts come in different colors and are on wheels too, so you can easily move them wherever you have space.
I love finding new uses for things! This is such a great way to repurpose a magnetic knife rack! Perfect for next to a desk – use the magnetic rack for other magnetic items like scissors, paper clips and more!
A futon is perfect for a dorm room or any small space. You get the best of both worlds! Extra seating and space should you have an unexpected guest spending the night! IKEA has a ton of options in all price ranges (see here).
I particularly love this one, the EKEBOL It has some great extra storage space underneath and even a shelf around the back. However, we are going for the BALKARP version, which is both economical and efficient, given our budget and my sons tendency to eat pizza and soda on the couch.
A busy college lifestyle requires furniture that’s just as flexible. Check out all of these great ideas for small spaces like a dorm room!
The KALLAX shelf unit can be used as a bookcase, a bedside table or a storage unit. Add the KALLAX hanging organizer to hold small accessories and easily-lost items like keys and ID cards.
Nesting tables are great for small spaces. Just unstack them when you have friends over and stack them back up when they leave!
Now, of course, after a successful IKEA shopping trip, you must reward yourself with none other than their famous $1 ice cream! No better way to celebrate!
I want to share in this special time with my readers! Sending a child off to school is one of the most special moments in my life. No matter what age your kids may be, there are so many special and important milestones and moments. Tell me about one of YOUR special moments (in the comments below) either with your child or in your life and what it meant to you for the chance to win one of THREE $100 IKEA gift cards.
Just leave me a comment below and I will be choosing 3 winners, each for a $100 gift card to IKEA. Winners will be chosen on August 15, 2017 and will be notified by email. They will have 24 hours to reply or an alternate will be chosen.
Disclosure – I am a Brand Ambassador for IKEA U.S. This is a sponsored post. IKEA is a registered trademark of Inter IKEA Systems B.V. and is used with permission. The views, ideas and opinions expressed here are my own.
I remember standing in my driveway,crying, watching my daughter drive off for college. My sons teased me for it as she was only going 22 miles away. But still, she was leaving***
Now, she’s a single mother returning to college to obtain a teaching degree. An IKEA study area would be a real boon for her.
I do not live near any IKEA’s so only get to visit them on vacations, but I’m investigating online ordering.
I’ve had a special moment just this summer. My 10 year old daughter was born with many complicated heart defects. This year she was able to go away to summer camp at Camp Bon Coeur, a camp just for these wonderful children. It was great for her to be around kids with scars and experiences similar to hers and she had the time of her life!
My children are 4 and 2, so I have a while before they head off to college, but we already have many things from IKEA to help us store toys and clothes in our small house. We have a variety of clear IKEA totes in various sizes that fit under their beds to help store their toys so that they can see what they want to play with. We also have a curio cabinet from IKEA, that we have converted into a toy and book storage unit. A vertical, mesh storage unit allows them to store their stuffed animals without taking up floor space in their room. We also have several pieces of children’s furniture (the little Poang chair!) so that they have workspaces when they are creating. Next up is finding space for another twin size bed for the little one!
Three of my four daughters are sharing a bedroom in our three bedroom home. The closets are not very large. It’s very stressful to stay on top of the clutter, keep things organized, and easy for my young children to find what they need. I’m planning on a bedroom makeover, as soon as I get my husband on board!
So many moments in life are precious! I cherish having my kids close to me even with the crazy moments. They are growing up too fast!
IKEA just changed the life of my nieces 10 and 13 who share a room and have been sharing a full bed. My sister and I found the perfect beds, nightstands and blinds to convert their room to a teen/tween hangout room. If I could attach the reveal video where they both starting sobbing with shock and joy, I would! It turned out exactly as we imagined it would and I want to thank IKEA for selection, price and directions that were easy to follow. Next on the list? My home office of my brother in law!
Would love an IKEA gift card! We love Ikea and will be going there to furnish my daughters on campus apartment
I am excited for you to experience your first college bound kid! My parents both graduated from MSU. My older daughter went to college 1400 miles away, which was tough (for both of us!). My younger daughter also wanted to go to school out of state. I didn’t want her to be so far away and didn’t want to have to pay out of state tuition but she was determined she wanted to get away from here.
Towards the end of her senior year, she found out that she had been accepted to the CBYX gap year exchange program to Germany. So she wasn’t going to be out of state, she was going to be out of the country!! While I was so excited for her to have this opportunity, it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done — put my baby on a plane to go live in a strange country with strangers for a year.
It was a good/bad/crazy/difficult/exciting year for her. It also really helped her be more independent and more responsible with money. She also learned that she doesn’t like the cold. So she ended up deciding to stay in Florida for college where it would be warmer and cheaper than the out of state school she wanted to attend. Yay!
I missed her a lot and couldn’t wait for her to get back home, except that shortly after she got home, she would be heading off to college. We talked a lot about what all we needed to do when she got home and decided a trip to IKEA was in order. We both love to shop and it was so fun to plan her new dorm space. It was wonderful to have my now bi-lingual daughter back home and a very special time we shared shopping together for college after a year apart.
Now she is still attending college but only 1 1/2 hours away, which is the perfect distance — giving her space and freedom but making it easy for either of us to visit often. Each August, we take another trip to IKEA to discover new or helpful things for her college apartment. It’s become a tradition!
Wonderful ideas!!! Have young kids but these tips still apply, thanks!
I really appreciate these great ideas. I lived at home when I attended college. However, I spent many days at my friend’s dorms, so I know the importance of space usage and creativity. I have had my niece for some time. She has had to go through a lot in her life. It could have easily been a reason for her to give up, but she’s a fighter! She finished and will leave to college in August! I’m so proud of her, but sad at the same time. She is concerned about the move into a dorm and having the space she needs (she will need quite a bit:), while having some privacy. I would love to have some ideas about how to accomplish that. If she is granted the gift card, that sure would help her right now.. It’s very challenging right now. I appreciate the opportunity, and the tips you have provided. I can’t wait for her to begin her new endeavors. She deserves the best! Thank you!
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I apologize that I did not share a particular special moment.
I shared many special moments with my niece. Aside from our talks and tears, help with homework time, evening walks, senior year, prom (and more tears), endless college applications… Seeing her graduate with honors after all of her hard work, and being there when she received her college acceptance letters was priceless!
I never realized how hard it would be to see both of my beautiful girls move out on their own but once their stuff was gone the house seemed so empty. Ikea has so many wonderful multi-purpose items that really made their rooms look and feel clean and simple and now every time I go to Ikea I ask them if they need anything. My youngest daughter is now in the army so much of Ikea’s stuff is really great for her room in the barracks too.