As the start of term approaches once again, students across the country are looking forward to getting back to the city, moving back in with their friends, and putting their mark on their new accommodation.
Whether you've just got your A-level results and are nervously awaiting turning up to your student halls, hoping you'll actually get on with the five random house mates you've been given, or you're about to get stuck into third year and need somewhere to lock yourself away for hours to write the dreaded dissertation, we have some bedroom tips for you.
We've put together a list of ten items that will give you everything you need to make your private space perfect...
We won't lie: When you first move into a university room, it looks bleak. You probably have a tiny beige square with a single bed in one corner, a desk in the other and a wardrobe that's seen better days. It's what you do with that space that counts. Although painting your room every colour under the sun will be severely frowned upon (and will probably result in a halls fine from university), you can still inject colour and decoration easily.
Duvet covers are the perfect way to do this. You can go as bright or as classic as you want, but a duvet cover will completely transform your room. Before you go to university, remember to buy two, as you probably won't have a tumble dryer or washing line to wash and dry yours quickly. (And we suggest you do wash it. Regularly. Whether you're mum has always done it for you in the past or not). It may well be a case of spreading it across every dining room chair in the communal living room for a couple of days and running through to retrieve it every time someone decides to invent their own meal using every smelly ingredient that they can find.
If you're moving away from home, you're going to miss your school friends, parents and siblings a lot. We're sure they'll be up to visit you now and again, and you'll spend a fair few weekends back home, but some days all you'll want is a home cooked meal from your Mum and a night in the pub with your mates. FaceTime, Skype and Facebook all require Wifi... something that may take time to get set up if you're moving into a second or third year house. Get a bunch of your favourite pictures printed, grab a couple of cheap glass frames and make collages of all the photos that make you smile. Not only will they make a great personalised decoration in your room, but they'll always be there to make you feel at home.
This is an essential when it comes to university living. You never know who had that bed last year and no matter how much hoovering and flipping it's had, it's probably a bit lumpy and grubby around the edges. Anyone who doesn't take a mattress protector to university will severely regret it, and will want to track one down as soon as their first loan payment is in their bank account instead of buying essentials such as instant noodles and cider. It will make your bed feel so much comfier and cleaner, and you'll thank us when you get a decent nights sleep before a big exam.
Being at university isn't just about the nightlife nor is it solely about the lectures. University is where you will meet your best friends for life and there's no better way to bond than ordering a loan day Domino's, opening a bottle of wine and some beers that were a couple of quid from the corner shop, and hacking into your big sister's Netflix account. Cover your bed in decorative cushions and throws for the ultimate comfort and hey presto, you've just made your new best friends.
Yes, uni has hundreds of computers for you to use, but do you really want to sit in the library to do every essay and assignment you're given? It's much more comfortable to curl up in bed with the TV on in the background to do your work. A printer is also an essential when you wake up ready for a day of lectures and seminars then realise you've forgotten to print all your work off for the day and won't have time to dash to the library to do it. Nor do you have any change to load up your printer credits. Just don't print your dissertation off on your bedroom printer, whatever you do. You will run out of ink, you will get a printer jam, and you'll be sat waiting for it to finish for approximately nine hours.
The best way to personalise your room is with posters, pictures and accessories. Don't just have books and your laptop on the desk, come up with pretty ways to arrange your pens and stationary and stick some pictures on the walls to make it an inviting space to work. Put fairy lights around your mirrors and surfaces, arrange vases of fresh or fake flowers around the room and buy a pretty canvas to brighten up your wall. Boys, room decorating is just as easy and necessary for you. Pick up a couple of big pictures from the next SU poster sale, invest in some cheap frames and you've got some pretty cool wall art too.
Bedspreads are thicker than throws and a patterned one looks great over a plain coloured duvet cover. Being a student is hard financially, and putting the heating on will be a rare, rare luxury when you're physically snowed in and freezing cold despite wearing every item of clothing in your wardrobe. A bedspread will keep you toasty through the winter nights and double up as a brilliant picnic blanket in the summer too.
You won't live the loan day high life all year round, you know. It will get to a point, sooner than you think, when you can all just about scrape up your coppers to make a communal Spag Bol. Some of the best nights you'll have at university will be the nights you spend in your flat laughing, gossiping and talking about your day, and you never know what memories will be made when you whip out the Monopoly board that you brought from home. Someone will probably turn into Alan Sugar when they buy four hotels on Mayfair, someone will spend 80% of the night in jail and the quiet girl who hasn't spoken much so far?... She will probably flip the board in rage when she's bankrupt.
You will 100% thank us for this one. Take a stash, alongside cold and flu tablets, Lemsip and Alka-Seltzer. Fresher's Week always results in two things: the worst hangover you've ever had and the dreaded Fresher's Flu. Fresher's Flu is practically an official medical term. You will get it, you probably won't want to go to your first week of lectures, but power through with paracetamol, Lucozade and a few vegetables and you'll be right as rain in no time.
University really is the best three years of your life. It will be stressful at times, but you'll learn so many new skills, grow up a LOT and make friends for the rest of your life. To do all of these things, you need to feel happy where you are, and the best way for that is to bring some home comforts into your room and make it somewhere you enjoy spending time.
What are your univeristy essentials? Let us know in the comments below!
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