The transition from high school to college can be difficult, but decorating your room can bring several benefits to help you through it. This small act might seem trivial when moving in, but in reality, having a comfortable living space helps many students for a multitude of reasons. Properly decorating can create a homely and comfortable environment to fight homesickness or cultivate an inviting atmosphere that can help you socialize with other people.
Being homesick is normal when moving into college dorms, but making your room feel a little bit like home might help resolve that problem. There are many ways to create a peaceful and comfortable environment in your room, like hanging up familiar decorations (like photos and posters) and using ambient lighting (for example, fairy lights instead of overhead ones). Having “a home away from home” can also positively impact your emotional state, your mood and your sleep quality. A room that is poorly decorated may have a less welcoming atmosphere for its occupants, which can cause a lack of a space for relaxation after a hard day of classes, work, etc. Having familiar and pleasant room decor can make your room a sacred place to come home to. Coming home to an undecorated room can therefore make your “home away from home” less special if it is not specifically designed by you and for you.
Decorating your room using a specific color scheme can also help with your mood and creativity. For instance, if you surround yourself with a green theme, it might help you relax by giving off a natural and forest-type feel to your room. Green is a color that helps comfortable sleep and relaxation. Blue, white and beige have similar properties when it comes to sleep and relaxation as they give a feeling of calmness and meditation. On the other hand, colors like red and black may bring subconscious anxiety or a gloomy feeling to your room. This being said, the color scheme of your room should ultimately be based on preference.
Room decorating is not only important for battling homesickness or for helping your sleep quality or relaxation. It can also help you socialize! The way you decorate your room represents your personality and can be the key to good first impressions. In dorms, one of the best ways to seem inviting is to leave your door open. This way you can easily invite people passing by in your hallway to come hangout in your room without having to put yourself out on a limb to invite them in. Something that can draw attention is decorations. Of course, everyone has different preferences, but if your room happens to catch someone’s eye, making friends can become that much easier. Creating a comfortable area can not only provide relaxation for yourself, but also for the people that you invite in your room. If people think your living area is a relaxing space, they will likely want to spend more time in the comfort of your dorm.
Finally, room decoration can increase your creativity. Decorating is a way to create your own space and make it aesthetically pleasing for yourself. Because the decoration of your room somewhat represents a part of your personality, you can fully express yourself by crafting a personalized environment. You can therefore express yourself and your creativity in a way unique to you. This can help you show a part of yourself to new friends, helping them see the creative side of your personality which you can explore while crafting your space.
