Low-cost ideas for creative university bedrooms
Your time at university will be some of the best years of your life. That’s why we think you should view your university bedroom as a blank canvas. It’s the perfect space in which to express your personality and tastes, without having to paint the walls, buy big pieces of furniture or spend a lot of money. With a few small changes, versatile solutions and simple decorative touches, you can create the perfect bedroom for both work and play.
Come and take a peek at this university bedroom full of affordable, decorative, functional and artistic solutions – we think it’s amazing!
We hope it inspires you!
Choosing the right bed linen
If you want your university bedroom to look as vibrant and creative as this one, opt for patterned or brightly coloured textiles. And if you want this corner of your room to be as flexible as possible, we recommend adding a comfy fitted sheet and plenty of cushions to your bed so that it can be used as a sofa too. That way, you get two pieces of furniture for the price of one while ensuring that your back is properly supported.
If you’d prefer to add a splash of colour somewhere else, try a patterned rug or some brightly coloured cushion covers.
Exhibition-style hanging decoration
This bedroom showcases a unique way to decorate your space: hanging prints, photos and artwork to create a gallery-style look. You can hang these “works of art” using sticky tape or curtain hooks, so you can switch them out whenever you want.
It’s a really affordable way to display your favourite posters, paintings, prints or photos without having to buy photo frames or make holes in the wall.
And since you can put them up and take them down in a flash, you’ll never get bored of them.
Multifunctional furniture
If your bedroom is small, or you’d just prefer to save space and money rather than accumulate unnecessary furniture and objects, think about using one area or item for several functions: what we call multifunctional furniture.
We’re not just talking about tables that can be used as storage or sofas that turn into beds: you can also repurpose items you already have in your room, such as your chair.
A bedroom chair isn’t just somewhere we pile all our clothes until we can’t see the bottom. It also makes a great bedside table, with space for a simple and practical clamp spotlight, a glass of water and a book.
Think about how your furniture can be used to save space and money!
Adapt your desk to suit your needs
Your desk is one of the most important pieces of furniture in your university bedroom, so think about what you need and where to put it. This desk is placed near a window hung with curtains, to provide both natural light and a little privacy. However, the easel is the main focus, as this bedroom is intended to be primarily used for painting.
The key lesson here is that we should always ensure that our bedroom and desk suit our needs and not the other way around.
The desk chair has been moved and a stool added so that our student can work comfortably standing at their easel, next to the natural light. In this example, the desk is the perfect surface on which to store a transparent box containing art materials.
A wardrobe with maximum flexibility
Sometimes a normal wardrobe doesn’t fit in a university bedroom. Or we might just want one that works for us and prefer to create our own, so that we can use it to store things aside from clothing.
That’s why we’ve hidden the contents of this shelving using a curtain.
- Pick a fabric you like and hang it from some hooks attached to the shelving to keep the contents hidden from view.
- If you don’t fancy sewing, just fix some thick tape to the fabric and make a few holes in it using scissors.
- Organise the inside of your new custom wardrobe using boxes and baskets. Just because you can’t see what’s inside doesn’t mean it can be messy!
Making things yourself allows you to create a bedroom with real personality and can save you a lot of money too.
How to use a clothes rail as a bedroom organiser
In this room, a clothes rail is the perfect choice because it has wheels and a base, as well as being height adjustable and multifunctional. If you have the space, it’s the ideal solution for organising all kinds of things: not just clothes!
- First, add some hanging organisers with compartments. Here they’re used to organise paint brushes, but you can use them to store anything you like: glasses, belts etc.
- Use hangers with clips to hang clothes and anything else you fancy, like these paintings hanging up to dry.
- Then add a basket or box to make your new storage solution even more practical and give it a personal touch.
This kind of small solution will help you organise your university bedroom and make the most of every last inch of space.
Hey! If you want more bedroom ideas, check out:
We love it when customers use our products in a creative way. Why not try to do something new with them yourself? But do remember, any modifications or changes that you make to IKEA products will prevent them from being resold or used for their original use, thus invalidating IKEA product warranties and your right to return.
