Chances are you’ve heard of minimalism, and how it works to help rid your space and your life of objects that do not contribute to your happiness or fulfillment. In other words, with this approach you’re cutting out the excesses in order to focus more on what’s meaningful in your life—family, friends, happiness, etc. As a lifestyle, minimalism can be very rewarding, as it gives you the tools to really take a look at which of your possessions truly brings you happiness and contributes to your wellbeing (think Marie Kondo’s, does it spark joy.)

You can apply minimalism to many aspects of your life, including your decor aesthetic. You may conjure an image in your mind of white walls and black furniture when you think of a minimalist aesthetic, but it can be so much more than that! If you think the minimalist aesthetic might be right for your dorm room this year, have we got some inspiration for you!

In this article we’re going to delve a little deeper into:

• What the minimalist aesthetic actually is (including its benefits)
• Ways you can express your minimalist aesthetic in your dorm room
• Must-have items to really give off those minimalist aesthetic vibes
  

What is the Minimalist Aesthetic?

Let’s discuss what the minimalist aesthetic is

If you’re attracted to the large, open spaces that minimalism decor can offer, then you’re in luck, because it is super easy to transfer this style to your dorm room! The minimalist aesthetic focuses on a less is more approach, so even if you’re not quite ready to take the minimalist approach into other areas of your life, for now you can focus on living with less stuff in your dorm room. 

In order to get started, try and think of how your room would look with clean, open spaces, neutral colors, interesting textures, and minimal distractions. If this sounds good to you, then you just imagined a minimalist aesthetic dorm room. Just because it’s minimalist, doesn’t mean it has to be all black and white and boring. Instead, when you have less clutter—and in a small dorm room this is always a good idea—you tend to create a more relaxed and welcoming space. Sometimes when there are too many things taking up space, it can make our area feel cramped and busy. This is not good if you want your dorm room to give off comfortable and cozy vibes.

When planning your minimalist aesthetic dorm room, it helps to focus on a couple of concepts. 

Use neutral colors

Neutral colors are the go-to color palette for anything dealing with a minimalist aesthetic. So if black and white is your thing, go for it! Those are fantastic colors to provide the base for your minimalist dorm room. 

However black and white aren’t the only neutral colors. Think warm earth tones, such as greens, browns, and clay-colored reds. Grays also work as a fantastic neutral that can easily be incorporated into any dorm room. If blues are more your thing, navy blue works as a fantastic alternative to dark black. 

Once you know your color palette, it makes it easier to see how this can contribute to a minimalist aesthetic. All of these colors are easy on the eyes and create a very zen-like atmosphere when combined in the right way.

Focus on eye-pleasing items

With a neutral colored background, you can enhance your space with eye-pleasing accents or other items. When your base is white, gray, or tan, it’s easy to see how a pop of color can really draw the eye in. Choosing a blanket, rug, or a pillow in a vibrant yellow or red can really tie the whole room together in wonderful minimalist style.

In addition to color, you can also focus on texture for accent items. Different patterns and materials are all at home in a minimalist dorm room, as long as they complement the neutral color palette and do not overwhelm the eye. 

Natural highlights are key

Because your goal is to work with less, you don’t want to fall into the trap of having too many accents or additional items. This means, work with the natural style of your dorm room! If you’re lucky enough to have high ceilings, or large windows work with that. Ensure that you allow lots of light to get through, and perhaps add a couple of potted plants to your window sills. 

If you don’t have large windows, that’s okay too, you can still bring a little natural beauty into your room. Succulents are a great addition to any window because they’re a beautiful natural color and they don’t require a lot of effort for their care. You could also ensure that the fabric you use for your drapes allow plenty of light in to highlight your minimalist dorm space.

Benefits of the minimalist aesthetic

Now that you’ve got a place to start as you plan your minimalist dorm room, we thought we’d mention a few of the benefits of choosing this style for your space.

• It’s easy to clean. When you decide to have less items in your dorm room and keep only those that make you happy, you’ll find yourself cleaning up your space in no time! Cleaning is always a chore, but when there are less items to worry about, you’ll find you’re done dusting and vacuuming before you know it.
• Less clutter in a small space. Dorm rooms are always small, and they’re even more so when you need to share your space with a roommate. Don’t waste the precious space you do have with too much unnecessary stuff. When you go with a minimalist aesthetic, you’ll find that you actually have all the space you need, and maybe even some extra!
• You may be more productive! When we see clutter in our rooms or on our work desks, it tends to make our brains frantic and wired. We focus on the need to clean up and organize, rather than getting the studying done that’s necessary. With less things catching your eye or demanding tidying up, you may find you’re getting your homework done faster.
  

Now you’re ready to really put your minimalist aesthetic plan into action, by choosing how to express it in your dorm room. 

Ways to Express the Minimalist Aesthetic in Your Dorm Room

Consider adding a minimalist aesthetic touch to these areas of your dorm room

Now that you know how to get a minimalist aesthetic in your dorm room, now we’ll turn to where you should focus your attention to really bring out those minimalist vibes.

Your bed

When you’re living in a dorm room, one of the main features of your room is going to be your bed. This is why it’s a great place to add some minimalist aesthetic. As we mentioned earlier, you’re going to want to go with neutral colors here. Think about tans, creams, charcoal, gray, black, or even white for your comforter.  

Once you have the color decided, you may choose to add a little bit extra with some texture or a soft pattern. Having at least two sets of sheets is key in school, so make sure you consider this as well. You’ll want your sheets and pillow cases to complement the comforter, or you can choose to keep them all in the same neutral shade.

Since you’ll also find yourself relaxing, reading, studying, or even catching up on shows in your bed, you may want to include some accent pillows or a headboard as well. These items can be your pop of color to balance the more neutral shade of your bed linens. 

Curtains

No matter what kind of windows you have in your dorm room, we promise you can bring a little minimalist inspiration to them! While you typically don’t have much of a choice when it comes to how your dorm is set up, you can bet on the fact that there will be some kind of window to let in natural light. 

Since the minimalist aesthetic is all about working with natural light and incorporating natural elements, make sure to let in as much light as possible. To do this, choose a window curtain that is sheer or semi-sheer, so that you get plenty of natural light, but it is softened by the curtain filter.

If your windows are small and don’t offer a lot of light, you could consider either foregoing the curtains all together, or instead go with a neutral colored valance to sit only at the top of the window. With this type of window dressing, you’ll still get all the natural light you can since valances do not cover the entire window. 

Your work area

Perhaps the one area that can benefit the most from a minimalist aesthetic style! Working with clutter is never a good idea, since it creates more stress and can distract us from our tasks (studying!) Since you’re going with the minimalist aesthetic, you know that less is more, so make sure to treat your work area the same way.

On top of your desk keep your essentials, such as a laptop area, a place to put your pens/pencils, and an area for your desk light. If you have space to store your books there, that works too, but other than that, there’s not much more you’ll need on your desk. On your wall nearby it may be helpful to have an organizer for your deadlines or a cart to keep track of your materials for each class.

On your chair you can place a pillow or a seat cushion that accents the color you used with your bed linens.

Lighting 

While you can rely on the beautiful natural lighting during the day, you’ll also need to make sure you have enough lights to help you study at night! A desk lamp is always the way to go for your study space, but consider adding a floor lamp to your dorm room as well. Not only does it give off a softer glow than the fluorescent ones installed in the ceiling, but it also creates a more relaxed vibe. 

You can find floor lamps in a variety of sizes, and most of them are easy to tuck into a corner, so they’re not cluttering up your room. 

Pro tip: Consider getting a lamp with a paper shade, to really enhance the zen-like vibes of your minimalist decor. 

Essential Items to Inspire the Minimalist Aesthetic in Your Space

Consider picking up these items to include in your minimalist aesthetic dorm room!

Comforter

If you love the idea of the minimalist aesthetic, but also can’t get enough of soft pastels, then this beautiful dusty pink comforter is just what you need. The color is neutral enough to fit into your less is more approach, but the details really make it pleasing to the eye. This comforter is also machine washable, making it very practical as well as pretty.

A great way to complete the look would be to include a gray throw blanket at the end of the bed for extra warmth, or even cream colored throw pillows.

Sheets

You can’t go wrong with a neutral gray when it comes to bed linens. Whether you choose to go with the light pink comforter above, or would rather pair this with a white or black comforter instead, gray sheets never go out of style. 

These sheets are durable but soft, and would make a wonderful complement to any minimalist aesthetic room. 

Carpet

Chances are your dorm room floors are tiled, making them cold to the touch. You can add an extra dose of warmth and style when you include this useful, neutral rug into your decor. With its no-skid backing and plush feel, it will be right at home in a minimalist aesthetic dorm room. The hue is perfect for balancing out any accent pieces and enhancing the naturalistic feel of your space.

We hope this guide to the minimalism aesthetic has inspired you to choose this as your decor style this year. It’s easy to pull off and always looks great!