Having just suffered the traumatic experience of packing up my bedroom for the 15th time I feel I am at least partly qualified to shed some light on the importance of a good bedroom in any persons life.
When I walked into my uni bedroom for the first time I didn’t know whether to cry or sob. it was a truly shocking experience. bare walls, awful colours, that threadbare carpet! Was this really to be my home for 9 months?
PRO TIP: Get settled in right away. unpack everything, put up all the photos. Don’t do things half assed over a period of weeks, get in there on day 1 and claim it. You will spend at least some time in your bedroom pretty much every single day of your life so my view is TREAT YO SELF.
SLEEP
More specifically the bed
This is where the magic happens.
That magic is sleep
Sleep is not only limited to the night time either, no no, it can refer to the period between 9am and 10am as your first lecture of the day just floats past you (although let it be known that I do not recommend this. hey mum)
It may also refer to the period between 12.30 and 1pm when you need an afternoon sleep to digest your lunch before beginning the afternoon of lectures like the anaconda you are.
For many of my dear friends it only happens between the hours of 4am and 9am which is a true travesty. GET YO Z’s PEOPLE. Sleep is the key to a good life.
No university bedroom is complete without some fairy lights. They certainly go a long way in helping with the ambience of a good nights sleep. The copious amounts of unnecessary cushions however do not but they serve to feed to the illusion that you may somewhat know what you’re doing with your life.
AND (this is an extra freebie for all you sleep athletes out there), invest in a memory foam pillow. Your life will change dramatically. Money, Fame, Love it could all be yours with memory foam!!!!
STUDY
A university bedroom serves as the ultimate slashie a sleep room/dressing room/study room/emotional breakdown room so it’s pretty important to distinguish those areas in some way (and not just by the different piles of mess/ food crumbs that reside in each area)
Truth be told I actually took 99% of my study to the library. I find that I need to be physically removed from a room with a bed before it stops being distraction.
Having a good clean desk area is still helpful to keeping your room clean and for those times every time when a last minute proofread is required.
All you future university goers I highly recommend a trip to Kikki K to suss you for your year ahead.
This giant notepad helped me to procrastinate a good 20 minutes a week writing out all my classes and plan various social events that I would end up not attending *see above point about me loving sleep*
But it was nice having a big bright feature in the room to make sure I didn’t forget things, freed up room in my brain to remember funny quotes from Jennifer Lawrence.
SLOTH (a.k.a chill zone)
I’m no stranger to a afternoon of ‘slothing out’. Sometimes you come back from a lecture and need a minute (or 10) of mindlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed before you really feel ready to take on the rest of the day.
It is moments like these that I like my room to be cosy, something I can nestle into and not feel like it’s a prison cell. A comfy blanket is a literal must for any university student, many a fort of self destruction was made with these bad boys.
GET YO’ GREENS
Nothing improves the brightness in a room more than some good ol’ carbon dioxide suckers.
I am however a known plant murderer so it’s really not a good idea for me to have the number of living plants that Pinterest would suggest I need. However, I’ve found I can manage at least a bunch of flowers and the rest is left down to the plastic fantastic. Surprisingly after a while you don’t even notice they’re fake and they brighten up the room just the same.
Anyone living in Auckland, Scarecrow is my go to florist/cafe for all my blooms.
STORAGE
Nobody likes clutter, I would say my design aesthetic is ‘organised chaos’. It’s really a complete and utter mess but you’d never know because I’ve boxed that shit.
Honestly I think my favourite shopping experience is The Storage Box. There is nothing more calming, (except maybe a trip to Warehouse Stationary the week before school starts)
These pink and white boxes hail from The Warehouse and a lifesaver when you want to throw all matter of things into them (good for when the parents visit). These brown baskets are another Storage Box classic, I keep my make up in them currently but also good for hopes and dreams?!
SMELLZ
At University, especially in the halls of residence a whole new breed of smells is born into the air, your nose is hit with all matter of things as you walk from the dining hall, to the elevator to the common room and down the corridor to your room.
You’ve got to be prepared, and make room spray your friend. otherwise your nostrils just won’t cope
This Diptyque Figuier is my current fave (and I’m savouring it due to its extortionate price). Just a few flamboyant sprays a day and you’re good to go.
Or get on the diffuser train! My current fave is this Rose Compagnie de Provence number from Citta Design (shameless plug for my workplace) but for realz just change the sticks every few months and these bad boys keep your room smelling like roses all year round (literally)
ARTY FARTY
Any self respecting blogger will know that Pinterest is where it’s at. This blogger is no different. The wonderful site forever feeds my room, clothes and general life envy but it also provides a lot of inspiration. I often find prints that I love on Pinterest but don’t know where to find them in real life.
PRO TIP: Make them yourself! You can either make the image really big and screenshot it (is that illegal?! idk) or hop onto Word and make a convincing replica with the help of DaFont
Head down to a Warehouse Stationary (or any office goods store that does printing) and for a cool $1.80 you can get those prints on lovely thick paper ready for the envy of pint rest goers alike!
A great way of filling up wall space and adding some dimension to the tiny rectangle space that you have.
There we have it my 2015 bedroom, a lovely little haven that I have enjoyed very much this year.
There is nothing like returning home to a nice clean room after a hard day of answering life problems and trying to scrounge enough money for Saturday nights alcohol.
Full Disclosure: This is perhaps a slightly more accurate view of the bedroom on your average day. Everyone be cool 😉
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