By Marta Biernacki
Is your space your favourite place? The Gage Dorms tend to all look the same, but with a little effort you can add some flair to your bedroom and living room. Here are some cheap and easy ideas.
- Holiday lights
This isn’t a novel idea, and hanging holiday lights is a pretty common in residence, but this doesn’t make it any less effective in making your living space more welcoming. Lights add brightness and warmth to a room, and considering that it’s January, they’re probably on sale.
- Candles
Like holiday lights, candles are not a novel idea, but they’re still a good one. They also add light, and have the added bonus of smelling nice.
- Cool Posters, Wrapping Paper, or Wall Stencils
You can decorate your walls with cool posters, but if you don’t have the money to buy one from the SUB or a fancy poster store, you can always get some pretty wallpaper and use it to line the top of your walls (like crown molding, but much cheaper). Alternatives to this are getting some cheap old records which can be put on the wall, photographs of loved ones, or your own original artwork. Just make sure to hang your decorations with some poster mounts!
- Flowers or Plants (fake is okay)
Adding life to a room – literally – is one of the best ways to make it more welcoming. Cacti often have cool colours, and are hard to kill. You can also get plastic plants, for which that task is even more difficult.
- Add Colour
Adding a brightly coloured rug, throw pillow(s) or duvet is an easy way to dramatically transform a room, and to make it look more comfy and welcoming. Getting a big blanket with a cool pattern on it (for example, I have a tiger on my blanket) or an interestingly patterned pillow is a good way of adding some personal flair without too much monetary commitment.
- Organize and be Clean
Having a clean living space often is what makes a space look most welcoming. The way that you place your books on a shelf can have a big impact, and even something as simple as making your bed in the morning can add a sort of calm to a room. Taking a couple minutes every night just to tidy up, or putting away one thing before you leave the room, can help jump start neat habits.
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