5 Dorm Room Nesting Techniques from an Experienced Birdy

By Dylan Young on March 30, 2013

My friends like to joke about my tendency to create nests in my dorm rooms (or, well, just about any space I inhabit for any length of time). I just really need to claim a space and make it my little safe haven. I need anchors in my life and a place to come back to that is calm and restful when the rest of my life is a whirlwind of classes and acapella gigs and jobs and friends. Over the years, I have honed my techniques for creating just such a space. The following are some of the things I’ve learned in my Quest for the Nest.

A Birdy’s Nest

1. Lighting is essential. Those awful fluorescent lights in the ceiling are killer on your eyes and study habits. At the end of each semester, go free-binning for some cool discarded (but still functional) lamps that will take the harsh edge off your eyes during those late night study sessions. Or pop by someplace like Target or IKEA and pick up some of those inexpensive fairy lights that you see in Every College Room Ever. They are there for a reason folks.

2. Personalize your space. While being all studious and enigmatic and perusing little hole-in-the-wall bookshops, take a peek through the Art section for some old calendars or postcard collections or art books that you can dismantle and sticky-tack to your walls and ceiling. I found a magnificent Antique Maps calendar that is currently gracing the wall above my desk. I have a bit of an obsession with old maps. They are just so pretty. Other ideas might be to pin up pieces of cloth or use clothespins and a piece of string to make a photograph chain.

3. Invest in a big, fluffy, warm, and exceedingly comfortable comforter or duvet. There is nothing better than wrapping up in a cozy fluff ball and watching Grey’s Anatomy after a long grueling day debating Structuralism and Cultural Semantics in current Anthropological and Linguistic thought. And in the frigid winter months when you can’t feel your feet and your eyelashes freeze on the walk to class, you will be eternally grateful for that purchase of what you have come to lovingly refer to as your Fluffinator.

4. Arrange and rearrange your furniture. Create thematic sections of the room. Carefully observe the angles of natural light when contemplating the placement of your bed area and desk area. Consider your study habits. Do you like sunlight across your textbooks as you lounge about, wrapped in your recently purchased Fluffinator duvet? Do you prefer to be near the window so your can have a gentle breeze caressing your face while you sleep? Do you like delineated free space in the center of your room for yoga? What is the most desirable desk-bookcase-bedside table configuration? These are all things to consider, my friends. And then at least once a semester, stay up to all hours and rearrange the entire arrangement of the room. Put your dresser in the closet (if it will fit). Drag your bed to the opposite side of the space, just to see the different view. Stick your desk under the window. Mix it up and refresh your perspective.

5. Find a rug. This was easily one of the best decisions I have made in regards to dorm room living situations. One of the worst feelings is coming in from a shower and having to trudge around your room on the cold tiled floor. Once I start the day with cold feet, there is nothing much that can really warm me up. I fully intend to schlep my beautifully soft rug around with me when I graduate. It will be one of the first (and, let’s be real, probably one of the only) real furnishings in my future Post-College apartment.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format