For a lot of people, moving out is a major life event, where young adults head out to live independently for the first time in their lives. Whether this is into student accommodation or regular housing, the freedom of living for yourself is exhilarating and quite a leap from the safety of the home nest. Learning to cook and pay your bills are essential learning experiences, but a crucial aspect which is often overlooked by young people is how to make your new space feel like a home. This improves your mental wellbeing, makes you feel less homesick and more in control, and is overall a way to adjust comfortably to this new and exciting phase of your life.
The following is a list of useful items to doll up your drab student space into something to be proud of living in.
Speakers
Ambience is a huge factor in a house, and the sound quality of your speakers is essential in creating good vibes and a setting fit for each of your moods. The social aspect of independent life is another reason to purchase sound equipment that is both powerful and durable. The best kind of speaker for a setting like this should be sleek and not take up too much space like the huge, clunky booming systems on the market. As you want great value for your money, you’ll want a speaker that isn’t too delicate to handle the rough and tumble of everyday life. Bang and Olufsen have a great selection of items at a range of prices – though all are fantastic in quality and look elegant to match. Bang and Olufsen speakers can be found via sites like ssense.com, and they can nestle anywhere in your home to enrich the space and make you feel more connected to your home.
Or, if you’re smart enough you can enjoy music when using bluetooth speakers while you are in the garage, laundry room, or anywhere else you have projects to do.
Corkboard
Some accommodations or landlords don’t allow posters to be stuck on their walls for fear of ripping up wallpaper. This often leads to dull, blank walls which don’t add any joy to your day and in fact can dampen your mood. This makes corkboards a wonderful purchase, as they can be hung up on a wall and offer a large space on which to pin photos, posters, as well as scraps of memories like train or movie tickets. The color and texture this adds to an otherwise visual eyesore makes it a common item to be found in many student houses, and a brilliant item to invest in that doesn’t break the bank.
Blankets
A few blankets will make your home feel much cozier (especially as young people tend to go sparse on the heating!) and will add fun splashes of color to your couches and bedspread. A soft blanket to cuddle up under is great to make yourself feel more relaxed and at home and is an inexpensive way to spruce the place up and treat yourself to some self-care items. They will last for a long time and provide a useful function for warmth and comfort.
Houseplants
Houseplants breathe vitality and personality into a home and give you an easy but rewarding sense of responsibility to ensure their care. These are aesthetically brilliant for texture and providing some natural elements to any room, and studies suggest they have a positive impact on individual health and mentality. These can be purchased at local businesses and are one of the most inexpensive ways to spruce up an otherwise uninteresting space. Make sure you place them in well-lit areas and research how to care for each individual species you obtain. Cute plant pots are also a fantastic opportunity for decoration, as they can add color or pattern in a room without looking tacky or out of place.
Fairy Lights
These create soft lighting which really level up the atmosphere in your home. They can look great anywhere, from bedrooms to living rooms, and can be plugged into main power or battery operated. Ceiling to floor length strings can be a focal wall decoration, or a more subtle and small addition is great to improve the lighting in any room. Around a mirror, or over the curtains – the flexibility of these lights is fantastic to explore different ways of styling them. They are inexpensive, making them an ideal purchase for someone without a large budget, and absolutely gorgeous home additions.
These household objects may not seem like essentials, but they make a world of difference when it comes to living in a space you spend a good portion of your time in. It is worth investing to make your housing feel like a home, and a reflection of yourself that you can connect to and relax in. We hope this list proved useful in supplying inspiration and a vision for your new space and made you even more excited to begin a new chapter in your life.