Winter can feel long and brutal, but it doesn’t have to be completely unbearable. The rough air freezing your limbs and keeping you bundled make the outdoors so much harder to tolerate, and you’ll often need to find sanctuary indoors. The painfully cold moments you spend outside can make you very eager to rush into your dorm room after a day of class. In order to be comfortable you need to make sure that the room you run to for shelter is as cozy as it can possibly be. 

There is nothing worse than getting inside from a day in the cold air only to still be cold once you’re there. Don’t let your room become a barren refrigerator in the winter time, make sure it’s still cozy enough for you to stay in! You don’t have to deal with cold nights just because it’s winter time. Many people accept that their spaces get colder and less comfortable in the winter time, but you don’t have to. You would do best to prioritize your comfort, especially when it comes to your personal living space. 

There are a few great ways that you can make sure your room is as warm and comfortable as you need it to be. Soft and fuzzy accents like blankets, rugs, and curtains will add to the warmth factor of your room, as well as lighting. Colors, textures, and patterns also affect the feeling of warmth your room gives off. You can use these elements in various ways to achieve your desired effects. With a combination of the right elements used in certain ways, you can feel ultra cozy at any time in your dorm room. 

When you feel nice and comfortable, your days will overall go better and you will have far more restful nights. Restful nights are absolutely necessary for your ultimate college success. Let the way you set up your dorm room keep your morale high throughout every season. Here are some ideas that will keep you warm inside your dorm room all throughout the winter! 

Warm Lighting

The way you light your space can affect how warm it feels. 

There are two different kinds of lights that each affect our psyches differently. There is warm lighting and cool lighting. Cool lighting is characterized by bright bluish lights and warm lighting is characterized by dimmer reddish lights. Cool lighting keeps us alert and energetic while warm lighting keeps us relaxed and comfortable. There is a benefit to switching up your lighting depending on the time of day and how you want to feel. Early in the day when you’re getting ready to brave the cold for class, use ultra bright cool lighting to get you in the zone. When you’re done with the day and ready to wind down, use dimmer and warmer lighting. This warm lighting will give you an overall sense of warmth and comfort. 

These battery powered LED lights from OCM give off a calm ambient light that will make your dorm room feel warm. They will be bright enough to provide you with light, but dim enough to aid in relaxation. You can cover your room in these lights or even a single wall. Wherever you place these lights, they will have a great impact on the space. These lights will also look great paired with other light sources. 

There are several different ways that you can add warm lighting to your dorm room. Lamps work well for this. A small lamp can have enough power to light your room, but still not overpower it. Colorful lights can also add to the warmth of a room. You can find light bulbs in colors like red, blue, or amber. Lanterns will also be a great warm light source for your room. All these options will keep you feeling warm throughout the evenings.  

Candle lights are great for adding a warm atmosphere to a room. Most dorms don’t allow candles, but you can still get the same effect by using flameless candles. Candles cover your room in a soft warm glow that will make you feel warm inside. The vibe they bring is peaceful, especially when you use several of them. Several flameless candles lined up in different parts of your room will look amazing. You will need to get a few of them in order to adequately light your room with an amber color. You can place faux candles around your bed or on your desk, but wherever you place them, they are sure to look great!

Warm Colors

The right colors can make you feel a lot more cozy. 

Red, orange, and yellow are warm colors that can make a room feel cozy. Just like the hue of your lights, the shade of your room’s contents will affect the feeling you get when you’re in it. You can add warm accent pieces to your room to accomplish the right effect. In your dorm room you can use throw blankets, pillows, and even wall hangings to add color without needing to paint your walls. A room full of reds, oranges, and yellows will give your space the warm ambiance that you’re looking for. You will feel super cozy every time you enter your dorm room!

The Vellux Sheared Mink Blanket from OCM will provide you with the perfect extra layer of warmth through the winter. It is made with premium polyester that mimics a soft mink texture. It provides two layers of insulation that will keep you comfortable all night. Whether you’re drifting off to sleep or relaxing to a movie on the couch, the comfort this blanket provides will improve your rest time. Cold is not an issue with a blanket this warm and soft!

Tapestries are a really good way to add color and warmth to your room. You may not be aware, but empty walls in older buildings can transmit cold from the outside. If your dorm building is newer, it may not be much of a problem, but in an older dorm building your space is bound to be affected by the outside temperature. That is why it may be a good idea to cover your walls in tapestries to keep your dorm room warm. Back in Medieval times, tapestries were frequently used to keep spaces warm. People would create a “chamber of tapestries” by forming multiple inner chambers of tapestries upon tapestries. You of course don’t need to go to that extreme, but it is not a bad idea to take a page from their book. 

Choosing tapestries with warm colors will help the room to feel as well as look warm. You can even manage to set up a tapestry canopy around your bed to keep you really cozy. Having tapestries draped around your room will also give it a cool boho vibe which adds to the inviting feel of a room. The boho style is known for making people feel chill and comfy. Adding such elements to your space will enhance the comfort it gives you in the winter. 

Creating a comfortable seating area is another way to use your tapestries. If you place large pillows on the floor and surround them in a tapestry fort, you’ll have a really cozy place to sit and relax. Your room will feel fun, cozy, and comfortable all throughout the cold months with the use of tapestries. Even if your room isn’t in need of much warming, tapestries are known for bringing a warm atmosphere into a room. You will feel content every time you step into your room and feel the warmth the ambiance you created gives off. 

Warm Textures

Certain textures will make your room physically feel a lot cozier. 

You’ll need to incorporate soft and warm textures into your room to make it feel as warm as possible. Rugs are a good way to make your floors a lot warmer. Many dorm rooms have cold floors, and even when they are covered in carpet, that carpet tends not to be the softest. You can cover your floors in rugs that feel good underneath your feet, or at least place soft rugs in important spaces like by your bed. You will appreciate these rugs whenever you get out of your bed and get to place your feet on a soft, plush surface. You can’t be overall warm if your feet aren’t. Making sure all your surfaces are designed for warmth will keep you comfortable all through the cold winter. 

This Splash Celis Contemporary Rug from OCM is a soft rug with a fun abstract pattern. It is predominantly made up of warm colors, so it will add to your room’s warm vibe with both its color and texture. This rug will add a comforting feel to your space. It's durable and made of soft yarn to provide a soft texture under your feet. 

Some textures you will need to add to your room for the winter are large, fluffy comforters. Thin blankets that you use just fine during other seasons just won’t work out well for the winter. You won’t feel as great overall if your nights are spent shivering under thin blankets. You need something that keeps you as warm and comfortable as possible. When your nights are comfortable, that translates to you having better days. You will wake up refreshed and ready to go start your day, which is essential when you have classes, jobs, and extracurriculars to get to. 

For a good sleep, your body has to retain a moderate humidity under your sheets. We all release different amounts of heat from our bodies at night, which is why different covers will work differently for different people. Some people may do better with a thinner comforter, and some people need all the warmth they can get with much thicker winter sheets. Figure out if your body runs hotter or colder and choose your comforter from there. Though to get your room as cozy as possible, you will need pretty warm covers. 

It is also necessary to make sure that your bedding is breathable. Even though it may be preferable to feeling cold, you don’t want to feel like a sweaty mess under your blankets either. A good balance must be struck if you want to keep your body warm but keep from being overheated. Different fabrics will bring you different results. Wool, synthetic, and down fabrics all work to keep you warm. Down comforters work really well for those who are easily cold. They will keep you incredibly warm. Synthetic fabrics are great for people who want to be warm, but avoid feeling too hot under their covers. 

This gray comforter from OCM will make sure that you keep warm at night. It is made of brushed microfiber wrapped around polyester to offer supreme warmth and durability. It will last all throughout your college career and even further along in your journey. It comes in full and queen sizes and is also reversible so you have two styles in one! Just turn your sheets over whenever you want to give your room a different style. This comforter is both stylish and warm. 

Wintertime can be difficult to deal with, especially if you can’t stand the cold. But you don’t have to spend these cold months suffering. When you make sure that your dorm room is a sanctuary for warm vibes, you will look forward to entering it every day. It is already a relief when you enter your home from the cold, but it's even better when you enter into an oasis of warmth that wraps you in several layers of comfort.