This $14 Hack Will Totally Disguise an Ugly Dorm Desk Chair (It’s So Cute!)

Isabel Petrou
Isabel Petrou
Isabel is an incoming sophomore at the University of Vermont. She is studying public communication. She grew up in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where she frequented the beach often during the summer. Even though her heart belongs to the ocean, the mountains are becoming a close…read more
published Apr 1, 2025
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desk with organizer on top of it
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Prop Styling: Vicky Wasik & Maya Borrero

Let’s be real: Standard dorm desk chairs are never pretty. They’re usually wooden and boring with a (probably dirty-ish) colored seat cushion that actually isn’t soft at all.  Because you have no choice in picking your dorm room furniture,  you’re just stuck with whatever chair you get. And realistically, you can’t decorate your chair, because you have to return it to its original state by the end of the year. Given all that, I just dealt with my desk chair during my freshman year, and so did everyone else I knew. 

So when I spotted Mazzy Williams’ (@mazzy_williams) TikTok about using a dining room chair cover to upgrade a dorm chair, I was shocked at how much it can elevate the look of the chair. Williams got the idea from a friend and went ahead and bought this set of two to split with a roommate. One person commented, “this is so so cute.”

These particular chair covers are currently on sale for $14.44 for a two-pack on Amazon (full price is $16.99) and come in various colors like white, black, chocolate, and gray. You can choose your color to match your dorm aesthetic. 

Even though dorm desk chairs aren’t necessarily the same size as dining room chairs, these covers still worked for Williams thanks to their easily stretchable material — they’re puckered at the top with a flowy skirt at the bottom. Of course, you’ll need to check to see if they’d fit your own desk chair dimensions. 

I would buy the light khaki option (even though it’s currently unavailable) for my college apartment desk chair because it matches my boho aesthetic the most. I would also use these slipcovers on the chairs around my actual dining room table and get them in white to match that area’s vibe. 

It’s hard to believe, but these fun chair covers could make a boring, old dorm desk chair look curated to your dorm design!

Isabel Petrou

Contributor

Isabel is an incoming sophomore at the University of Vermont. She is studying public communication. She grew up in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where she frequented the beach often during the summer. Even though her heart belongs to the ocean, the mountains are becoming a close contender. Her favorite part of living in Burlington, Vermont, for college is its unique coffee shops. Her perfect day would consist of going to a cute café in the morning, then spending the day at the beach swimming and reading, then ending the day by shopping and getting dressed up for a nice dinner downtown. Through Dorm Therapy, Isabel is excited to be a voice for young adults embarking on their college journeys and she hopes to make this big transition of life more comfortable for others in the same place as her.

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SchoolUniversity of Vermont '26
MajorPublic Communication
FavesShopping, the beach, TV/movies, walks, reading, Taylor Swift
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