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 have a neighbor who is a single mom and her 10 year old has spent her whole summer babysitting her younger siblings while her mom works. She also had to use some of her own money that she has saved up to help her older sister out that got into some trouble. This 10 yr old is one of the sweetest, mature, kind, and caring girl I have met. I think it would be amazing to give her a gift card to be able to buy things for herself or home that she/ they need. Thank u!!!
Love your blog and all of your suggestions. You are totally amazeballs! One of my favorite moments is one that has happens at my house every year but this one was super special. On the last day of school each year I have my kids sit on the front stoop of our house and I take their picture. This year was the last one for my son as he is graduating and heading off to college. This year when I had him sit on the stoop he put on his cap and gown. It is amazing how you can feel two completely opposite emotions at exactly the same time. I cried a little and I’m not sure if it was tears of sadness or tears of pride and joy. Thanks for being so awesome Jenn. Keep up the good work!
One of my favorite moments was watching my son walk into his school on the first day of kingergarten. Due to his health complications, there were many days we weren’t sure this would happen. What a joy it wasn’t to watch him walk into his school!
I have two kids going away to college this fall. Ikea will be my shopping savior! I love their store – perfect for finding things to accommodate the small
Spaces.
The fact that my youngest is going to attending MY alma mater next year has me in a tail spin. It seems like just yesterday we found out we were pregnant (FINALLY) with him and then found out he was an identical twin! Unfortunately his brother didn’t survive past 5 months in utero and I ended up on bed rest with my little bugger. He alsways tells his friends the “ate” his twin due to disappearing twin syndrome ~ he’s our family goof ball with a HUGE heart. He’s saved my life (quite literally) twice. The first time was me getting pregnant with him, I would have ended up on the USS Cole when she was attacked and my duties on board the ship would have had me in the vicinity of where the explosion occurred. If I had not become pregnant with him (amd his brother) I would have been there at that time. The second time was on my birthday a few years ago when he was only 10. I went into anaphylaxis and he recognized what was happening and explained in a calm fashion to the emergency staff at the hospital as well as providing correct time, food, amd location. He stayed with me while my husband parked our vehicle and even went into the ER bay as they tubed me and provide the lifesaving measures I needed without even being scared or crying. He is a smart young man who will do great next year in college. He’s at the top of his class right now. I just wish he’d pick a school.back home in Michigan but at least he’s picking a school that has “Go Blue” in its fight song. Yes we ARE from Michigan, we only stayed in Virginia because we don’t get the snow like back home and we ended up buying a house here. I just can’t believe I’m old enough to HAVE a baby in colleg ~ Gesh I just earned MY bachelors in 2013 LOL (military THEN a degree). My “baby” is definitely going to have a different experience than I did, but having an EPIC dorm room will be #1 ~ especially since I still have sorority sisters on campus to ensure he’s taken care of and not looking terrible! Hopefully with some IKEA hacks and a bit of decorating his room will be the hang out spot ~ amd knowing my son, that’s probably true! By the way ~ CONGRATS on the EPIC university your son is attending.
We’re a family of 5 in a small house (crazy) !! I feel that way because I’m not very organized! My special moment is this Aug. Aug 1 my son turns 16, Aug 8 my daughter turns 12, and Aug 9, my baby turns 10. All even double digits. The girls share a room and I would love to make it more interesting and fun. Thanks!
I love Ikea. There room ideas are great and the choice of furniture and accessories is so much fun to shop through.
My son struggled with many health concerns throughout high school, and was in and out of the hospital several times. I was so proud to watch him walk across the stage as an honor graduate. I was proud to share the next day with family and friends honoring my son’s hard work and perseverance. I enjoyed sitting back and watching him talk to his guests about his plans to attend an Accelerated program for pre-health majors for 4 weeks this summer at his college and then come home for several weeks and go right back for fall semester. He’s a pretty awesome guy!
We also have a Spartan in our house! After a very long year of tests, hard work and lots of ups and downs our daughter is looking forward to the new adventure college will bring! She is branching out and meeting a new roommate and they are looking forward to making a special room. IKEA is one of our favorite places to go and get those really helpful, creative things. I am addicted to it for my own classroom! Best of luck to everyone as they send their butterflies off to fly! And Go Green!
Great tips, Jenn! My oldest is going into his 2nd year in a dorm next month, and (woohoo!!), there’s an IKEA not far from his residence! I’m going to pick up that Raskog cart for him! I may even get 2! One for his bedroom, and one for his kitchen. 😀