Dorm Room String Lights

Decorating your dorm room can feel a bit as challenging as it is painstaking. Not to mention the expenses involved in a room renovation. But these do not excuse your dorm room from looking dull and lifeless. There are many ways to liven up a dorm room that doesn’t require huge amounts of money or experience with carpentry.

Setting up string lights in your dorm room is both easy and inexpensive. String lights have become very popular decorations in dorm rooms but there are many ways to set it up that will make your room stand out from the rest. But first, let’s go through the different types of string lights available in the market.

Different Types of Dorm Room String Lights

Christmas lights

The quintessential Christmas lights are the most popular string lights you can buy. Most lights are multi-colored but you’d want a uniform warm white color as decoration in your dorm room. Preferably, you’d also go with white-colored wires compared to holiday green.

Fairy lights

Fairy lights are similar to Christmas lights but usually have smaller LED lights. They also come in different colors, but most are white.

Globe string lights

This setup uses round LED bulbs. LED bulbs do not use a lot of power and don’t produce much heat. Some globe string lights have LED bulbs that change color. The bulb covers are made of plastic which makes it less prone to breaking than glass bulbs.

Vintage string lights

You commonly see these lights in outdoor restaurants. The bulbs themselves come in different shapes and sizes. These string lights are the most beautiful, but they’re also the most expensive and power-consuming. The good news is, you can already purchase LED bulbs that look exactly like these vintage bulbs without using as much power and producing as much heat.

These string lights look great on the ceiling or stretched on a wall.

LED Rope lights

Rope lights consist of LED lights wrapped inside a plastic tube. This design makes it easy to form different shapes or letters.

Star LED string lights

These are LED string lights shaped into stars. Some manufacturers provide a remote controller to change the color, effects, and intensity of the lights. Other LED string lights come in different shapes.

Rattan Balls String Lights

These are your standard LED string lights but are wrapped inside rattan balls. This makes it readily decorative. You can hang these lights across a wall or the ceiling.

Net String Lights

These LED lights come in the shape of a mesh or a net. You can stretch it to cover an empty wall or hang photos on it.

Dorm Room String Lights Ideas

Spell Out a Message

Spell out a cheerful message or a short quote using string lights. You can use rope lights, fairy lights or Christmas lights to do the trick.

Create a Tree

Before you spend the holidays back at home you can start feeling festive in your dorm room by arranging string lights into a Christmas tree shape. You can also add twigs and pine cones to give it a more Christmas feel. You can even leave presents for your roommates underneath.

Christmas lights, fairy lights, or even globe lights are useful for forming tree shapes. You can use tape or clear command hooks to set them in place.

Wrap Around a Mirror

Make a DIY Hollywood vanity mirror by wrapping globe string lights or tiny LED string lights around a mirror.

Fill up an Empty Wall

If you’ve run out of ideas to decorate an empty wall, light it up with string lights. Pin photos or small decorations to add more character.

Hang With Photos

The perfect way to light up your dorm room with string lights. You can do this trick with globe string lights, Christmas lights, or vintage string lights. Clothespins are great for attaching the photos instead of push pins to avoid punching holes in the wall.

Decorate Around the Headboard

What better way to highlight the bed in a dorm room than to attach string lights on the headboard. No headboard? No problem! You can arrange string lights to a headboard shape, or any shape for that matter.

Use String Lights as a Lamp Substitute

If you’re already tired with the usual table lamp, you can create a vertical line of string lamps using globe lights or vintage string lights. Doing this could also make the room taller. Just make sure you’re using LED bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs when placing next to a curtain to avoid fire.

Poke Holes in Canvas or Décor to Create Illuminated Wall Art.

You can also poke holes in papercraft décor to create unique lit-up artworks.

Fill Bottles or Glass Jars to Make a Spectacular Centerpiece

There are battery-operated fairy lights that you can use to fill a bottle. You can also try bottles in different colors to achieve different effects.

Create a String Light Paper Wreath

Paper lets light through, so attaching fairy lights behind a paper wreath can give it a unique glow. Make sure to use LED string lights to minimize heat.

Dixie Cup Shades

Cover with fancy paper and punch holes at the bottom of each cup. You can be creative with the colors and the patterns of the paper. Globe string lights or white Christmas lights are ideal for this project.

References:

1. Christmas lights: Hometalk – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/98657048074252770/
2. Fairy lights: Gardener’s Supply Company – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/224265256431067140/
3. Globe string lights: eBay – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/231865080802522255/?nic=1
4. Vintage string lights: lights.com – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/117164027791928154/
5. Rope lights: Wayfair – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/623607879636178844/?nic=1
6. Star LED string lights: Pottery barn – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/506092076876371340/
7. Rattan Balls String Lights: Bargain Direct Store – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/576320083566352026/?nic=1
8. Net String Lights: Christmas Day Blogspot – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/730709108268338082/
9. Homedit website – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/442197257136920745/?nic=1
10. Tree string lights: IKEA – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/790100328353904521/
11. Vanity mirror: FunesFitness: https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/677228862700144813/
12. Empty wall: Holly Leigh – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/357051076706130666/
13. Hang photos: DIY Room Décor – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/774548835893731429/
14. Headboard: Momtastic – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/345510602661428828/
15. Lamp substitute: Teen Vogue – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/450711875189067964/
16. Illuminated wall art: The Spruce – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/396316835959824817/
17. Bottles: Purfect4u – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/811703532821864698/
18. Paper wreath: DIY Projects for Teens – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/41306521560850081/
19. Dixie cups: Country Living – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/363876844893284947/