If you've recently moved into student accommodation and the homesickness is starting to creep in, the trick is to create a cosy and stylish space that feels like home.
The right uni room decor helps you to feel safe and expressive (yes, it really can reduce your homesickness), but strict accommodation rules mean you need damage-free uni room decor ideas that won’t cost your deposit.
This guide will teach you how to personalise your uni room with creative, affordable, and landlord-friendly decor ideas.
Lighting can completely change the vibe of your room and make it feel warm and inviting. Swap out those harsh overhead lights for something softer, like fairy lights, LED strips, or a stylish bedside lamp.
Fairy lights are super versatile and are often draped around a bed frame, lined around a desk, or hung on the walls to create a cosy atmosphere.
Bedside lamps are great options for when winding down, and you can choose from warm-tone bulbs and dimmable options to create your ideal interior.
⮕ Cost of fairy lights: From £3
⮕ Cost of lamps: From £6
⮕ Best places to buy fairy lights and lamps: Amazon, Dunelm
If you’re a plant lover and are looking to add a touch of nature to your uni room decor, then adding indoor plants is an ideal option. Student-friendly indoor plants that need low levels of maintenance include:
⚫︎ Cactus
⚫︎ Succulents
⚫︎ Snake plants
⚫︎ Sider plants
If you’re not the best at looking after plants, try artificial plants or leaf vines, as they add the illusion of greenery to your uni room decor without needing to water them.
⮕ Cost of indoor plants: From £1.25
⮕ Best place to buy indoor plants: Ikea
A pinboard is an easy, creative and low-cost way to keep important reminders in sight while personalising your room. You can also turn it into your vision board by adding meaningful pictures, inspirational quotes and your goals for the upcoming year.
These will keep you motivated while at university and make your room feel uniquely yours. For inspiration on how to customise your pinboard, Pinterest is a useful tool for ideation.
⮕ Cost of pin board: From £5
⮕ Best places to buy pin boards: Ikea, Amazon
Mirrors are a clever way to make your student room feel larger and brighter. You can position a mirror opposite a window to reflect natural light or use a tall mirror to create the illusion of more space.
Since you’ll be restricted as to what you can put on the walls, freestanding mirrors are ideal uni room decor additions, and you can find cheap pre-loved options.
⮕ Cost of mirrors: From £12
⮕ Best places to buy mirrors: Dunelm, Amazon
Your bedding can make or break your uni room decor. You won’t be able to paint the walls of your student accommodation, but you can use bright and bold patterned bedding to create an eye-catching interior.
💡Tip - Adding your favourite colours to your uni room decor is a helpful way to ease homesickness.
You can also play around with textures by adding smaller pillows for decoration and throws to keep your uni room cosy.
⮕ Cost of duvet sets: From £4.99
⮕ Best places to buy duvet sets: Home Bargains, Amazon, Primark, H&M, Aldi
An easy way to get around the inability to use nails to hang pictures on your student accommodation wall is to use specifically designed adhesive strips and hooks.
These products are perfect for lightweight items like posters, photos and hooks and are designed to be easily removable (which makes them renter-friendly).
Make sure to read the instructions carefully before use to avoid damaging your walls. When living in student accommodation, it’s important not to damage the property in any way if you want your deposit back when it’s time to move out.
⮕ Cost of adhesive strips and hooks: From £2.49
⮕ Best places to buy adhesive strips and hooks: Amazon, B&Q
Wall designs, such as tapestries, posters and prints, are easy and low-cost ways to make your standard plain walls more unique to you. They allow you to effortlessly personalise your uni room decor so that it reflects your personality.
It could be posters of your favourite band, pictures of you with friends or loved ones, or even quotes that inspire you and make you smile. The key thing when decorating your uni room is to make your space feel like your own through creativity that is personal to you.
⮕ Cost of wall designs: From £5
⮕ Best places to buy wall designs: Amazon, Dunelm
A cosy rug adds warmth and comfort to your uni room, whether it be a fluffy rug, flatweave rug, cotton rug or even a geometric design. It is an easy way to decorate your room and change it if desired. Not only are they great for protecting your floors, but they can also make your space feel more cosy.
💡Tip - For a stylish finish to your room, you can add a rug that matches your bedding and other decor.
⮕ Cost of rugs: From £4.99
⮕ Best places to buy rugs: Home Bargains
No matter how well you decorate your uni room, it will always feel messy if you have dirty laundry lying around. Worn clothes can pile up quickly, so staying on top of them is key!
As a student with limited storage space, a laundry bag is a must-have and will help to keep you organised. Laundry bags come in different colours, sizes and styles with popular ones including:
⚫︎ Collapsible laundry bags
⚫︎ Laundry bags with lids
⚫︎ Open-top laundry bags
⮕ Cost of laundry bags: From £3.50
⮕ Best places to buy laundry bags: Ikea
It may seem small, but adding a doormat is an affordable way to make your student's home feel more homely. Adding a statement doormat is both practical and decorative.
Not only is it welcoming, but it gives you the flexibility to play around with general designs or go bold and unique (showing a little bit of your personality before even entering your room).
And to top it off, it also helps to keep your room clean by trapping dirt from your shoes - it’s a win-win!
⮕ Cost of doormats: From £4
⮕ Best places to buy doormats: Ikea, Amazon, Dunelm
Student accommodation typically has limited storage space, but nothing is stopping you from adding your own. If you have many belongings, you may find that your room feels messy, no matter how well you decorate it.
So, what’s the solution? The solution is to simply add your own storage space that can complement the rest of your room decor. They come in a variety of options, including under-bed storage, stackable crates, decorative baskets, open-top boxes and boxes with lids.
⮕ Cost of storage boxes: From £1.99
⮕ Best places to buy storage boxes: Home Bargains, Amazon
With rules and restrictions around drilling or using nails, damage-free solutions are essential for making your uni accommodation feel more like home. While white tack and blue tack are common options, there are new, innovative alternatives to try:
⚫︎ Command strips - Perfect for hanging posters or photos
⚫︎ Command hooks - Perfect for additional storage or to hang lights and other decor on your wall
⚫︎ Blue Tac or White Tac - Great for sticking posters up
⚫︎ Use string and pegs - Great for hanging up Instax pictures
Keeping your space tidy helps to improve your concentration and productivity, limits distractions, lowers stress and can even help you relax. Here are quick tips on the best ways to keep your uni room tidy:
➡️ Make your bed every day
➡️ Tidy up after yourself
➡️ Have multipurpose surface wipes for easy cleaning
➡️ Use storage baskets and organisers for small items
➡️ Stick to a cleaning routine
➡️ Do your laundry regularly
➡️ Declutter your student space often
Making your uni room feel like home is important, but when decorating, you need to avoid damage to protect your deposit. At Stockton Students, we offer flexible deposit options: a non-refundable one-week rent or a refundable £400 deposit protected by MyDeposits.
If you choose the refundable option, keeping your room in great condition is important, but that doesn’t mean you can’t personalise it! With the right uni room decor ideas, you can create a cosy, stylish and homely space without risking your deposit.
Explore our student accommodation options in Ormskirk and Liverpool today! Got questions? Check out our FAQs section or contact our friendly team.
To make your uni room decor more homely, you can personalise your room with items like fairy lights, cosy bedding, and sentimental photos. Even with restrictions, there are plenty of ways to make your room feel like home.
Yes! Use Blue Tac, White Tac, or Command strips for hanging posters, as these won’t damage the walls and are easily removable. Remember: any damage can put your deposit at risk, so be extra careful!
