It's back to school time and you know what that means ...shopping!

Decorating your dorm is one of the best parts of moving into college. Everything from the bedding to the wall decor can be so crucial to making a cold dorm room feel like your home away from home.

Sometimes you want to deck out your college dorm and then you realize that your budget just isn't big enough to do a full MTV cribs style dorm.

Well, don't despair there's an art to shopping for your college dorm if you don't have a lot of cash to throw around. This is a guide on everything you might need for college but this is strictly about the fun stuff… Decor!

So let's get into my tried and true broke girl hacks for creating your dream dorm room.

Pick a Color Scheme Not a Color Theme

By choosing a mixture of 3 or 4 colors that go together you not only give yourself more options to choose from when shopping but it's easier to have your room look put together and like it was planned out as opposed to just picking a blue theme and having everything in your room be monochromatic.

The key to nailing a good scheme is picking two or three complementary colors and two neutral colors to set the stage.

For my dorm room, I chose blush, green, white, and grey, and everything blended seamlessly to create a dreamy relaxing dorm room. I got my tapestry my tropical tapestry from amazon and it’s on sale right now!

This dorm room has a mixture of pink white gold and a hint of green

Use Wallpaper or Tapestry

Wallpaper is making a comeback and it is an inexpensive way to cover those yucky dorm walls and add a bit of pizazz. Most college dorms will allow this since it is removable and that means you can go ham with whatever colors or patterns you like.

You can go about this in two ways:

1) use the wallpaper as a statement piece and go neutral for other decor pieces

2) do a simple wallpaper that's the perfect backdrop for a statement piece like bedding.

My roommate did this with brick wallpaper she got from Target and it was beautiful. A roll from Target will cost around $30 to cover your entire wall!

Learn how I got my first internship

Get your FREE Copy

Invest in Your Bedding

I know you might be thinking how does this make sense if I'm on a budget? But I'm here to tell you that knowing where to put your money in the decor process is just as important as knowing where to compromise.

Having beautiful bedding can make or break your room and it hides/overpowers any inexpensive decor you might have.

You don't have to dish out $100 on a nice bedding set, but getting a good one for $40 from your local Tj Maxx, Marshalls, or Target that can amplify your bedroom. My tip for this is to pick your pattern wisely. Make sure it has one or two of your theme colors and also go for a fabric that isn't too thin and flat.

Thrift Shop/discount stores for Wall Decor

I know target sucks all of us in with its perfectly curated wall decor, but wall decor should be less than 10% of your budget. Go to your local goodwills or thrift stores first to find some super inexpensive wall decor.

Other stores like the dollar store, five and below, and Walmart are great places for wall decor too.

Just remember if it looks cheap and is cheap it isn't a deal. The trick for shopping at these stores is looking for gems that seem way nicer than their price tag.

Just because it is inexpensive doesn't mean it has to be “cheap” looking. Also, less is more even if you're doing a gallery wall. Look for a few good pieces as opposed to get a lot of cheap junk that you don't end up putting up.

Function and style= Smart Shopping

While it may not be as exciting to shop for the organizational stuff, who says that can't be decor as well?

Simple things like a laundry hamper or a lamp can add major mojo to a room. The key to this is you don't want to prioritize function over style because that's a waste of money in the long run.

Another tip is to not necessarily get those things in your theme color but instead, go for a vibe. Example: instead of getting that pink hamper for a pink room, get a super glam to hamper that adds to the feminine style of your room.

Focus on adding to the feel of your room with these items and not just getting it in your “room” color.

There are so many more nitpicky things you can do to make your dorm room amazing but these are the biggest ones that I've seen make a difference in my friend's dorm room and also my own. Let me know if you have any dorm decor tips of your own.

Finally, remember to focus on creating a dorm room that has a vibe you like being in rather than just aesthetically pleasing.