7 Renter-Friendly Ways to Decorate Your Student Room

Here are some student room decor ideas to make your pad more homely 👇

So, you’ve moved into your student room… now what? Once you've unpacked your clothes, popped on your bedsheets and given everything a place, you'll probably want to jazz it up a bit. As a student, you'll need to make sure that any changes are renter-friendly in order to keep a hold of your deposit (so don't go drilling holes in the wall just yet).

To give you a hand, we've put together a list of things you can do to make your student room feel more like home.

Changing the lighting in your student room is the number one way to make it feel more homely. Ditch that bright ceiling light and invest in some bedside options and floor lamps to elevate the cosiness of the room. These are incredibly effective at completely changing how your room feels.

Don’t forget the go-to: fairy lights. If you get these right, they can instantly turn the mood in your room from bright and dull to calm and comfy. Plus, they’re SUPER affordable (or just grab your Christmas tree ones from home 🤷‍♀️).

Plants are the ultimate way to bring some (literal) life into your student home. From a small cluster of cacti to a huge tree in the corner, plants are adaptable to the size and feel of your pad. Head to your local plant shop and see what they have on offer (and make sure to grab some cute pots and planters while you’re there too!). 

If you don’t have a green thumb, don’t worry – fake plants are just as good. Grab some high-quality fakes from Ikea, or see if there are any local to you on Facebook Marketplace.

Your bed will be the centre of your student room, so it naturally influences the whole feng-shui of your space. Changing up your duvet can make a huge difference to the feel of your room (a noisy and bright option probably isn’t a good idea if you want to keep things calm).

Try to use a duvet which fits the colour scheme of your room and change it up if you’re in need of a fresh start. A plain, neutral option always works well for an enviously clean bedroom space. Plus, you can change this whenever you fancy (Christmas-themed bedding? Yes please 😍).

Most student rooms have an abundance of wall space to cover up, so getting creative can make your room feel loads more like ‘you’. Wall hangings, tapestries, prints and wall decals are the go-to for student bedrooms, as they can be removed really easily when move-out day arrives.

There are plenty of ways you can decorate your walls without losing your deposit. Use command strips as a way to hang things up without poking holes in the walls – get these for cheap at Wilko, B&M or by browsing online. You could also hang photos from stringy fairy lights, which is always a win.

Whether it’s with a rug, a knitted throw or a few comfy pillows, texture can make ALL the difference in your student room. Mixing up the consistency of the materials will make a snug, peaceful environment (especially if you go for comfy fabrics).

You probably won’t LOVE the carpet in your new student home, so a comfortable rug might be the answer to all your prayers. This is an easy, renter-friendly way to completely change your space. Add in a huge blanket, a throw and some cushions and you’ve got the recipe for relaxation.

Most student rooms (especially in first year) come with a handy noticeboard, which is the ideal spot to add some personality to your space. Decorate it with some photos of you and your mates, some of your favourite artwork, or simply just some useful post-its.

You can get super creative with these noticeboards too. You can go for a colour theme and only stick aesthetically pleasing items, or you could buy a duplicate and make it twice as big. You could hang your fairy lights across it to make it a centre piece too... the possibilities are endless!

From revising for finals to sleepovers with your best mates, your student room will be used for everything – so make sure to keep things realistic. Try not to focus too much on the look if this ends up hindering how effective your room can be. 

Is your room too bright? Grab some stick-on blinds. Got some messy cables lying around? Invest in a cable organiser. Be practical with your decisions, and these small changes can turn your room into your perfect haven.

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