Home away from home: how to personalise your uni room

The one guaranteed way to make uni feel more homely is making your room a place of warmth and safety. The top ways to do this is to pack it full of personal but useful items. As someone who needs comfort, practicality and aesthetic all in one, I feel obligated to share how I made my uni room my “home away from home.”

Pictures: I believe I have kept “Free Prints” in business single-handedly. The number of orders I have purchased form them is astronomical and for the price makes it impossible to say “no” to the glossy prints. Free Prints have a budget friendly price and at £2.99 for 45 photos every month, they only charge for shipping, making it highly appealing for struggling students. The contents of these picture can vary on what fits you. Printing everything from memories of friends, family, pets, favourite views or even just cool posters of bands or art that you enjoy all work wonders when personalising your room. 

Bedding: If I see one more plain, solid colour bedding and someone say they picked it because “It goes with anything” I might lose it. Now, if it’s your favourite colour and you like the way I looks then fine, I will let it slide this once. However, bedding is the centre point of a bedroom, it tells you everything about that person. This sounds like an exaggeration, but a little pattern and a throw never hurt anyone and does just reflect your personality out into your room. Even plain white bedding can be dressed up with a bit of texture, a colourful blanket and some decoration pillows to help fill out the space – there's nothing worse than a room that echoes when the fire-door slams. 

Lights: The hospital-like white accommodation lighting is not flattering for anyone, not even a model that’s just stepped out of vogue. A great substitution for this is a desk lamp or masses of fairy lights. Warm light is scientifically shown to reduce anxiety, which is a must for homesickness. Warm lighting creates comfort because of the the lack of disruption warm lighting has on the body’s circadian rhythm, that in turn helps melatonin production (the sleep hormone), meaning you associate your room with a safe place to sleep and wind down.  

All in all, the only way to feel at home in your room is if you make it yours. Attempting to copy a Pinterest mood board is one way to assure that you never feel comfortable as it is only for show, make is personal, make it unique, make it you.