Written by Grace Mulliett
When living on campus in university housing, the goal is to make your space feel like you without spending a fortune or risking your bond! Moving into a new empty space can feel quite cold, but the homey look is all in the layering.
Here are three ways to turn that standard room into a personal expression.
1. The Budget-Friendly Gallery
An aesthetic yet cost-conscious idea to spruce up your room is a photo collage. This gives you the opportunity to creatively express your personal style throughout your room.
How to do this?
Use the Kmart Kiosk and print out a batch of your favourite memories or some aesthetic Pinterest images that match your vibe. You can choose what type of finish you want – whether that’s a matte look or a glossy finish. Then you choose your size and only pay a few dollars!
For me, I used my favourite colour as the basis for the theme and included inspirational quotes that resonate with me and keep me motivated.
For this to work:
Don’t just run straight to Kmart! Having a plan and an online collage of potential photos will help narrow down what images deserve the glory of being on your walls. Then, once you have the photos printed, make a floor plan and organise what photos should go where for the best effect.
How do you stick them up?
Because we are decorating a dorm room, we need to be conscious of not damaging the room, so whip out the handy dandy Blu Tack and that’ll do the trick! All you need is a small piece on each corner to keep the image flat. You can then move and change them throughout the session, and they’ll peel off when it’s time to move out.
2. Bringing the Outdoors Inside
A great way to bring some nature inside is to add some real plants to your room. This not only adds to the aesthetics of your room but also improves the smell and air quality! It’s a win-win situation! If keeping real plants is a bit too much for a hard-working uni student like yourself, then getting some fake plants can have the same natural effect.
My room has really tall walls so I used this idea and got plastic vines from a dollar store in town that I stuck with Blu Tack all around my room. You can really put them anywhere; on your bedhead, in your bathroom (if your housemates dig it too), on your shelves or anywhere that looks boring. To add some more fun to your room, bring in some soft lighting with a candle warmer or soft-light lamp. I’ve received so many compliments when my friends see my room and I love the moodiness the soft lights bring next to the vines.
*Disclaimer – please note most Charles Sturt dorm accommodation restricts the use of fairy lights (as shown above) for fire safety reasons.
3. Pin It
University moves fast and you end up collecting a lot of trinkets along the way. If you’re a little bit of a hoarder like me or if, like me, you have a connection to certain keepsakes, then you’ll like the idea of a pin board in your room. My room conveniently has a pinboard on the door of my cupboard so I pinned some group photobooth pictures as well as some Polaroids.
Sometimes I’d cut out a certain food or drink item from the package and pin it as a memory of what I ate.
In the end, I’ve got this wall of memories staring back at me when I go to sleep, reminding me of how much fun I’ve had. The best part is that you can change things around, add to them or remove them at any time without hassle. It’s also a great way to display memories without worrying about damaging the room.
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