“Slow Decorating” Was the Surprising Secret to the Dorm of My Dreams

By the time I set down the last bag in my dorm as an incoming freshman, I was overwhelmed, exhausted, and very sweaty. It was late August in New York City, which meant temps were well above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity was not helping. Plus, my small shoebox of a dorm meant I had to plop all of my bins and bags right in the center of the room, or on the vinyl twin XL mattress. Like I said, it was overwhelming. 

As I unpacked, I felt a little pressured to just get everything done. Decorating my dorm as quickly as possible, I thought, would help me feel completely at home, settled, and put-together. What I soon learned, though, is that curating a new space that feels like home — in a whole new chapter of my life — takes time. When I actually accepted my blank walls and stopped rushing the process, that’s when I really discovered the joy of slow decorating, and eventually put together the dorm I’d always wanted.  

Slow decorating is exactly as it sounds. The design method requires you to slow down and find pieces you love, rather than buying things just to fill your space. 

Celena Browning, a Los Angeles-based interior decorator, says this approach to decorating “doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to take a lot of time,” but rather, “slower means being more intentional, and being more thoughtful.” 

New York-based interior designer Christina Salway has similar thoughts on the design concept. She suggests buying five essential items — bedding, lighting, towels, a microwave, and any desk supplies — so that you can be comfortable and prepared immediately after you move in. “Then populate the rest of the space with things that feel true to [you] as a person and an extension of [your] personality,” Salway advises.

Here’s how to use the slow decorating method to bring your own dream dorm to life — slowly but surely.

Browning explains that when people decorate, they often don’t have a plan — but the first step of slow decorating is to come up with one. That doesn’t necessarily mean having your entire gallery wall or dream bed setup mapped out from day one. But it could mean putting together a Pinterest board filled with spaces that you love, finding dorm tour videos on social media that inspire you, making a list of decor you’d love to find at the thrift store, or simply being purposeful about the things you bring into your room. 

This is the big one when it comes to slow decorating. Although it’s tempting to put every single thing you think you might need on your college packing list, Salway recommends leaving some time and space to collect dorm decor. She says the key is “allowing some actual organic design to occur, rather than trying to account for everything before you get there.” After all, you never know how big (or small) your dorm really is until you move in and see that your bed can’t fit the five throw pillows you packed. 

Of course, a totally blank slate can be uninspiring over time, so Browning suggests starting by hanging what you have on the wall, which will give you something to work off of. “I always say, ‘It’s better to have something up than nothing at all,’” she says. “Because once you see something, you’re like, ‘Oh, maybe I can put a bigger print next to it, or a smaller print.’”

In particular, Browning recommends focusing right away on things that represent who you are. “As soon as you come [into the space], always bring your personal touch: photos, small decor from your home, a mini mood board or bulletin board,” she says. “Because that always sparks creativity, and that gets the creative juices flowing.”

For me, the first week I moved in, I hung a few 5-by-7-sized art pieces on the wall above my desk and waited to put more up. Throughout the semester, I tacked cool business cards, Polaroids, and illustrated cards to my wall. I even stuck a sealed lollipop on the wall because it was a beautiful artisanal one with pressed wildflowers. 

I took the first several months of the fall semester my freshman year to add to this wall until it was an average-sized focal point — but I kept shaping it all throughout the nine months I was living there. Like Browning suggests, I kind of played Tetris with my gallery wall. Each time I wanted to add something else, I toyed around with the shapes and color gradients, figuring out which colors would look best with the pieces that were already there.

I came to refer to this collage as my “memory wall,” as it served as a visual scrapbook of the life I was building in college. And that’s just how Browning suggests approaching slow decorating your dorm — by leaning into personal touches that reflect you, what you’ve experienced, and your identity, and going from there.

The beautiful thing about slow decorating is that there’s no wrong way to do it. As long as you’re listening to your intuition, settling in with intention, and taking your time, you’re guaranteed to end up with a room that reflects you and the memories you’ve made.