It isn’t difficult to deny the truth: dorms are small, intimidating even. When empty, a dorm’s bare appearance and cinder-block walls may resemble a prison cell. However, there is no reason to fear. A light lies at the end of this tunnel.

With a little effort, a dorm room can easily be transformed into one’s own oasis — that home away from home students desire when cramming for tests or relaxing for an hour between classes.

There are hundreds of little tips and tidbits for decorating a dorm room, but there are just four main aspects students should focus on if looking to make their rooms functional and attractive.

Organization/Functionality

As mentioned before, dorms are small. A student’s primary focus when it comes to dorm decorating should be less about actual decorating and more about organizing and making the room functional.

“It’s very important to maximize your space because the rooms are so small. Everything else comes after that,” said Jennifer Merritt, a sophomore in LAS.

For the room in general, it’s optimal to have as much free floor space as possible. That can be done by hanging a mirror onto a closet door instead of sticking it somewhere on the floor and by configuring the beds a certain way whether they are lofted, in an L-shape or bunked.

From the bed configuration to the closet, functionality can be made easy by using plastic containers of the student’s choice to store clothes and other items like school supplies and food.

Students also bring other t storage devices, such as bookshelves, pencil holders and baskets. These add a more personal touch to a dorm room while suiting it to a student’s specific needs.

Comfort

Dorm rooms should feel comfortable. A student shouldn’t have to hate sitting in his desk chair or the feeling of the cold linoleum floor on his bare feet.

Chair cushions solve the problem of having to sit on the uncomfortable chairs provided by the university. Some students even get rid of the chairs all together. Often times, the original chairs can’t be taken out of the room, but they can fit under a lofted bed or in a closet to swap for the student’s own, more comfortable chair.

Fluorescent lighting in the dorms is another aspect that students complain about.

The lights can be harsh. They can buzz. They can annoy and distract. Floor and desk lamps provide light that is easier on the eyes.

“Ambient lighting is key to a nice dorm room. Either a nice corner lamp or a string of Christmas lights offsets the crappy lights on the ceiling,” said Daniel DeGregorio, a senior in AHS.

Another popular solution that doesn’t involve buying new lamps is to hang a tapestry or some type of cloth under ceiling lights, said Tara McGovern, a sophomore in LAS.

The interestingly-colored linoleum floor also adds to a dorm room’s so-called “charm,” but placing a simple rug in the center of the floor makes for a huge difference.

“Carpet is important. It makes the room nice and fuzzy and feels good on your feet,” DeGregorio said.

Personalization

Adding personal touches to a room may be a student’s favorite part about dorm decorating. Ways to personalize a space vary, but the best way to add style to a room is by adding things to the walls.

“My dorm is really simple. It doesn’t matter how my room is decorated as long as I have pictures of my friends and family,” Merritt said.

Posters, pictures and flags can change a room drastically in a good (or bad) way. Adding too many things to the walls can make for an overwhelming space, so try to find a nice balance.

Adding one’s own style to a room is almost automatic, the things a student buys for the room, like the color of his or her comforter, or sheets, contributes to style. If coordinating colors is important, then discussing this with the roommate is a must.

“Talking to your roommate about decorating is really important if you have specific things in mind, especially if you want to create specific theme like my roommate and I did,” McGovern said.

Think about the Future

A lot of things that a student may like when they first start to buy dorm stuff may change in the future.

Remember: It is not necessary for everything to match. Try to find things that simply “go” with each other rather than trying to match exactly. This way, if a student wants to change one aspect of his room in the future, like the color of a comforter, he won’t have to worry about it not matching the lamp he bought to match his old comforter.

In a way, this goes with functionality. Students should want to get the most out of the items they buy, including the years of use. Keeping the future in mind when purchasing dorm items is a convenient way to save a lot of money.