DIY dorm redo: a canopy chandelier and other simple projects

For teenagers heading off to college, it's both a design dream and a challenge: What to do with a small, nondescript dorm room -- a space you may have to share? A space that may include furniture you can neither remove nor alter?

Do-it-yourself projects are a great, low-cost way to inject personality into a temporary space.

Some DIY advice from the experts:

Reclaim old wood from junked furniture to turn into new furniture, says Maxwell Ryan, who focuses on economical, small-space design as founder and CEO of the New York-based lifestyle blog Apartment Therapy. For instance, you might build a desk by positioning a wood slab, such as a piece of an old door, atop two inexpensive file cabinets.

"When you think about it, a desk is mostly just a hunk of wood," Ryan said.

Create a headboard from a large mirror, which reflects light and makes a room look larger.

Christiane Lemieux, founder of DwellStudio and creative director at Wayfair, suggests personalizing bookcases with colorful scrapbook or other paper on the inside back wall, adhering it with Blu-tack, which removes easily. Or use washi tape, which also comes off easily, on nearly any surface: the edges of bookshelves, computer cords and furniture, including headboards and mirrors.

You can create a graphic image on a dorm wall with washi tape, Lemieux suggests, or cover a large wall with temporary wallpaper or an adhesive mural. Try the temporary dry-erase board or chalkboard wallpaper, on which you can write your daily activities.

Most important, Lemieux said, is the bed, usually a dorm room's centerpiece. Think of it as a sofa: Push it sideways against a wall and dress it up like a day bed.

Hang a tapestry or curtain behind it to create an inexpensive but dramatic headboard. Over the bed, hang a canopy chandelier made from a hula hoop, duct tape, two curtain panels, a string of lights and washi tape.

"It's so easy to do and so inexpensive, and provides such a big bang," Lemieux said.

Here are the instructions:

Supplies:

• 1 hula hoop
• 1 roll of gold duct tape
• washi tape
• ribbon bits
• 1 string of indoor white lights
• 2 sheer curtain panels
• Pretty cord

Assembly:

• Cut the hula hoop open.
• Cover the hoop with the gold-colored duct tape.
• Thread the two curtain panels onto the hoop.
• Close the hoop with more gold duct tape.
• Drape the string of lights around the hoop.
• Add decorative washi and ribbon details to the string of lights.
• Tie a pretty cord at four balanced points on the hoop and hang it from these points.