Decorating Student Properties On a Budget

Our student properties come with furniture to get you started; beds, wardrobes, drawers and maybe a few other bits and bobs. But you’ll likely want some more things to help bring your room to life, really make it yours, and maybe make it more functional for you in your day to day student life.

What To Buy
A bookshelf is going to be one of your best purchases to make. During your time as a student you’re likely to build up quite a healthy book collection and it’s much better to be stacked up on a bookshelf for quick reference than strewn around your room. It also doubles as a shelf to hold DVDs and games too, work and play in one unit.

One way to bring a bit of life to your room and some zen is to pick up a plant. We’re no plant experts so you’ll want to consult other sites on the best low-maintenance plant to for indoors. A plant not only provides a bit of colour in a room but can have calming influences, great for that pre-exam stress.

Probably the least functional piece of decoration on our list is something for your wall. Be it a poster of your favourite band or a large canvas print of a view of the Tyne Bridge. Just make sure to not damage walls when putting anything like this up. A bit of wall art can open up a room, add a splash of colour and personality. If you’re feeling artistic you can get blank canvases from several shops in town and make your own. Or get a photo printer and make a collage wall of your time at university.

Where To Buy
Newcastle has plenty of spots to pick up cheap furniture for your room. There’s also plenty of places offering bespoke and repurposed furniture if that’s more your style and you’re willing to head off the beaten track a bit. There’s several along and around Chillingham road.

In the Newcastle city centre there’s several places shops that do decorations. TK Maxx mostly has clothes but it does have a section of the store dedicated to bric-a-brac, so you can pick up stylish photo frames, vases, and pictures that are all quite unique from each other. Wilkinson’s just outside Grainger Market has simple flat pack furniture, alongside a small range of canvas prints to brighten up a room. A bookshelf for all your study guides can be picked up for just over a tenner and put together in as many minutes.

Outside of Newcastle there’s a large IKEA store at the MetroCentre park. IKEA provide a massive range of stylish flat pack furniture at very affordable prices ad they can stand up quite well to the beating of several years at university and beyond. They do an alright hot dog too.

You’ll be in your student properties for several years during university so it’s a good idea to really make it yours and to start building a collection of furniture and decorations that can bring with you after university too.