Dorm Room Decorating

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College students moving into new dorm rooms this fall might feel that strict school policies on decorating are stifling their creativity. But interior design experts have plenty of creative, simple solutions to all the restrictions and obstacles that college students face when trying to make a bland dorm room reflect their personality.

From getting around the "no paint" rule to hanging up your avant garde works of art without leaving a hole, below are some dorm room design tips:

No nails

Many schools don't allow students to paint dorm room walls, use nails or even tape to hang up art (some tape brands leave an unsightly, sticky residue). Don't despair – there are plenty of alternative ways to throw some color up on your walls.

When it comes to hanging up art without leaving a hole, there are several options. Small plastic stick-on picture-hanging strip hooks are sturdy, stick to most surfaces and you can use several together to hang up heavier paintings. They're easy to use and they leave no trace if removed properly (Example: "Command Hooks").

For putting up posters, calendars and snapshots, "dorm safe" tape does the job well and is specially designed to not damage painted walls or leave any marks (Example: "Dorm Tape" by Mavalus).

Another way to decorate in a "no nails or tape" dorm is to frame your artwork and simply lean it against the wall for a clean and put-together look, advises Ryerson School of Interior Design student Kathlene McGuinness.

Vibrant walls

Spicing up dorm room walls can prove to be challenging as most schools won't allow students to paint them. One way to add color to bland white or oatmeal-colored walls is with peel-and-stick wall art. Made of flexible vinyl material, it attaches to most surfaces and leaves no sticky stuff behind. Easy to remove and re-position, the "stickers" come in a wide array of colors and shapes and sizes for quick and simple do-it-yourself wall art (Example: Brewster Wallcovering Company's "WallPops!").

For a bigger, bolder look, try temporary wall decals, which are removable wall graphic transfers that can be used to cover an entire wall or just create a border around a room. The graphics come off cleanly, leaving no residue and their "movable" line is even reusable. Best of all, you can have your own designs custom-made into wall graphics (Example: "Blik" wall decals).

If covering an entire walls seems like too big of a job, "Blik" offers a sleek, silhouette-style line of transfers can be used to create the illusion of headboards, chandeliers, lamps, mirror frames and even potted plants.

Comfort colors

As for what colors to use when decorating your new dorm digs this fall, a simple palette will keep your studying space from looking too distracting and frantic. McGuinness recommends picking two to four colors at the most for your room. Only one should be a bold shade like hot pink so that the other two or three light, neutral colors (for example, petal pink, pale gray or soft white) complement the bold.

If you pick one thing in your room to have major visual impact, such as a brightly-hued throw over your bed or extra long, unique-patterned window curtains, this statement piece will immediately make your space feel cleaner and more interesting, McGuinness advised.

Choosing a neutral theme color like a warm brown or soothing light yellow will pull the room together, and you can add hits of color throughout the room by having pillows or picture frames in unusual shades like yellow or purple.

"Warmth and calm are important when you want to feel at home in a new space," McGuinness told Life's Little Mysteries. "The key is to pick a color you love, no matter what it is, which makes you feel comfortable."

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