DIY College Dorm Coffee Bar (5 Easy Steps)

Since the Howdy trend is going strong, and Texas A&M is all about “Howdy” – I decided to do a DIY College Dorm Coffee Bar – Howdy Style!! It was a surprise for my daughter and her roommates, and they love their new coffee station! It started off with some adorable Southern Gal and Country Music mug inspiration, and the rest just came together. Of course no dorm room move-in plan ever goes as “planned,” so the coffee bar has been tweaked LOL! But now you’ll have 2 options that can work in dorm rooms, apartments, or even your own home. Let’s get to it! DIY College Dorm Coffee Bar (5 Easy Steps).

*Pictured below is Option #1. Scroll to the very end of the post to see Option #2!

***NOTE*** This post contains affiliate links which means that I will receive a small compensation if you purchase from those links at no cost to you. Thanks so much for your support 🙂

DIY College Dorm Coffee Bar (5 Easy Steps)

I purchased my daughter’s coffee bar supplies from Target, Amazon, Home Goods, Walmart, and Hobby Lobby.

Feel free to pick and choose, to customize your own coffee bar.

All “Howdy Options” at the end of the supplies list!

Supplies:

White Bookcase – Here, Here, or Here(narrow)
Rolling Cart – Here or Here
Keurig – Here – Options Here (mini), Here (slim), or Here (classic)
Nespresso – Here – Options Here (machine only) or Here (w/aero frother)
(2) Southern Gal Boot Mugs
(2) Country Music Mugs
(6) White Mugs
Gold Stand
White Round 2-Tiered Stand – Here, Here, or Here
White Rectangular Serving Tray
White Divider Holder – Here, Here, or Here
Coffee Mug Tree Stand – Here, Here, or Here
Coffee Sign/Creamer Sign – Here or Here (trio)
Coffee Sign/But 1st Coffee – Here or Here
Straws – Neon Colors
Equal
Syrup – Here (Vanilla/Caramel)
Coffee Sign – Large Neon (colored) or Large Neon (white)

HOWDY options:

Howdy Mug – Here or Here, Travel Mug
Howdy Tray – Here or Cowboy Boots Here
Howdy Wall Art – Here or Poster Here
Howdy Coasters – Here, Boots Here, “DANG” Here

Here are some of the items that I chose to keep with our Howdy theme.

Let’s get to it! DIY College Dorm Coffee Bar (5 Easy Steps).

DIY College Dorm Coffee Bar (5 Easy Steps)

Setting Up Dorm Room Coffee Bar

So, how do you set up your coffee bar in your dorm room or small apartment?

Use these simple 5 steps to get started.

5 Steps:

#1) Choose Your Bar Base

Desk, Rolling Cart, Cabinet/Bookshelf

My daughter’s dorm room had 2 desks in it with a bunk bed set up.

The girls decided to debunk the beds, which meant there wasn’t room for 2 desks – inside the bedroom.

End result: the 2nd desk became the new coffee bar for all 4 roommates to share in their little common area/living room.

Here is a picture of the desk in the model bedroom – when we went on our dorm tour.

#2) Measure/Get Dimensions

Now that you know what your bar base is, you will want to measure it (if you can) or get the dimensions of it.

This will help you plan out out your supplies.

How wide and long?
Shelves, and how many?
Shelf height?

TIP: You don’t want to buy a bookcase or rolling cart that has shelves that are not deep enough or high enough for your taller items (Keurig, etc.).

After we signed the lease for my daughter’s dorm room, I asked for dimensions of the items in the room.

So I knew the desk dimensions were 24″W x 48″L.

#3) Purchase All Supplies

Coffee Pot, K-pods/holder, Mugs/To-go Cups, Equal, Straws/Stir Sticks

It’s always best to buy all of your supplies ahead of time.

Couple of reasons for this is:

You want to make sure all of your supplies are in stock (and not backordered).
You’ll want to do a practice run (see #4).
If you wait until you move in to your dorm or apartment, you might not be able to find ANY supplies left – trust me!

#4) Do Practice Run w/Supplies (before you move into dorm)

I highly recommend doing a practice run or mock set up in your own house, if at all possible.

I practiced on a dresser (in our house) with most of the supplies – because we were going to use a desk in the dorm as our bar base.
Then I measured it out – just to double check how much room the supplies took up.

I also knew that we had to go “up” (gold rack, mug tree stand, and 2-tiered tray) with our supplies because of the desk base.

FYI: Yes, we used 2 coffee makers (Keurig and Nespresso) – crazy right??!!

We were setting up for 4 roommates.
Most likely you’ll only have one coffee maker – like normal people. 😉

I also purchased 2 different-sized mugs for the girls.

The larger size works better for the girls who like (or need) a little extra room on top for whipped cream!

If you’re using a rolling cart or bookshelf – your practice run will look a little different.

TIP: Find something with similar dimensions in your house to do a trial run. (if possible).

The mock set up also helps you see if there is something else you forgot to buy (LOL) or if you have room for more goodies.
We’re women – so more is always an option!!

I bought a couple more items at this stage, and then packed up everything for the move.

#5) Set Up YOUR Coffee Bar

Now it’s time to set up YOUR coffee bar – yay!

Here is what my daughter and her roommates’ coffee bar looked like while we were setting it up.

It was a surprise for them – and they loved it!!

Moving in was pure craziness! So, I only got ONE picture of it – sorry!

And of course things never go quite as planned…. even with all of this momma’s Type A – planning!
So, there have been some changes.
It is for the GIRLS – not ME. Haha!

I also wanted to add a sign – preferably a neon one to the top wall area.

And I completely forgot that this desk had a ton of storage underneath – bonus for storing all of the extras.

But….. both of these have already been changed too!! Keep scrolling to the end!