Excited to move into your first home away from home? Dorm rooms may be drab little spaces with boring furniture, butyours doesn’t have to stay that way. With a bit of ingenuity and creativity, you can spruce up your dorm room and turn it into a haven that you can retreat to after a stressful day on campus.

Start the school year right with these dorm room ideas that are fun, easy to do, and most importantly, won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

• If you would like to add some color to your room, but your dorm doesn’t let you paint the walls, use accessories like throw pillows, bed covers, tapestries, or rugs to brighten up your space instead. The Psychedelic Colored Rug and the Multi Colored Stripe Pillow are some great examples.
• You can easily personalize your dorm room by decorating a wall with your own photos, posters, postcards, and other memorabilia. Check first if you are allowed to poke holes into the walls. If you can’t, use tape. Another way to adorn your walls is to draw on them with colored chalk, which you can wash off later.
• Plants can instantly liven up a dorm room and make it feel more like home. If you don’t have a green thumb, opt for low-maintenance varieties or even fake flowers. Place them in unique vases like these.
• Bright fluorescent dorm lights may be good for studying, but they’re not very good for your eyes or for creating ambience. A few inexpensive candles or lamps should do the trick.
• Suction cup decorations are a fun and inexpensive way to make your windows more interesting. You can even create your own – simply affix plastic insects or flowers to suction cups.
• Since most dorm rooms have limited space, don’t add too much furniture. If you had to bring in just one piece, make it a comfortable chair. Choose one that doesn’t take up a lot of space and can be moved around easily. This Reclaimed Steel Chair provides both style and comfort, while this Sturdy Butterfly Chair can be folded and stowed.
• Storage is often an issue in dorm rooms, so invest in some good stackable plastic crates and closet organizers. You can also use decorative hat boxes.

Hopefully these dorm room ideas have inspired you to come up with other ways to make your campus home cozier. Remember, decorating your dorm room doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. We can’t help you with your homework, though.