Have you ever taken a look around your dorm room and thought to yourself, “I don’t feel comfortable here?” The truth is, many college students end up feeling this way at one point during their four years. The reason behind this is when we’re going into college, we have no idea what to buy -- we’re given a list of items and are told to purchase them in order to live comfortably at school. 

Well, when most of us are buying these items, we’re not paying much attention to how it’s going to affect us in the long run. We see ‘twin xl comforter” on the list and pick up one that adequately suits our taste in the moment. However, we’re not picturing the comfy, cozy dorm room we need to make college feel like our second home.  

If you’re already in college and feel like your dorm room just doesn’t cut it anymore -- then this is the perfect time to revamp. If you’re just about to start your first year, then you’re in luck because we’re giving you the tips we wish someone told us before heading off to start our freshman year. 

Our first tip is take dorm shopping seriously -- pick out items that you would be happy and feel good about having in your bedroom at home. If you wouldn’t select an item for your most important space, then don’t settle for a lackluster piece for your dorm room. If you don’t love it now, you won’t love it later. 

Your dorm room is essentially going to become your home away from home because you’ll most likely be spending more time here then you will at your childhood home. For this reason, it’s critical to decorate and personalize your dorm room just as you would at home. You need to feel comfortable in this space in order to get the most out of your college experience. 

Your dorm bed is about having ultimate comfort. Pillows, sheets, and blankets that look inviting and make you want to spend all day in bed snuggling with your comforter. The good news is we’ll tell you how you can get items that scream cozy and make you feel like the best version of yourself while you’re away at college. 

• Comforters
• Pillows 
• Blankets & Throws 

Sherpa Comforters for a Warm and Cozy Atmosphere 

We want you to think about your bed at home. Is it piled high with pillows? Do you have a single comforter? One blanket, three blankets, or even six blankets? The best advice we can give you is that your dorm room should reflect your personal style and there’s a good chance your bedroom at home is an excellent representation of you. 

If not, this is the perfect time to reinvent yourself. Do you catch yourself browsing Pinterest or Instagram and fantasizing about a beautiful room you saw? Now is your prime opportunity to take this room and recreate it. You can take the basics and build from them by adding touches of your personal style or you can look for similar item dupes.  

However, sherpa isn’t made from any animal products, making it an animal-friendly alternative to traditional wool or fur. The fabric is made from pure cotton, a synthetic fiber like polyester, or a combination of both cotton and synthetic fibers. 

The two sided fabric is a college student’s dream. One side is made to resemble fleece -- revealing a  stitched wooly and bumpy texture that is extremely soft and warm. The other side is a smooth knitted shell that often has a velvety feel. 

Sherpa is great for two reasons -- the first is its ability to provide and retain heat, making it a reliable aid against the cold winter months. This is especially true in cold dorm rooms with old heating systems that are either too hot or too cold with no inbetween. The second reason is sherpa’s ability to wick away moisture. Even though it seems like fluffy, heavy material that would become too hot -- it dries quickly, so it will wick away sweat if you become overheated during the night. 

As we’ve mentioned, sherpa may seem like a heavy or bulky material, but it’s actually lightweight! It feels luxurious, almost like satin, and delicate when you run your fingers over the surface. 

Overall, sherpa is everything we could want in a blanket! It keeps in the heat while also quickly ridding the body of excess moisture. Plus we love the stylish lightweight look and feel that will pair effortlessly with your other items.

Our top pick is this reversible sherpa comforter! Made in a stylish shade of gray, this comforter has the two sides we mentioned -- the chunky knit, wooly side and the velvety smooth, soft side. 

The reversible micromink side comes in the gray shade, but can be flipped to reveal the plush ivory sherpa side. This comforter will look beautiful against other colors and blankets while keeping you warm and cozy all night long. 

What we love most about sherpa is its easy maintenance! It is machine washable in cold water on the gentle cycle and can be either tumble dried or air dried. A common issue with sherpa is pilling -- however, this is easy to solve and even preventable! If you’re worried about pilling, simply air dry the blanket after it comes out of the wash. 

Accent Pillows, Fluffy Pillows, Oh My! 

Accent pillows are everything. They are responsible for tying your room together -- your comforter, throw blankets, and anything else you might have on your bed. If there’s an extra color you are dying to add to your room, but don’t know where to put it -- accent pillows are your answer.

You guessed it -- this is a matching accent pillow to the comforter we showed you above! Matching items are all the range in today’s society, they effortlessly bring everything together.

It’s also reversible too, with the gray micromink on one side and plush ivory on the other side. You can have one side up on the comforter while displaying the opposite side on your accent pillow. This will allow the pieces to offset each other and look beautiful together. 

Yes, sherpa comes in the form of backrest pillows too! The best thing about this backrest pillow is that it will offer support while you study in ultimate, soft comfort. Even if you’re not studying, you can take relaxing to a new level with this super plush pillow. 

Backrest pillows are actually good for your health too. They are designed to prevent muscle tiredness associated with sitting for long periods of time. It aligns your back by forcing your body to sit in the correct posture -- when your back is properly aligned, you will experience less strain on your spine. 

So, a backrest pillow will mold to your needs while you sit, ensuring your back has the proper support and will also ooze comfort and coziness as you study! 

Plush Blankets & Throws for the Perfect Nap

Throw blankets come in handy at the best times. Their versatility is what makes them so desirable. If you want to crawl in bed during the middle of the day for a nap, but don’t want to mess up your neatly made bed -- grab a throw blanket and nap on top of your comforter. You can also take them with you to study in a common room, at your desk, or even in the library. They are great for a cold day sitting at a sporting event and so much more! 

Throw blankets can have their own benefits too, like this weighted blanket for example. It’s actually not your average blanket at all, weighted blankets have therapeutic qualities. It uses a technique called deep pressure stimulation to relax the nervous system. This will help relieve pain, reduce anxiety, and improve your mood.

Weighted blankets can also help users who suffer from insomnia by reducing sleep onset time and minimizing the number of nighttime awakenings you experience at night. We both know that college can be extremely stressful at times which can cause us to feel a lot of added stress and anxiety that causes difficulty sleeping. A weighted blanket can help you feel calmer during these situations and make sleep come easier. 

The heaviness of your weighted blanket can be determined by your own body weight. Those between 100-120 pounds can benefit from a 10-12 pound blanket, those between 120-140 pounds can use a 12-14 pound blanket, and finally those between 140-160 pounds can select a 14-16 pound blanket. 

Just in time for Pantone’s 2021 colors of the year is this gray blanket! Not only do we love the subtle, dull yet elegant gray color, but we especially love the chunky knit feel of this blanket. 

If we’re having a bad day, this is exactly the blanket we want to snuggle up with. The handmade quality of this blanket gives it a high fashion look that will go great in your dorm room with the rest of your bedding items or make your desk chair less lonely. Overall, we love everything about this blanket. 

With these super soft and cozy bedding items, your dorm room is sure to become your paradise away from home. You will rest easy in style and with less stress and anxiety with these pieces that will make you feel comfortable for the next four years!