Everyone wants to have the hangout room at uni - the room that everyone else actually chooses to spend time because it's that little bit less bleak than the other tiny cupboards on your corridor. And - added bonus, none of these will cause any lasting damage, which means come June you'll get your deposit back. Hurrah.
1. Do the old tapestry hang
It's practically halls bedroom decorating law that you need to hang a big old beautifully coloured tapestry or embroidered sheet to cover up the magnolia walls. Because they will be magnolia, mark my words. I hung mine with a hammer and ten nails across the top. This left ten holes that I tried to fill up with toothpaste at the end of the year - a trick which, unsurprisingly, did not work.
To hang your tapestry (check out Urban Outffiters for some good ones, Amazon are good if you want to steer clear of the mandala situation and if you're on more of a budget) without ripping your wall apart, get yourself some double sided Command adhesive strips. FYI Command products don't pull paint off the wall. Attach one side to the wall, and a peg to the other side, repeat along the top of the desired wall and hang your tapestry from the pegs.
2. Fairy light the shit out of everything
There's a reason fairy lights won't ever go out of fashion and that's because when they're the only light in the room, they cover up a multitude of sins, all whilst looking very pretty. Take a leaf out of the book of these ones here and use them to display photos (again with pegs). Three holes from drawing pins to hold the lights in place are far preferable to the whole wall of blu-tack stains you'd get from displaying photos in the conventional way.
3. Give your posters a frame
Skip the stereotypical student posters like the Moulin Rouge art deco one and the world map and instead opt for some nice prints. These palm prints from Quantum Prints on Etsy are dead nice. Because you can't afford a real frame though, opt instead for washi tape - another non paint-ruining adhesive that comes in lots of different designs. There's about a gazillion washi tape designs to choose from.
4. Make yourself a headboard
Because uni beds are shit, they almost never come with headboards. This DIY headboard won't make your bed any more comfortable but it will look nicer. Use washi tape (hello old friend) to fashion one - whether it looks like a conventional headboard or you use your washi tape to draw some cool designs.
5. Switch up your lampshade
10/10 the lampshade your room comes with will be a white IKEA globe one that's got stained and dusty over the years. Ditch that immediately, they're only £1.50 to replace at the end of the year. In the meantime opt for something cool like this copper wire lampshade which, at £12.99, is kind of a bargain. If you're after a bit more lightbulb coverage, check out this full-scandi offering for £14.99.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.