As the academic year begins, the leaves turn orange and the autumn vibes set in, I’m reminded of my first time away from home. It was a typical September day in London, not too hot and not too cold. I had filled my mum’s car to the brim with everything I thought I could possibly need at uni. The time had finally come to say goodbye to my family. It was tough being alone in a new city, but let me tell you something: having things from home around me genuinely made all the difference.
Student rooms can seem pretty bleak when you first move in. From the typical student pinboard to a lack of creative interior design, decorating your uni room becomes pretty important. Fairy lights and house plants are nice, but as someone who’s quite sentimental, they just didn’t really feel like me.
All of us have special interests, valuable memories, and unique personalities. That’s why it’s so important to let our creative juices flow when decorating! Whether you’re moving out for the first time or moving back for your final year of studies, here are my top 10 creative ways to make your room feel more like home. From easiest to most complex, there’s an option for every lifestyle!
1: Create your own shelf display
I remember when I first moved to uni, one of my friends had the cutest mug collection in her flat. She displayed them all on an open shelf, and it was honestly my favourite part of her room. It showed her fun and kind personality to a tee!
People often think that collections should include expensive items, but let’s be real, how many students can afford 30 watches? There are so many cute things to collect! Whether you choose mugs, glasses, or animal figures, there’s something satisfying about spotting a new article for your collection!
Top tip:
Want to be sustainable and save money? Why not scour the charity shops for quirky mugs, glasses, and bric-a-brac? They have some of the most unique items you’ll find being sold for an incredibly low price.
2: Display things relating to your hobbies
We all have a hobby, interest, or sport. For me, that’s dance as I trained full-time at Central School of Ballet! Although I don’t dance much now, seeing ballet stuff around brings back countless memories and adds so much personality to my room.
On my last day at Central, I brought in a pair of point shoes and had everyone I knew sign them. It was a lovely full-circle moment, capturing my ballet journey and reminding me of how my first adventure away from home began! You probably won’t have any ballet shoes to hand, but there might be something related to your hobby that you can pin up or display in your room!
Top tip:
If you were part of a sports group, why not have some friends sign your things? Or if you’re a musician, you could print out your favorite sheet music and make paper decorations like bunting, lanterns, or origami.
3: Start a marble collection
If you’re looking for a simple decoration that you can personalise and make your own, marbles are a surprisingly aesthetic option! There are so many different sizes, colors, and designs.
One of my core childhood memories has to be visiting the iconic House of Marbles in Devon! From the moment you walk through the door, you’re greeted by rooms full of hand-decorated marbles, giant mechanical marble runs, and live glass-blowing shows. It’s the place where my marble-collecting hobby began! If you’d like to buy some of their merchandise, don’t worry, you don’t have to visit Devon; they have an online shop!
Top tip:
Try playing around with different designs. You can display your marbles in wine glasses, shot glasses, and mason jars. If you switch up the shape of glass with different colors and sizes of marbles, there are infinite creative possibilities!
4: Don’t just hang your fairy lights. Get creative!
There’s something magical about fairy lights. Whether you’re sitting at your desk enjoying their ambient glow or looking to make your room that little bit cosier, fairy lights really do work wonders. You have to be careful though. If you’ve spent much time on social media, you probably will have seen the videos of some poor gal trying to take her fairy lights down and losing a layer of paint in the process. Don’t let that be you!
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t hang them up. I certainly do! I am telling you though, there are so many other ways to enjoy their warm radiance. One of my favourite things to do with fairy lights is creating my own display in a mason jar, vase, or glass.
All you need to do is find a selection of lights. They come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. Whether you want little wooden stars, colorful balls, Percy Pig strings, or the good old-fashioned white ones, there are endless creative possibilities. If you’re looking for some places to start, try searching in your local Poundland, B&Q, Flying Tiger, or charity shops. Alternatively, there are endless options on Amazon!
Top Tip:
Make sure to buy battery-operated fairy lights so that you don’t have a tail hanging out from your mason jar to your power source. If you do this, I’d also recommend buying rechargeable batteries. That way you save money and won’t go through batteries at a rate!
5: Make your own seasonal collages
Autumn is such a special time of year. The trees take on a warm golden color, kids swish through the falling leaves, and people start bringing out their beloved fluffy jumpers.
As a child, I used to love bringing golden leaves home and drying them out in our huge old telephone book. Yes, I am that old! Once you have dried leaves, there are so many ways to use them!
All you need to do is collect a good selection of leaves and let them dry out for several weeks in a heavy book (make sure it’s a book you don’t care about). If you don’t have a book, don’t worry! You can put your leaf collection in an old newspaper and place something heavy on top of it.
Top tip:
Once the leaves have dried, you can stick them to a card and make a collage for your pinboard or wall! If you happen to have a laminator, you can also laminate dried leaves and hang them from a suction cup in your window. But remember: only do this if your laminator says it can take dried leaves!
6: Deck out your photos
Photo frames are an easy go-to item for anyone decorating their room. The image inside is obviously the most important part, but the frame honestly makes a huge difference too! One big issue though, is that nice photo frames can be a little bit costly. The solution? You guessed it! Add your own personalisations!
All you need to do is find a nice wooden frame, cover it with a layer of paint, then find a brush and add your own personalisations. If you’re wondering where to start, try painting simple leaves, flowers, or vines around the edges. If you have a frame that is already painted, you could also use Sharpies to draw cute designs!
Top Tip:
Looking to save money? Charity shops often have really unique frames. Once you’ve found one you like, search TikTok and you’ll find a plethora of different tutorials!
7: Create personalised photo items
We all have someone we care about. Whether that’s our friends, family or pets, it’s important to cherish those special memories. One unique way to do that is to create your own personalised photo items.
Normal pillows, throws, and mugs are nice, but if you want to take things to the next level, there are so many personalised items you can buy on Etsy! Whether you want to simply pick a photo and add a name, or make your own collages, you can personalise all sorts of things! From hanging ornaments to mugs, to pillows, to Christmas baubles, take a browse and see if any of the designs catch your fancy!
Top Tip:
Personalised photo items also make great gifts! I’ve given away many personalised mugs over the years. Just find a photo you like, or make a collage, then think of a quote or name you want to add! You’ll find countless listings on Etsy that will let you add personalizations!
8: Make simple no-sew bunting
Bunting, whether it’s strung across the room or draped across a pinboard, creates a vibrant and festive atmosphere. The colorful triangles are also very easy to personalise! Whether you want to make it out of fabric or paper, there is no need to do any sewing (unless you want to).
All you need to do is find some paper or fabric that matches your vibe and buy some matching string, ribbon, or paper cords. Not sure where to start? Browse YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, or TikTok.
If you don’t want to cut out triangles, then why not print out your favourite photos and peg them on some string! That way, you’ll not only have super simple bunting but you’ll also be able to display even more of your core memories!
Top Tip:
Buy yourself a trusty hot glue gun, and then you can use fabric and ribbon without the need to sew! Felt works especially well for bunting as it doesn’t fray if you don’t hem it! Be careful though, hot glue can drip! Don’t burn yourself or ruin any furniture!
9: Make personalised window stickers
If you want a little something extra to add to your room, making window decorations is an easy place to start. If you’re good at drawing or coloring, you could make little pictures out of puffy paint and stick them to your window. Be careful not to do anything that would risk your deposit though!
If you’re worried about sticking things to the glass, you can make similar paper or fabric decorations to hang on suction cups in your window!
Top Tip:
If you don’t want to draw them yourself, you could print out a few small pictures or figures, laminate them, and hang them from suction cups!
10: Crochet your own flowers
As someone who loves pretty and delicate things, flowers are one of my favourite decorations. The thing is, though, they’re pretty expensive and they don’t last that long. On the other hand, plastic flowers really don’t give off the same vibes.
There is a solution though. Crocheted flowers have become a huge thing in London, with all of the big vintage markets selling them. They’re pretty expensive to buy though, so making them yourself genuinely saves a fortune. Crocheting sounds hard, but honestly, it’s not. My sister and I, who had never crocheted before, learned how to make all kinds of flowers just using YouTube!
It’s a win-win situation. Not only does it help me feel twice as productive if I crochet while chatting, but I also have cute decorations to show at the end! The flowers add so much personality to my room and remind me of all the people I spoke to while making them!
Top Tip:
If you’re starting from scratch, I’d recommend buying a multi-pack of crochet hooks on Amazon, so you have different sizes to choose from. You can then buy your wool and hot glue from a store like Hobby Craft. They even offer a student discount! If you’re looking to save money, you could also buy balls of wool from the charity shops instead!
There’s something for everyone!
Whether you identify as a crafty person or not, there are always little things you can do to make your uni room a little bit more homey! If you’re ever short of ideas, start scouring YouTube, and you just might find something that catches your fancy.
Happy decorating, and do let me know your favorite dorm decorations in the comments!
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