Decorating With Candles

Dorm decor doesn't have to be boring

Plenty of creative collegiates overcome residential rules with a lot of photos and magazine clippings, but there's more to modern dorm decorating than just posters and double-sided tape.

Holly Becker, interior design consultant and author of "Decorate: 1,000 Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home," thinks that limited options force you to be more creative.

She recommends revamping tired spaces with flea market finds.

"You can buy a bunch of frames and paint them bright colors," she said. "Or even take old doors or shutters and lean them against a wall or behind a bed to make a vintage headboard."

To maximize small spaces, Becker suggests placing a mirror across from a window and avoiding dark colors. You can also add warmth to a room by using different tints of the same color or by layering different fabrics.

The less creative need not fear. Plenty of stores, including Target, CB2 and Bed, Bath & Beyond, offer trendy dorm pieces during the back-to-school shopping season, and many will guide you with lists of dorm essentials and pre-planned color schemes.

Before you shop, remember that your space should be conducive to studying, but it should fit you, too. For example, if you're into geography, a big map is an easy way to make your space your own.

University of Missouri-Kansas City resident assistant Maggie Light works with medical students and often sees decorating schemes that match students' personalities.

"There's always one person with a full-on skeleton."

MAGNETIC FRAMES

Keep your family, friends and beloved pets close by in a 3-inch-by-2-inch frame you don't have to hang.

Mini magnetic frame in lime and orange, $1.95 each, CB2 (cb2.com)

EATING IN

Attempt a home-cooked meal with an attachable colander, or cozy up to your ramen noodles with a soup mug.

Trudeau pot strainer, $3.79, Low Vision Chef (lowvisionchef.com); Soup bowls in green, blue or orange, $1.99 for a two-pack, Target (target.com)

A HELPING HAMPER

This hamper with removable laundry bag keeps your dirty laundry from being everyone else's business.

Chrome laundry bag stand, $19.99, and mesh laundry bag, available in various colors, $5.99, The Container Store (containerstore.com)

MOVING LIGHTS

UMKC residential life coordinator Katie Garey calls modern lighting trends "less gaudy." "We're not seeing Christmas lights too much anymore, which used to be really big." Instead, dorm lighting has become chic and practical and can easily be moved from desk to bed.

Decorating With Candles… For Thanksgiving | Living room ...

We are in the dining room and it’s looking kind of boring. You don’t want to spend a lot to decorate but you do want to create some atmosphere. Probably the easiest way to get the most mileage for your decorating dollar is to grab some candles and fancy them up!

1. Start with a fat round candle and then pick up some Indian corn… real or picked up at your favorite craft store. Glue in place around the candle, using a hot glue gun and then tie a ribbon around the entire candle and tie with a bow.

2. Sort out some of your smaller glasses. You are going to use them to hold candles. When you have chosen the glasses, sink in a small votive candle into the center and then fill with acorns. Not a fan of acorns… how about bird seed?

3. Take three candles that fit in with your color scheme. Tie them with a matching color ribbon and then sit a charger that is a few tones deeper. Scatter the charger with some metal glitter for a bit of bling!! Colored stones will also work, and they come in every color you could possible want!

4. Center a hurricane lamp in the center of the table and place a plain white candle inside and then fill with toffee. Don’t ask me why… but it really works!

5. Here is another really simple way to show off a plain candle. This time, choose a pale brown candle and then nestle it on a bed of coffee beans. Not only is the color very rustic, your centerpiece smells good too!

6. If you have some colorful leaves still lying on the ground, make a watery glue and “glue” them to the candle. To continue the theme of the leaves… sprinkle some fake leaves down the center of the table.

7. Another idea to fancy up a plain candle is to wrap them with ribbon. Choose a color that fits in with your holiday and tie a bow. In a pinch, even curling ribbon will work nicely and you don’t have to worry about managing a perfect bow!

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