Dorm room decorating itself inspires the creativity that it demands.

Push a young, unbridled brain into creating a cozy home within a limited space – physical and financial – and the result is sure to be a bastion of artistry. Or anomaly. Whatever it is, it is sure to reflect the mind of the designer.

Decorating on the cheap is essential. Buying expensive furnishings to dress up a bare, brick room will only serve to make a mockery of the furnishings, and not much more of the room.

The unsightly bare room is an ideal canvas for the potential of second-hand store artifacts and makeshift concepts.

Tip 1:

Avoid stores like Target or Wal-Mart.

If you want your dorm to look like everyone else’s, then shop at Target or Wal-Mart. Otherwise, shop where the offerings are considered truly eclectic and vintage. Pay a visit to that garage sale in your parents’ neighborhood. Look for a used rug. It’ll help you avoid the cold feet that will come when you step on a 32-degree tile floor in winter.

Tip 2:

Use crates

Stacked on top of one another, crates are cheap alternatives to shelves for clothes or shoes. For other ideas on how to maximize space without sacrificing self-expression, visitECampusTours.com.

Tip 3:

Use canvas

Canvas is light and inexpensive if bought at the right store. (Avoid pricey art stores.) Hang the canvas with foam tabs that adhere to cement bricks. Then finger-paint the canvas. Add your own touch by gluing onto it random objects, like images or newspaper photos.

Tip 4:

Use colors

Try spray painting used items, like a chair the parents donated. A can of spray paint costs about $4. For other color ideas on walls, Click here.

Tip 5:

Use Fabric

Or, more precisely, hang it. Random tapestries warm a cement brick room with just a little effort. Use printed fabric. Try wrapping it around a bed frame. Draped across a window or a bed, fabric can add a soft, more romantic look.