It might be coming to that time when you look around your room and realise the excitement of moving into a new place with all its exciting decorative potential has started to have worn off and your room is looking a bit dull and unappealing. If you feel like your room is in need of a makeover, there are plenty of low budget ways to revamp it.
You don’t have to shell out a lot of cash for expensive home décor but can take simple steps to help jazz up your student bedroom and help make it feel like a home away from home once again.
Photos, prints and postcards
This may seem obvious but printing off photos and collecting postcards is an easy and cheap way to fill those empty walls and pin boards in your room. You may already have photos with you to stick to your wall but if not, you can print photographs from Boots, photo printing apps and in the Main Library. Simply put your photos onto a Word document and print them out in colour.
Photos create a comforting space with images of your family and friends on the walls while postcards can be a reminder of your travels and memories. They’re a nice visual reminder of the memories you have and will make at uni. If you also want some art to decorate your walls then wandering through the charity shops on Nicolson Street can be worthwhile as there are often prints and posters for sale to help you redecorate your room, while also showing visitors what a cultured and artsy person you are.
Fairy lights and candles
Yes, cliché, but fairy lights are probably one of the easiest ways to decorate your bedroom. Switch them on along with a bedside lamp and you’ve created your own mood lighting that’ll make your bedroom feel much more cosy.
As autumn sets in, find a set of fairy lights of different lengths, shapes and colours from places like Primark or Amazon to string around your room and create your own little haven. Lighting some candles will also help with this, the scented ones especially, as they add to your created ambience and, really, who doesn’t love a good candle.
Plants
Bring some life into your room and buy a few plants to set on your desk or shelf. You can buy small plants from IKEA, which is the perfect excuse to for a flat outing and you can each buy a plant to liven up your flat. Alternatively, if you’d rather not have to look after something other than yourself, you can buy little artificial desktop cacti or artificial flowers which you can find at Tesco or the bargain store.
Origami decorations
For those of you who want to be creative, experimenting with origami can give you some cute hanging stars or swans or really whatever shape you would like. Simply tie your creation to a piece of string and pin to your wall or from your ceiling.
There are plenty of YouTube videos that provide tutorials on how to make a bunch of origami shapes and all you need are squared sheets of paper and you’re ready to go. It’s a great way of filling your time that’s also productive while keeping your hands busy and mind creative.
Working with what you’ve got
Your room may just be in need of a new layout and you may be surprised at how the atmosphere changes in your room once you’ve rearranged your furniture. Perhaps placing your desk near the window so you have more light while you’re working, or moving your bed into a corner to make it feel more snug and give your room more space. Working with what you’ve got in this way can really help reset your mind and make your once boring bedroom seem like a completely new room!
Finishing touches
There are a few small additions you can make to your room to make it feel complete. Buying a few cheap matching cushions or a throw to put across your bed or over that ugly chair in the corner can bring some colour and coordination into your bedroom and make it feel more put together.
You don’t have to settle for a room that is not comforting or appealing to you, there are simple and cheap things you can do to make it a space you can relax in and can retreat to after a long day.
Image: Ben Edwards via Flickr