6 DIY Projects to Enhance Your Living Space As a Student
Dorm rooms aren’t the most spacious places to live. Still, collegegoers have to work with what they’ve got and create good conditions for studying and rest. It’s the place where they’ll be doing most of both activities. Since an average university education costs around $100,000, it’s not always possible to decorate dorm rooms to one’s liking.
Luckily, there are plenty of methods students may use to cut corners on expenses. Buying dollar store products and investing some time in DIY skills is one of them. A little ingenuity will make their dorm rooms feel like a home away from home. There are several projects one may explore to achieve this goal.
Attach a Wall Grid Organizer
Students don’t always have the time and energy to track all tasks. They often forget about academic projects or can’t prioritize them right. This situation sometimes leaves them frantically trying to order custom writing services close to the deadline. Having a wall grid organizer at eye level keeps all important information before them.
This DIY project is easy to complete as it requires several cheap items. You need one or several plastic meshes, a couple of nails, and a hammer. Use a level app to ensure that the object will hang straight on the wall. Then, hit several nails into the wall and hang the mesh from them. Their number depends on the weight of objects that will be added to the organizer.
A mesh organizer is also a good place for photos, notes, and art pieces. Students may also use this product to hold their phones, car, or dorm room keys. This way, one keeps all small items in one place and uses the wall space more efficiently.
Create a Custom Neon Sign
This project is reserved for more advanced DIY enthusiasts. One may purchase pre-made neon signs from online stores, but custom models are much cheaper and more effective. Plus, it gives you something to brag about among your peers. To make a personalized neon sign, one needs:
- A large piece of paper
- 16-gauge metal wire
- A battery pack
- A hot glue gun
- Wire cutters
- A pencil
- EL wire
- String
First, draw the text that will be featured on the wall. It may be the name of a favorite band, an inspirational quote, or the name of a loved one. Next, use the string to measure the length of the metal and EL wire. Bend the metal wire into the shape of letters while keeping it as flat as possible. Once done, attach the EL wire to the metal letters with a hot glue gun.
Take your time and ensure that each piece is firmly attached. Afterward, connect the sign to a battery pack. Get some knowledge of wiring to avoid short circuits and fires. The finished product can be attached to the wall with some washi paper.
Add Hanging Planters
Having plants in the dorm room decreases stress and makes students more focused. All thanks to the improved air quality. Students may further take advantage of the wall space by making DIY hanging planters. All they need are several pots, a roll of rope, a hammer, some nails, and a piece of hardwood to hang them from.
There are many YouTube tutorials that show how to tie the rope around planters. To make things more interesting, purchase the product in several colors or paint them yourself. Hanging plants are a perfect choice for this situation. If you aren’t a person with the best green thumb, try succulents. They are easy to handle since they are acclimated to low-humidity environments.
You’ll only have to water them once every couple of weeks. Christmas cactus, Euphorbia, and desert rose are some of the plants that will make a fine addition to your dorm room. They also have beautiful flowers for you to admire.
Get A Physical Instagram Feed
To add creativity to their living space, students may print out and hang their best Instagram photos. These can show their artistic qualities, important memories, or fun events. It’s a great way of sprucing up dull dorm walls on a budget. There are several ways of making a physical feed in their rooms:
- Attaching photos to each other via strings and a piece of wood
- Securing them on a mesh wall with clothespins or binder clips
- Using a clip string light
Each variant requires basic DIY skills with a drill and a hammer. Those who lack experience with these tools can use washi tape. There are plenty of colors to experiment with, which makes the Instagram photo wall even more unique. It can be easily applied and removed from walls. To make the photos stick to the wall, one may also use masking tape.
Turn Your Basket Into A Nightstand
Students often need to cut corners when buying furniture. They sometimes make makeshift items from construction materials or daily objects. To make more space near the bed, students can buy a $30 waste basket and a wooden plank. It can be glued to the object or put on top of it. The latter option allows double use of these products.
During study hours, one may place the wastebasket near them to throw in botched essay drafts and other paper waste. In the evening hours, the combination serves as additional space for small books and charging phones. This DIY project is simple to pull off and will save a lot of money when compared to the price of regular nightstands.
Adding Peel-And-Stick Led Lights
Students often have to cram late at night. Using standard lighting can wreck their circadian cycle and leave them poorly rested. Adding a strip of LED lights makes dorm lighting more relaxing. There are plenty of low-budget products one may use to stick on their wall and make creative images. Some of them come with color-adjusting apps for smart devices.
Final Thoughts
Students don’t always have the budget to turn their rooms into ideal living conditions. These DIY projects help them get around financial limitations and show their creative side. It can be an example of how creativity can sometimes be more valuable than expensive decor.
