Your dorm room is your new home away from home. You want it to be a space where you can relax, study, and hang out with friends. Most importantly, you want it to reflect your personality. If your style leans toward the masculine, oh man, have we got some dorm room design suggestions for you!
If you're looking to make your space more masculine, industrial pipe and wood shelves are an outstanding way to do it. Pipe and wood storage is great because it's durable, functional, and looks good in any dorm room.
The exposed pipes give off a mechanical vibe that's perfect for any area that needs some extra masculinity, and the wood adds a warmth that keeps it from looking too utilitarian.
Grab a few pieces of vintage furniture for your dorm room. You don't need much—just enough to start making your space feel more like yours. Hunt down some fun styles with your desired machismo: a desk, dresser, chairs, tables, etcetera. Vintage furniture can be found at thrift stores and antique shops in whatever college town you find yourself.
Heavier items tend to have a masculine air. So if you want your dorm room to feel like a "man cave" or bachelor pad, look for pieces with weight to them. For example, a desk lamp that's made of metal and has a heavy base.
Frame your artwork in frames that lean toward the bulky (or use stick-on "frames" in thicker lines). Choose a desk that's a couple inches thick rather than a fine-lined white Ikea special and opt for darker tones.
Straight lines are a fantastic interior design technique for a masculine dorm room. They create an atmosphere of strength and stability, which is exactly what you need to help you get through college.
You don't have to sacrifice style for strength—straight lines don't have to be cold or boring! They can be just as warm and welcoming as any other type of design, especially when paired with bright colors and soft textures.
Whether you're a sports fan, sci-fi geek, or just into masculine artistry, there are plenty of illustration options for your dorm room. You can hang up pictures of your favorite team or your favorite player's big career moments. Add a poster of your favorite space or galaxy scene, or look for straight lines again in blueprints of your favorite technology.
Leather, denim, and corduroy in your dorm room will all add to the masculinity of the place. Add some contrasting textures through pillows in these materials, or keep it simple with faux fur throws and bean bags. Incorporate some brightness with throw blankets, or go neutral with earthy tones and black and white pieces.
To amplify the natural light from your window and add a masculine feel, decorate your dorm room in shades of blue. Blue is a calming color, which will help keep you relaxed when you're studying. It also complements yellow well, so you could use yellow accents throughout the room to help brighten up the space without leaning too much toward the feminine.
Adorn your walls with flags from your college or university, along with banners, pennants, and other memorabilia items that show off your school spirit. These can be found at many sporting goods stores and online retailers. not to mention on campus, of course.
They’re easy to put up and take down when you move out of the dorms or if you get tired of them.
The best way to be a minimalist in your small dorm room is to use furniture that's multi-purpose. For example, instead of buying a desk, get a sturdy table with drawers underneath. You can use the top part as your desk and the bottom part as storage space for electronics or even clothing. There's nothing feminine about keeping things tidy.
If you're going off to college, it's important to bring a few things from home. This can be anything from a favorite pillow to an old teddy bear—just choose a couple of things that make you feel safe and comfortable. Even the most masculine space needs something to soften it, so if it's hard to leave Stufty the Bear behind — don't!