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College is the time in your life to express yourself - your views, opinions, and passions. What better way to express your individuality than the look of your dorm room? For probably the first time, you'll be on your own and able to decorate the way you like. Long gone are your mom's country or floral prints. Your dorm room is a place for you to call home for at least the next few months.

The first step in creating your dorm room is deciding what style you would like. Are you a contemporary gal who likes stream-lined black and white? Or are you the passionate artsy-type who can't do without lots of color?

The main focus of your room, and the place where you can express the most about your style, is through your bedding. While you may be high on style, like many college students, you're probably low on cash. The most economical way to way to stylize your bedding is to buy a "bed-in-a-bag" package. By choosing one of these packages, you can purchase an entire kit that includes a comforter, pillow sham, dust ruffle, and possibly sheets - all in one package. Check stores like Target either in person or online (http://www.target.com for great-looking sets in all different styles.

If you're lucky enough to know who your roommate will be, you might like to try coordinating or matching bedding sets. It will give your room a cohesive look that will "wow" all your friends when they come in to borrow your stuff.

After you've selected your bedding, you'll want the rest of your room to work with those colors. This is where you can get really creative. Do you have things in your bedroom now that you can re-use or re-purpose for your new dorm room? Many times something just needs a quick coat of paint to make it into something new.

Combining old and new items is very much in style, and spending a couple of weekends at a flea market with your friends, might just turn up some spectacular buys. Plastic or wooden milk crates can quickly turn into bookcases. Your posters from home can be cut and re-mounted to make a great new mosaic to hang over your bed. Your old sheets can be sewn into a new laundry bag (which you can easily carry home with you when you go back for a home-cooked meal). Or take your current laundry hamper and spray paint it with the new spray paint for plastics to match your new decor. Even your lamps from home can find new life if you replace your old shades with new ones.

If you don't feel like being creative, visit your local Wally World (ok, Walmart) to pick up complete matching sets of desk organizers, desk lamps, and draw organizers. They even have matching dorm bean bags which you can use while doing homework if you find your desk is too messy to work.

Of course, your style might be more upscale. If that's the case, visit stores like Ikea (http://www.ikea.com where you can find contemporary items at an affordable price. If your budget is a little higher, check out Pottery Barn Teen (http://www.pbteen.com where you can find matching curtains or peel-n-stick wall murals to go with your decor.

After looking into your college dorm rules, you may find you can add other things in your dorm room as well. If the rules allow, you may be able to add a mini-fridge or other small appliances. Small appliances and just generally cool things can almost always be found pre-owned on places like Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.com in your local area.

So, tell your parents you're ready to design the dorm room of your dreams. Unless, of course, they're paying for your design. If that's the case, you might need to do a little bartering and a few chores to achieve the look you want. Designing your dorm room is important - it's one of the first steps in showing the world who you are.

Learn more about this author, Starla Ross.
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