I think the key to dorm décor ideas is color - bright colors which give clean lines such as navy and white or lemon and lime. Find a beaded doorway curtain to hang up at your window to reflect the light and lay some brightly colored rugs on the floor. Choose brightly colored hand-made throws to drape around your window recess and over your chair or bed. There are two absolute 'must-haves' for your dorm room: firstly, one of the small microwaves by Sharps - these come in a number of attractive colors. The second 'must-have' is a foldaway ironing board. This is an absolute find - it is a full-size ironing board but is made to fold down really small, with little legs - designed to stand on top of your desk. You can find it at householdgoods.com. Another excellent idea is the halogen oven from JML Direct.com. This retails at around $61.00, or thereabouts and, with the halogen oven, you can cook absolutely anything.

You are going to be sitting at your pc for many hours if you are studying and snowed under with term papers and assignments, so one thing you really should invest in is a good ergonomic office chair which provides your body framework with all the support it needs while spending long hours at the computer. Take a look at the ergonomic website for further information on how to choose the best chair appropriate to your height and weight check out ergonomic-review.com. Take a look at thecompanystore.com for some fantastic bedding bargains. You also need to ensure you have appropriate lighting on your desk - the last thing you are going to need is problems with your eyes from too much computer work. The anglepoise company is now celebrating its 75th anniversary so, if a product has been around that long, it must be good!

Dorm decorating ideas are much the same challenges as those faced with a studio home. Storage is always an issue but, with a bit of thought and some shopping around, you can find appropriate storage solutions for just about every occasion. There is always a great selection of storage ideas from the Amazon website, including the H & L Russel Laundry Hamper for disposing of your dirty laundry.

Separating out the different living areas presents a problem which, while not surmountable, needs to be carefully thought about if you are not going to make an already small living space even smaller. Maintaining privacy, while accentuating light, is also a major problem that can be resolved with the clever use of color and daylight bulbs. Naturally, you need to be selective when it comes to sourcing furniture - anything too big will simply look out of place. Neutral colors, from walls, through to fabrics and furniture, keeping the same color scheme throughout, will make a small living space look a lot bigger. Mainly, though, it is adapting your thinking to correspond with small-space living and learn not to clutter your living space up unnecessarily.