I don’t know about you, but having a sense of feeling “at home” is extremely important to me when I’m away from my real home in Southeastern Mass. The minute I could get myself into an apartment, I did. Since junior year, I have been so much happier living in an apartment rather than a dorm. If you’re feeling like you hate your living situation in a dorm now, I’m sure you’ll be much happier if you can wrangle some friends together and get an apartment that you can make your own, sans cement walls. Here’s some pics of my bedroom, and how I made it cozy and feel like my home away from home.
This is my bed (if that wasn’t obvious). Luckily, my boyfriend was getting a new bed and he didn’t need this queen-sized mattress and box spring at the same exact time I needed one. So, I said “come to mama” and took it off his hands. I also bought a great IKEA bed frame (only $99!!!!!!) to go with it. I made the pillows myself because I’m like that, and I bought the comforter from Target. My bed, including the mattress pad, is the most expensive piece in my room. I find it extremely important to have a comfortable bed so I think spending that kind of money is worth it. There’s probably about $500 put into my bed including the frame, comforter, pillows, and mattress pad (which was the most expensive thing). Priorities, people.
This is my desk, my second favorite part of my room. I obviously didn’t just place a desk and a chair and call it a day. To spice things up, I put a mirror on top and to the left. That creates a more interesting and stylistic look instead of just putting it right in the middle. The frames are from IKEA, no more than $2 each, and the canvas I made myself. Everything here I had on hand except for the mirror and frames. If you want to create a gallery wall like this, all you have to do is play around with a layout and you’re good to go. There’s really no right or wrong way to do it, and you definitely don’t have to stop at pictures. For added storage, I put my notebooks in a basket and placed the basket under my desk to get it out of the way.
Every girl needs a full length mirror. If you don’t have one, you’re probably venturing into your roommate’s room to look at yourself in one. At the bottom of mine, I have a little hair caddy. I put my brushes, my straightener, curling iron, and hair dryer in it. What’s great about this is they can be on and inside their little compartments at the same time. It has a power strip on the back of it for easy plug-in for your appliances, but remembering to turn them off is crucial.
To add decoration to my room, I hung two pieces of string to hang pictures off of. I just used a Command hook to put the strings up, and I use paper clips to put pictures or anything that has sentimental value to me up there. I have quotes, pictures, keychains, cards, and even envelopes addressed to me from some special people. This takes up a lot of space which is great if you have big blank walls that can be somewhat of an eyesore.
Anything you can add that makes you feel at home is great. I have countless pictures of my family, boyfriend, and friends around my room in different colored frames and in different ways. What’s better than a constant reminder of your family when you can’t be with them all the time?
You probably noticed the Christmas lights hanging, too. I love the mood and the feeling they give, and I think they’re great to have any time of year. Harsh light can be a real buzzkill, so these lights can be a quick fix to any blah room, even a dorm room.
Now that I’ve just shared my cozy bedroom with you, I want to see yours! Tweet us your pictures at @HerCampusUMass! Happy Decorating!