This Freshman Created a Cozy, Cottagecore Dorm Where She Can Study *and* Chill

For Christina Viyar, decorating her 250-square-foot dorm at California Baptist University was a challenge. The space was smaller than what she expected, especially sharing it with a roommate. But Christina (@christinaviyar_ on TikTok; @christinaviyar on Instagram) took on the task of creating an atmosphere where she can study and chill. She landed on a calming, cottagecore aesthetic that touches every part of the space. Her trick? Fresh flowers in thrifted vases.

How’d you end up in this space? Since I am a freshman, my roommate and I chose to live in one of the five freshman living areas at California Baptist University. Our first impression was that the space was really small, but my roommate and I were excited to decorate it and make it our own! We chose a room at the very end of the hall, and it’s our own little safe space — we love it! 

Now that you’ve made it your own, what specifically do you love about it? I love that it is just enough space for me and my roommate, and it’s not too big where there’s too much space to decorate. We put a lot of thought into our decorations and our dorm, and it has become our space to hang out, nap, talk all night, eat, and live our freshman college life as best friends who are also roommates!

What’s your space best known for? Always being clean. My roommate and I love to clean and keep our space clean — our beds are always made, and we rarely have clutter or clothes on the floor! It’s so relaxing to always be able to come home to a clean dorm room after class. We also added fairy lights, which make our dorm the best spot for naps when the lights are off!

Define your personal home style: I’d describe our dorm style as pinky, cottagecore, boho chic, with lots of flowers and pictures! We based our colors off of pink, blue, and beige and we love pastels! We used Pinterest for the base of our inspiration but personalized our dorm with our own pictures, trinkets, stuffed toys, and other decorations!

What’s your favorite element of your space? My favorite element is our shared closet or our desks being right next to each other with our matching makeup mirrors! My roommate is my best friend, and it’s so fun to get ready or do homework next to each other and share our clothes!

What’s your proudest DIY or product hack? My proudest DIY was my thrifted frame wall! I got inspiration from Pinterest for different frames on a wall as a collage, and I thought it was so cute I had to make one! I went to a few different thrift stores and thrifted 8-10 frames (all under $3 each) that were either gold, white, pink, or blue of all different sizes and shapes. I took pictures of the frames and organized them on Canva to plan out my wall, found cute pictures on Pinterest that matched each other and the frames, and printed those out at CVS for super cheap! I used Command strips and tacks to hold the frames to the wall, and it came out so cute!

To remove the stigma associated with talking about money in college, we’re asking students to share how they plan and budget for their space.

How much does your housing cost per semester? $3,885

Do you have anyone helping to fund your housing? My parents

Do you pay for your living expenses? Partially

How do you earn your income? Part-time job

How much did it cost to decorate your space? It cost around $800 total for all of our decorations and dorm necessities (most of these were one-time purchases, which we will use as we grow in college — they can be easily thrifted and budgeted better if need be).

Do you have anyone helping to fund your decor? My parents paid for most of our up-front decorations when we first moved in, but as I go through the school year, I pay for new additions.

What was your best budget find for this space, and how much did it cost? Our hangers! They were from Amazon in a pack of 50 (we bought three packs) for about $25 each pack.

What was your biggest splurge for this space and how much did it cost? My comforter or my makeup mirrors (each was about $60).

What was your biggest challenge in decorating your space? Our biggest challenge was working with a smaller space as well as harsh dorm lighting (we never turn on our big light!). We only use our desk lamps and light bulbs with yellow lighting that we picked out, and it transformed the room! We struggled to hang our pictures and decorations on the walls since we couldn’t use nails so we used Command strips, hanging putty, and thumbtacks.

What’s your best tip for optimizing a small space? Since our space is pretty small and my roommate and I have a lot of stuff, we love to utilize decorative and cute hidden storage as well as use cute practical items (simple details such as making our hangers white and pink added so much to the closet). Our closet is open so we use pink/tan storage boxes and crates to hold our stuff and hide it from the regular view. 

My biggest tip is to always try to have fresh flowers in your space! All you need is a simple bouquet (Trader Joe’s has some for under $5) and a cute vase (perfect to thrift), and it elevates our room so much! It adds a cute and personal touch as we switch out the flowers every two-ish weeks as they die.

This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.

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