After living at university for three years, I feel confident in being able to help you make your room super cosy and homely with some simple steps! Moving from home is a big deal, so it is important to make sure your room is a new home-away-from-home. With that in mind, here are some of my tips:

Fill your room with memories

Seren's Photowall

If you are quite a sentimental person like myself, you might like to be reminded of certain happy memories – so what better place to have these reminders than around your new room? These could be anything from trinkets from holidays, handwritten letters from friends, or presents bought by family members out on display. Most dorm rooms have a pinboard, so why not try and get crafty and pin photos and concert tickets to it? You can be as messy or subtle as you like to make it your own!

Bring in a bit of colour

I love bold colours, patterns and prints and they can really liven up a bland wall. Even if you aren’t into your bright colours, having a colour scheme can really help your room come together. From the towels in your bathroom, fresh flowers or plants, rugs and even your posters – make sure you coordinate!

Inject some personality

Seren Music Poster

Make your room personal to you. You can look at loads of Instagram pictures of someone else’s bedroom, but that won’t help to make it yours. So just go with it and see what it looks like! I love to have vinyls from my favourite bands lying next to my record player for decoration, but also for ease when I want to stick a record on. Posters are also great (just remember to follow the rules of your landlord or accommodation managers). I also like to inject some of my course into my decor where I can, such as the Jane Eyre postcards I have up in my room.

Electricals

Seren, Record Player

If you have any gadgets at home and want to bring them with you, they will definitely come in handy. Dorm rooms are pretty empty, and your TV will probably be in your shared kitchen – so if you are someone always watching re-runs of Friends, don’t forget to pack that box-set. This will definitely help to make your room feel like home and you’ll be fine spending time in there if you have things to entertain you.

Photos, photos, photos!

Seren Bedroom Photos

I like to have photos all around my bedroom. These remind me of my friends and family – and that is especially important if you have moved far away from home, or even if you haven’t! If you don’t have any copies, you have a few options. Why not get them printed straight from your phone? Many places offer this service such as Tesco or Boots, or you could even try FreePrints. You could also buy a digital photo frame and stick all of your favourite pictures on a memory card, create collages on your pinboard or even make a photo album.

Fairy lights

Your dorm room will come with basic lighting, but sometimes you don’t always want that bright light on especially in the evening. Desk lamps and fairy lights help to complete a room and make it mega cosy and they are also cheap and readily available. Battery powered fairy lights are the best option for dorm rooms with limited plugs, or plugs in inconvenient places. You can get loads of different styles to suit your taste, and different types of lights too such as warm, coloured or blue!

There are my tips to make your new bedroom as homely as possible. Do you have any more? Make sure to comment below if you do!

Originally published April 29 2018