10 Tips To Pimp Your Halls

By Student Cribs | February 23, 2024 | Reading Time: 7 minutes

University halls don’t have the prettiest interiors. General wear and heavy pre -drinks take their toll on even the most resilient of fixtures and furnishings. But don’t worry, the bleakest of halls can be made to feel like home pretty cheaply and quickly.

Since we’ve spent the past decade making houses look pretty we thought we’d share some of the tips we’ve picked up along the way. 

1) Bedding

Be rational – you’re going to spend 8 hours+ a day sleeping / watching Netflix so you might as well spend a bit of money on quality sheets. 

Good quality sheets don’t have to break the bank. Ikea, Sainsbury’s and Asda  have a pretty wide range of affordable but nice duvets covers. 

2) Cushions

Cushions are a simple and inexpensive way to improve the overall look of your room. Never spend more than £10 on a cushion, if you shop around online you can find some absolute bargains. 

John Lewis’ house range have some real comfy jersey throw cushions for £5 each. Meaning you could get a whole bedspread for £20! 

3) Fairy Lights

Majority of university halls have gross florescent overhead lights. Great for staying awake to complete a deadline but not good when you’re chilling out after a day in the library.

Fairy lights can be used to light up your desk, as a canopy over your bed or to hold up a photo collage. They’re also VERY affordable, check out Amazon for some really nifty ones. 

4) Freshen up 

Your room has been inhabited by dozens of other students before you, it’s quite likely they created some unpleasant ingrained smells. This should be one of your first moves in making your halls more of a home.  

There are three different ways you can freshen up the smell in your room: 

• Scented Candles
• Incense
• Air Freshener
• Reed Diffuser

A reed diffuser is the best choice out of the three options. It won’t smell of chemicals like an air freshener does and it’s much safer and less messy than incense or candles. 

Diffusers also last ages, you could get one at the start of freshers and not have to refill it until mid way through second year. 

5) Plants

Plants are an easy way to brighten up a room, but they’re not just great for decorative purposes. Studies have shown that plants improve the quality of air within a room, increase humidity and even help you to focus better when studying!

But be sure to pick a plant that requires low maintenance, dead plants won’t provide any of the above benefits. 

6) Photo Collage

Don’t just leave your selfies & squad shots on Instagram – print them out for your guests to see! There’s lots of websites that will print photos for you. 

Photobox prints your photos by directly linking to your Instagram account. They can pretty much print your photos onto anything (Even fridge magnets if you’re that way inclined) 

7) Lamps

Lamps are a great addition to any room. You’ve got a couple of options, you could go for a nice chrome study lamp like the one above or an ambient bed side lamp. 

Adding a lamp to your room will give you diverse lighting options and mean that you don’t have to settle for just harsh fluorescent overhead lights. 

All in all lamps are a great way add a bit more character to your room, so it’s safe to say we agree with Brick below: 

8) Speakers 

Laptop speakers are bad, even if you’ve got a macbook. Spend a little bit of money on a nice set of wireless speakers at the start of university and they’ll last you for your university career. 

They’re great for unwinding alone in your room or taking into the kitchen for predrinks. Be careful with the volume though, you don’t want to annoy your housemates when you’re deep in the mix… 

9) Rugs

A  rug is the perfect way to cover up threadbare carpet and dubious Jager stains from previous occupants. 

A nice rug doesn’t have to cost a fortune – H&M have a great range of patterned and neutral rugs for as little as £20!

10) Posters

Posters are a great way to make a mark on a room, during the first term of university it’s likely that your university will put on a poster sale on campus. Keep an eye out for these, but don’t go on the first day.

If you go on the final day of the sale you will be able to pick up posters for a fraction of the price they were originally sold at. If you miss out on this price drop you can always buy one online – or even get your own printed. 

Just don’t go full cliche and put up a poster of Che Guevara or Bob Marley…  

Got any more tips on how to up your halls game? Let us know in the comments section below.

Thinking about where to live next year? 

See our stunning student houses spread across the UK uni towns!