Best Places To Shop For Your Dorm

Television commercials paint dorm rooms to be much bigger and much more coordinated than they actually are.  Here are the best places to shop for your first dorm room.  I've also included some links of useful items to help you get started.

IKEA

41640 Ford Road
Canton, 48187
(734) 981-6300
ikea.com

IKEA is like a theme park when it comes to furniture shopping.  When it comes to the bigger items for a room, such as a futon or even something small such as an adorable closet shoe rack, IKEA's large amount of showrooms create ideas and inspiration for even the smallest of rooms.

Target (various locations)

650 Brown Rd
Auburn Hills, 48326
(248) 393-8106
www.target.com

Every college kid makes multiple Target trips throughout their college career.  It makes a lot of sense to do a lot of your shopping at Target because they've really got the market when it comes to college, and all their stuff matches everything else.  Their comforters are affordable and some even have the sheets included.  I bought this chair before I left for college and it has held up great over the three years I've been using it to study or to take a quick nap.

Bed Bath & Beyond

4780 Baldwin Road
Auburn Hills, 48326
(248) 332-8579

Bed Bath & Beyond (or B3 as it is referred to on its website) is great for practical storage items.  If you don't have community bathrooms, they have great shower storage options.  They also have a great checklist that really helps those shopping for the first time.

Relatives / Garage Sales

An easy way to save money while shopping for college?  Call up your relatives!  This may be more true for those living in apartments (Plates!  Other kitchen appliances!), but your extended family can really be an untapped resource for college life, whether it be advice or a spare set of sheets.

Garage sales can also provide hidden treasures and summertime is when most garage sales usually happen. 

Stephanie is a Community Affairs Intern with WWJ-TV and CW50 this summer. You can follow her as she navigates through department stores @InternStephanie

Check out this helpful and comforting letter to parents from a first year college student as written by Stephanie on our sister station CW50.