How to make your university room feel more like home

When I walked into my university room for the first time at Warwick, it looked bare, impersonal, and, dare I say, a little prison-like (this was mostly due to the bars on the windows). I am sure this is a familiar experience for most students. For many, university is the first time living away from home, so the thought of a bare room becoming a second home for a whole year may seem daunting. However, falling in love with a space is easy once you’ve added some personal touches.

Your university room might also be the first time you decorate a room entirely on your own. In fact, instead of doing pre-reading, I myself spent hours excitedly scrolling through Pinterest to find the right colour themes and aesthetics. Decorating probably isn’t top of your priority list when you consider preparing for university – and I’m not saying it should be – but it can be a fun and creative way to feel more settled.

Bring some photos from home to start you off – they’ll make your room feel familiar and remind you who you are outside of university life

For me, lighting is everything. If there were a rulebook for interior design, this would be first on the list. I’ve always favoured fairy lights and sunset lamps, and they don’t have to be expensive. My colour-changing, remote-controlled sunset lamp from Amazon cost just £12 and was probably the best investment I made for my room. If you want fairy lights, plug-in ones are the way to go – they are the most cost-effective. Repeatedly buying batteries can get expensive, and it can also be a pain to keep changing them. Rechargeable or touch lamps are also great options, because you can move them anywhere without being restricted by wires.

Student rooms are often relatively small, so getting cabin fever can be easy. One of my hacks for battling this has always been to change the lighting between study time and relaxation. For instance, I never used my sunset lamp when studying. Switching up the lighting helps you mentally separate ‘work mode’ from ‘rest mode’.

You’re going to want to add personality and colour to the walls and surfaces. Not only because it looks effective, but also because student accommodation tends to lack natural light, so bright posters or postcards can help combat this. Bring some photos from home to start you off – they’ll make your room feel familiar and remind you who you are outside of university life.

While most halls don’t allow you to stick things to the walls, pinboards are your best friend, so make the most of them. However, if you don’t have one, there are still loopholes. I wasn’t sure if I would be provided with a pinboard in my first year (I was, to my delight), so I brought a colourful, patterned duvet cover to add a guaranteed pop of colour to my room. Your bed might take up a lot of space, especially if it’s a double, so you might as well treat it as another opportunity for decoration. And of course, cushions and colourful blankets always add a nice final touch. If you happen to have an extra blanket lying around, covering your desk chair with it makes it exponentially cosier.

Fake plants or dried flowers are a great stress-free alternative – they bring you the same aesthetics without the stress.

Wardrobe doors can also double as decoration space – perfect for posters, postcards, or photo collages. They’re usually a lot less likely to be damaged than walls. If this is not feasible for you, you can order affordable photo packs online from FreePrints to display on your desk or shelves.

Plants are always a great addition to rooms. In fact, at Warwick, they often have plant sales, which is how I ended up with a coffee plant in my first-year. It is also how I ended up accidentally killing it via neglect over the four-week Christmas break. So, if you are anything like me, fake plants or dried flowers are a great stress-free alternative – they bring you the same aesthetics without the stress.

They might not clean the air or smell fresh, but they’ll still bring a touch of nature indoors. Sostrene Grene sells beautiful dried flowers at a reasonable price, and if you don’t want to buy a vase, used glass bottles (such as wine or beer bottles) can be an innovative, creative, and even sophisticated addition to your university room. Add a string of fairy lights inside for an artsy, low-effort decoration that won’t wilt while you’re busy with essays.

One final tip that will help make your room feel like home is to keep a biscuit or a cake tin in your room. It’s practical – perfect for when you can’t be bothered to trek to the kitchen for a sweet treat – and adds a little homely charm to your space. If you’re keeping food in your room anyway, why not make a decoration out of it?