Good evening my darlings, I hope you're all doing well. I must say, following a very hectic start to university, it has been nice to have the opportunity to return to this blog. Now, I am sure I am not the only one in thinking that one of the most exciting aspects about moving university is having the ability to start afresh. That not only spans to room decor, of course, but it is what I am going to be focusing on today. Is this post a little self-indulgent? Perhaps, but I am going to be sharing some tips along the way as to how you can upgrade your room on a budget. I do hope that you enjoy the post, and be sure to leave me any thoughts in the comments below as per usual.
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For context purposes, I am a first-year undergraduate reading Spanish at University College London. Due to privacy reasons, I will not be sharing the name of the specific accommodation block that I am in, but I hope that you respect this decision.
An Overview.
Here is the view that one can expect to see upon entering my room. In a sense, I feel as if this is a good representation of what you can expect from most UK university rooms: functional, but perhaps not overly modern. This is, in part, why I chose to have a 'tropical jungle' theme, inspired by the Mexican landscape. That would be my first tip: try to establish a key feeling or theme you want you room to exude, as this will create a more cohesive and less cluttered environment.
The Bed Area.
One of my favourite areas in my room is undoubtedly the corner in which my bed is situated; in many ways, it is a lot more vibrant than my room back home — and that's a particularly nice feature to have, as it better represents my current taste and counteracts the poor natural lighting in my room. A tip which I found to be worth gold was to start looking early, and to not fear shopping around. I believe I first saw my beautiful Frida Kahlo pillow on Notonthehighstreet for £22 — a little too much than perhaps necessary to spend on a cushion while on a student budget! Nonetheless, I felt an innate need within me to have this cushion and managed to find it for £8 cheaper, with only a little bit of searching required. Similarly, do not assume that IKEA offers the most affordable student solutions. By way of example, most bedding sets seen in-store are sold in upwards of £20, as opposed to Primark's £9 single sets — which are just as good!
Individual Items -
Floral Bedding, Primark
Yellow Pillowcase, Primark
Green Cushion, IKEA
Frida Kahlo Pillowcase, Etsy
Multicoloured Throw, Gifted as a Souvenir from Mexico
Rug, Flying Tiger
Fairy Lights, Unknown (Purchased years ago!)
Individual Items -
Floral Bedding, Primark
Yellow Pillowcase, Primark
Green Cushion, IKEA
Frida Kahlo Pillowcase, Etsy
Multicoloured Throw, Gifted as a Souvenir from Mexico
Rug, Flying Tiger
Fairy Lights, Unknown (Purchased years ago!)
The Pin board.
Are you really a student if you don't have a photo wall of sorts? That's my question of the day... Granted, this little collage may have taken hours on end to assemble, but I believe that it's a very simple way of making your room feel more personal and homely. To add to my overarching theme and to make my display less generic, I decided to combine photographs with tickets and postcards from places that I have visited, attaching them with some double-sided tape. This leads me onto another tip: do not be afraid to start compiling your things early. As you will see later, I also have a mug collection from the places that I have recently visited, and it's little touches as such that can make your room feel all the more special to you. That, and it relieves the financial burden of doing all your university shopping in one go! Similarly, do not feel pressured to go out and buy everything brand-new — a lot of the items which I ended up bringing were those I found lying around unused in my drawers.
The bedside table.
Admittedly, I recognise that it may be a little hypocritical to include a vase with fresh flowers in a blog post talking about how you can decorate your university room on a budget. Of course, fresh flowers are not essential and can be substituted with a regular plant on a tighter budget. Nonetheless, I believe that fresh flowers add a lot more vibrancy to my room, and generally make me more cheery — something which is much needed in the current climate! This stunning vase is a recent addition from TK Maxx, I would highly recommend the store for more niche items as such.
The Desk Area.
Gosh, words cannot describe how nice it is to have a larger desk at university — no more sheets will be going haywire any time soon! I like to keep the right side of my desk pretty functional, and so I now only keep a pen pot as well as my red IKEA table lamp there. The left side, however, has a few more decorations on it. To the far left is a now-opened reed difuser, which smells splendid. Moving along, I have a golden trinket with a leopard on top from John Lewis, and a gifted scented flower. Again, items such as quirky trinkets and vases can be found at many charity shops, and so it is worth looking there first if you are on a budget. As for reed diffusers, there is no need to go luxury on a student budget, and there are many affordable options out there today. I also like to keep a notebook I was gifted from Mexico on top of my tablet, as it really encapsulates the essence of the room.
Above my desk is a shelving unit, which has been both incredible in storing my accumulating collection of books and my mug collection! Needless to say, bringing 6 different mugs to university is not essential. However, it is something which adds a lot of joy to my life — and, at times, that is what decorating your room is about. I also have a collection of items such as snow globes, and nice-looking bags/boxes that I use for extra storage.
The Sink Area.
Finally, we reach the sink area. This is one which I prefer to keep more clear and practical, but it has its good days and its bad days — as is to be expected. On the top shelf, I display my current two favourite perfumes (Marc Jacobs' Decadence and Fragonard's Belle Chérie), in addition to the box from my necklace and a L'Occitane bag which holds my less-used toiletries. Below is a large, wooden makeup mirror from IKEA as well as another L'Occitane bag, which stores cleaning products and drinks. I keep my laundry bag from IKEA discreetly tucked away to the side, along with my shower basket and detergent. For practicality matters, I keep my most used toiletries on the sink counter. Another key tip is to create a shopping list before you set out shopping for room decorations, as this will help to make your search more selective and constructive.