7 On-A-Budget Décor Tips for Student Apartment

Applying to college often comes along with moving to another city or country and searching for new accommodation. Usually, the best option is to live in a dorm. Yet, many students choose to rent an apartment and share it with someone to save money. When living in a student apartment, you are finally free to decorate your own space.

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Our surroundings have a huge impact on productivity and academic performance. If you live in a well-decorated apartment, it will boost your mood and help you remain motivated. Whether you need to do math homework, write an essay, or prepare for a chemistry exam, the right atmosphere will help you stay focused and excel at your tasks.

As being a student usually means being short of money, it can be impossible to afford some expensive and beautiful decorations. However, if you look through this article, you will find a lot of tips on how you can decorate your room on your own without blowing your budget.

No doubt, placing plants and flowers all over the accommodation is the best way to revive it and make it look fresh. Some of the many benefits of having indoor plants include improving the air quality and making the interior eco-friendly and natural. When purchasing plants and flowers, you should pay attention not only to your taste but also to the conditions needed for growing them.

The problem is that some need a lot of water and some you need to water once a week. Some plants need a lot of sunlight, and some need to be placed in a shadow. For instance, you can buy dragon trees (Dracaena Marginata) and cacti. Cacti don’t need much water, but they do need sunlight. So it’s better to put them on a windowsill or next to the windows, depending on the size of the cacti.

As for dragon trees, they can be placed in the corners or next to the furniture as they don’t need that much sunlight, but they do need watering. Both plants will turn your boring accommodation into an exotic place. In addition, you can decorate walls and windows with hanging planters to save space. By the way, you can make pots by yourself by using old empty jars, cans, and jute rope.

If you are allergic to flowers or simply do not have enough time or motivation to take care of them, you can use dried ones. For instance, you can use natural unpainted compositions of cereals or physalis that will add coziness to your apartment. Also, you can create a mini garden on your windowsill by growing herbs or microgreens.

Rugs will make a cool and cheap addition to your accommodation. Fortunately, the variety of rugs is huge. They come in any shape, design, color, size, and pattern you can imagine. Thus, it will never be a problem to find one that will suit your interior style and match your color scheme.

Usually, default rugs are pretty affordable in comparison to other household items. Before buying, we recommend you compare rug prices in different shops and search for online discount codes and free delivery options. Choose the most suitable option in accordance with your taste. Also, look for durable rugs that would not get matted or dirty overtime. No matter how cute a fluffy rug can look at first, it can get ruined pretty quickly

It’s also very important to place rugs in the right place. Small carpets look best in entryways, kitchen, and under bathroom sinks. As for large rugs, they will be an ideal addition to your bedroom, underneath a dining table, or beneath a coffee table.

Instead of spending hard-earned money on expensive paintings, prints, or photos, you can get creative and make your own piece of art to hang on your walls. The easiest art you can create by yourself without any skills needed is a collage of favorite photos of your close people. Follow these steps:

• Buy a tube of paint and a cheap canvas board (check out local craft stores or order online).
• Create a one-of-a-kind painting.
• Select the most heartwarming pictures.
• Add a black and white filter in any photo editing app.
• Print them and attach them to the board.

Another option is to create basket wall art. If you want to bring ample texture to your room, use a bevy of baskets. With the help of nails, hang a large basket in the middle. Then take small baskets and surround them with the big one in a circular or starburst pattern. If you don’t like this idea, you can always go for the evergreen gallery wall art of favorite pictures and photos.

Keep in mind that bookshelves serve not only for storing books. You can use it for arranging accessories, storing your DVDs, blu rays, and CDs, and placing some souvenirs, framed pictures, or plants. A three- or four-tier bookshelf can serve you as storage for clothing, shoes, hats, and handbags.

Another epic idea to add coziness to your room is to sort books by color. For instance, you can change the exposure by arranging books in a rainbow spectrum. It will not only look unusual and creative but will also reduce the level of visual noise and organize the space. Or use your imagination and place them in whatever order you want. If you can’t find books in bright colors – just wrap them in colored paper.

Online markets make a big difference when it comes to saving money. You can sell and buy used home goods or literally anything. On sites like Poshmark, you can bundle several sale items from a seller to negotiate a better price.

You can also take advantage of colleges’ marketplace designed only for students. There you will find old furniture, cheap home decor, etc. If not, create an account on the following marketplaces and sell gently used clothes or things that are no longer being used or buy what you need: OfferUp, Craigslist, eBay, Nextdoor, Letgo.

The best way to save money on decor is thrifting. Some people don’t find it an attractive option. However, used furniture is very cheap and also more sustainable since it lowers overall consumption. Check out stores like Goodwill and The Salvation Army, where people resell donated furniture. Or find the nearest thrift store for cheap home decor at TheThriftShopper.

Today, more than ever, we need to take care of the environment. One of the ways to do it is upcycling. It is one of the best ways students can both save a buck and the planet. Hence, instead of throwing away old chairs, sofas, tables, or bookcases, you can spruce them up with washi tape, a Mod Podge collage, or paint.

You can also use upcycling for organization hacks too. For instance, if you have cracked plastic food containers, you can transform them into organization bins for your school belongings. Old cups or buckets can be used for plants. One piece of advice – check the dumpsters behind your college’s art department. You will be surprised with the amount of cool creative things suitable for decor you might find there.

To make yourself at home, even if it is a rented apartment, you have to decorate it. In order to add coziness to your accommodation, there is no need to blow your budget – it’s enough to use imagination and creativity. If you use all the tips we have provided you with, you will save money and transform your apartment into a masterpiece.

Published in: Ideas | Author: Yanita