Decorating your university room on a budget
Decorating your new university room is something lots of people look forward to… however you can rack up some large sums of money trying to get it to look the way you want. Here are some budget friendly ideas and tips to achieve your desired university but on a budget.
You won’t want to be overspending on your new room considering you will be moving in around freshers week and the start of meeting lots of new people (whether you’re a 1st year or a final year). So keeping everything low cost is very important!
Fairy lights
Fairy lights are an icon item in a university bedroom so grab a set! They are super cheap from places like Primark or order online from Amazon. You can get plugin lights or even batteries powered ones depending on what you prefer. You can grab a set for as little as a £2 so they shouldn’t dent a hole too big in your decorating budget.
Photos
The typical university room includes having photos of all your best memories stuck on your wardrobe door, your pin board or a photo wall. This is a great idea to make your room feel more homely. However, you may not have 50 photos lying around in physical form that you can stick up.
There are multiple companies that allow you to select photos directly off your phone and get them printed out and delivered right to your door. The one I use is called Freeprints where you just have to pay around £2.99 – £4.99 for postage. If you sign up you will also get occasional emails with discounts.
Clothes wash bag/bin
Having a clothes wash bin or bag is extremely useful when it comes to keeping everything organised in your room. You can get these kind of these really cheap online! It is useful to have it on the back of your door or in the bottom of you wardrobe so that you can put your dirty clothes away, so that you aren’t leaving them around your room creating a mess.
Use your student discounts
Lots of companies will offer student discounts especially at the start of the term. So make sure you make use of these. Places like Wilko will often have an isle full of all the things you might want to add to your rooms.
You might be able to get around 15% or 20% off certain items which can be a great help when trying to stick to a budget.
Have a plan
Keeping in mind all the discounts you will be able to get access to, make sure to not go crazy and buy everything in the student room aisle (which can easily be done!) as this will take you massively over budget.
The best thing to do is to get a bit of inspo from online – take a look at Pinterest! Then you can make a little list and figure out how much everything will cost you.
Pillows
This brings me onto pillows. Pillows are a great way to add a little bit more to your room and make it look great whilst being able to keep it low cost. The best thing to do is to figure out what duvet cover you would like and then you can plan around this and make your room match.
Under-bed storage
Having under-bed storage is extremely important and most rooms at university do have it. If you do have it make use of it! Get rid of all the things you only use occasionally or seasonally such as Christmas bits and pieces or stationery and folders you’ve brought as back up or your overflow of clothes.
Pop these bits under the bed so they don’t create a mess around your room. It might be helpful if you by some storage boxes to keep these items nice and eat under your bed.
If you are unlucky and don’t seem to have much storage then another idea is to grab some storage boxes (you can get these really cheap for around £5) and pop your items in there and pile them up in a corner or by the side of your room to keep things neat and out of the way.
Storage containers
If you have shelves or a desk then storage containers are a great idea. You can get little mini ones from Dunlem for fairly cheap and they come in different colours so that you can match them with other items in your room. These are great for this like cosmetics and skin care. Aswell as little things that you will need every now and then, such as a pair of scissors or sellotape. It is good to have a little draw or container full of these little bits so you know where to find them and so they don’t just get left all over your desk.
Mirror
A mirror is pretty much a necessity if you do not have one in your room already. Again, you can find these in places like B and M or Wilko. These cna also help to make your room feel bigger.
Final Thoughts
I would say one of the main things is to not accidentally clutter your room. This can cause you to feel like it is messy and won’t help much when you have to try and study in your room. A lot of the older student accommodation can seem a little dated and slightly smaller than the new builds, but this is what makes them so cozy when you start to decorate! So have fun with it and make it exaclthow you like it.
