Whether you are living in a dorm or apartment, student living can be quite the squeeze. Here are four ways you can make the most of your space without compromising style.
Use a bar cart as a nightstand
Whether your apartment is fully furnished or not, living in a small space requires any piece of furniture to double as storage space. Take it one level further and create storage on wheels! Stylish bar carts with two or three levels are great ways to spruce up any space, without taking up much of it. Add baskets, trays, magazine files and more to section off your cart and organize your utensils most effectively. Play with levels and metals to add a statement piece in your room such as this cart from Target or opt for the cost effective yet practical and sleek IKEA RÅSKOG bar cart. Last year, when I lived in a dorm, I used the RÅSKOG bar cart as a nightstand and it was the perfect height for my raised bed.
Accent Wall
Having a lot of wall decor is awesome, but having too much can make your apartment look crowded. Organizing most of your decor on one wall, usually behind your bed, can add an interesting detail to your room without making it seem cluttered. A gallery wall is a great way to set up an accent wall, and you do not need to limit yourself to just including photos. Get creative and add greenery, garlands and more to include a variety of textures and shapes to your accent wall. Check out this guide to building your perfect gallery wall. If you are like me and do not want to put in that much effort into curating your accent wall, then just hang up a large tapestry. Urban Outfitters has gorgeous tapestries that are adequately large enough (80 in x 80 in) to cover a whole wall. Although they are a little bit pricey, usually around $50, their tapestries usually go on sale for about $30.
Curtain of fairy lights
Some dormitories have a rule limiting the amount of fairy lights you can install in your room. When I realized I could only hang up one set, I decided to take another route and purchase a full curtain of lights to brighten my room. The set I use can be found on Amazon here and they are generally used for backdrops. What better way to decorate your place than to transform it into a 24/7 photo op? In my room, I layered my fairy lights on top of my UO tapestry.
Accent Wall
Having a lot of wall decor is awesome, but having too much can make your apartment look crowded. Organizing most of your decor on one wall, usually behind your bed, can add an interesting detail to your room without making it seem cluttered. A gallery wall is a great way to set up an accent wall, and you do not need to limit yourself to just including photos. Get creative and add greenery, garlands and more to include a variety of textures and shapes to your accent wall. Check out this guide to building your perfect gallery wall. If you are like me and do not want to put in that much effort into curating your accent wall, then just hang up a large tapestry. Urban Outfitters has gorgeous tapestries that are adequately large enough (80 in x 80 in) to cover a whole wall. Although they are a little bit pricey, usually around $50, their tapestries usually go on sale for about $30.
Mirrors
Mirrors are phenomenal at opening up a room and making it seem bigger than it actually is. Most statement mirrors with elaborate borders can be really expensive, but discount stores such as Ross and TJ Maxx tend to carry them at a discounted price. When picking out a full length mirror, try something a little less conventional and opt for a large wall mirror that you can lean against the wall. Tile a bunch of smaller mirrors across your walls to add eye catching details without breaking the bank. If you are stumped on how to adorn your walls, mirrors will never let you down.