How to: make the most of a small room

Whether it's your bedroom away from home, your uni/dorm room or even the spare room, it's important not to get too carried away with decorating and instead to shop for the space you've got.

 A few weeks ago I moved back up to Sunderland for my final year at University - let's not even dwell on where the time has gone, it seems like two minutes since I hauled all my junk 150 miles north to move up here! However...I digress.... our new house is super cute, and right near the town centre which is fab. I'm sharing with three other girls, and of the four bedrooms, mine is the smallest.

Now I did find it rather tricky as I've always had quite a large room, so adapting to the space was quite a challenge. Here's my advice to make the most of a small room. . . 

Firstly, take a long, hard look at everything you have and ask yourself: do I really need this? For me, the answer was no more than yes; as I'd brought waaaayy too many books up north with me. So I waved adios to my five of my six copies of Pride and Prejudice and said bonjour to more shelf space.

 Primark Heart Box £6, Ikea Flower Pots from 65p

 Every student needs a noticeboard (can you tell I don't have any deadlines yet!)

Buy things with a dual purpose. E.g. a decorational piece that doubles as a light. I came across this lovely rose gold pineapple light in Primark* (below) that I instantly fell in love with. It looks great on my shelf and is functional: bonus! 

*Primark also have a green light-up cactus and led whiteboard in the shape of a speech bubble! Super adorbs!

Primark lamp £10, Tiger Glass Jar £3 (I think!)

Storage is the key to a tidy small room. Ikea is great for storage solutions see these cute little plant pots I use to store my makeup brushes and other bits and bobs. They don't take up too much room and look super cute!

For comfort be sure to display your photographs, fave posters, teddies and memorabilia around the room to make it really homey and your own.

Finally, invest in some sort of shelving - mine were £15 from Ikea. Then you can neatly store away all your books, dvd's, textbooks etc, without stowing them away somewhere you'll never find them again. This way they're in sight but neatly tidied away, without looking too messy.

I'd love to hear how you make you make the most of your small space, or uni room. Let me know in the comments below! 

Love Rosie

xx