Five Ways to Make Your College Dorm Feel Like Hogwarts

As many college students move into their dorms this week, lots of us are thinking about how we’re going to make our rooms feel like home for the next year. Since Hogwarts is obviously the home we’re talking about, here are some ideas to Potter-fy your college dorm.

1. Since you can’t paint your dorm, consider hanging a blanket on the wall – in your House colors, naturally. As a bonus, blankets tend to soundproof your room, so you can’t hear whatever activities your floor mates are getting up to, and they won’t hear you. Adding fairy lights to the walls can make it feel even more magical and give the space a cozier feel.

2. If you feel like doing something more hands on and creative, most craft stores sell wooden letters you can paint and use as book ends – my sister gave me my first initial painted in Ravenclaw colors, but there are other options, too: “H “and “P” on either end of your books, or buy a whole set of letters to spell out “Hogwarts” along your shelf. Here’s an example from my bookshelf (the Potter-esque glasses are a nice touch, too!):

3. Everyone likes plants, and giving you something nice to look at and take care of can be a nice escape in college. Take out the boring Muggle labels that come with the plants and relabel them with your favorite things from Herbology, like mandrakes, Gillyweed, and wormwood!  Here’s a Muggle version.

4. Does your dorm have bunk beds? Why not pretend it’s a four-poster bed (to distract yourself from the fact that you’re stuck sleeping on a bunk bed the next four years) and put up some fancy sheets, like the curtains Harry only tends to pull around his bed when fighting with Ron. It’ll give you some privacy, and let you visualize yourself at the school you really wish you were attending come September 1.

5. Fill your desk with Potter-themed supplies: quill ballpoint pens, lightning bolt sticky notes, and owl notebooks are just a start. You can also get creative with practical items for your workspace: Turn mason jars into potions jars for storing your pencils by painting them and adding labels like Felix Felicis (for exam time), or a whiteboard with lightning bolt magnets that doubles as a place for writing to-do lists and hanging