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Trending Now: Affordable 2025 Home Décor for Student Rooms

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Photo by Emily Wang on Unsplash

Have you just walked into a plain, beige and boring room? Your uni room should reflect you and your personality. It should be an inspiring place to be for the next year as you do your assignments and hang with new friends.

We’ve rounded up budget-friendly and renter-friendly trends to help you create a stylish space without losing your deposit!

1. Bold Patterns and Maximalism

Photo by volant on Unsplash

Maximalism is making a massive comeback this year with many people choosing the “more is more” approach to decorating their home. This is a trend that you can truly infuse your personality into. Medium dives into why maximalism and why now here.

How to apply it to your student room:

You can’t drill holes or make permanent changes so you have to be clever with how you make changes to your room. For this specific trend you’ll need:

  • Removable patterned wallpaper

To make it budget friendly only add it to one wall and make it a feature!

This one from Dunelm caught our eye with reviews claiming it’s very easy to remove!

  • Colourful, textured or patterned bedding

Your bedding makes the biggest difference to your room because it’s the biggest part of your room, make it bold!

You can usually find bedding on sale too, this one from Argos is only £12.

  • Artwork

Funky artwork applied with command hooks is where your personality is truly going to come out.

Photo by Nilay Sozbir on Unsplash

You’ll want to head to charity shops to find funky frames and use your library printing credits to print off your fave art, it doesn’t get more budget than that!

2. Biophilic Design

Photo by corey oconnell on Unsplash

You may not have heard of this, it essentially means: bring the outside in. Being inside studying might feel like a drag but the BBC proved that this style can actually make you more productive and happier here.

How to apply it to your student room:

This one looks difficult and expensive! The first question you need to ask yourself is: “Can I keep plants alive?”. This will help you to decide whether to go fake or real! Now onto the shopping list:

  • Potted Plants

If you have the time head to your local tip store, they usually salvage lots of pots that people would have just thrown away.

Then head to Gardening Express for a selection of indoor plants for only £2 each, this is a lucky dip so you don’t know what you’ll be getting but we think it’s worth it for the price!

Looking to go fake? IKEA have great fake potted plants from just £1.

  • Nature Inspired Artwork

Canvases like this from Wilko can bring the outdoors in for only £3.25 each!

  • Use natural materials

Using stone and wood in your décor can really bring in that outdoor feeling.

These wooden tealight holders are a simple example of adding natural materials into your space. These are from The Range , they also have a stone option.

3. Warm Neutrals and Earth Tones

Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash

Earthy neutrals such as clay, terracotta and sand are a trend that’s not going away according to House Beautiful. This décor is going to make your room feel very warm and cosy.

How to add it to your student room:

This trend is hard to get wrong, as long as your colours are warm, you’re doing it right.

  • Rugs

Getting the right rug adds warmth to your space and makes it feel elevated with little effort!

This rug from H&M Home brings texture, colour and pattern for only £19.99

  • Curtains

Changing your curtains from the boring standard ones to something more elevated and in your style is going to make a huge difference.

Curtains like these from George Home still let in the light and brighten up your space whilst still offering privacy.

  • Bedding

Now that you’ve added texture through your rug and curtains, add a pop of colour with your bedding.

This rusty, terracotta colour from Next is a great simple and affordable option to bring a little colour to your earthy toned uni room.

4. Multifunctional décor

You’re likely to have a small space to decorate whilst you’re a student. Finding pieces that have more than one function is not a moment but a movement according to Studio Budworth.

Photo by JP Lockwood on Unsplash

How to add it to your student room:

Furniture that can help you to easily transition from work to socialising, to relaxing will make you feel like you’re living in a home rather than a room.

  • Foldable furniture

Folding chairs, tables, clothes airers and treadmills can be found at Argos for a great price. This makes it easy to use your space for multiple purposes and fold it all away when you’re done!

  • Utilise your wall space rather than floor space

Pegboards are a great way to store items that would usually clog up your desk space. These pegboards from IKEA have tons of storage options for the board so you can personalise it to your items.

  • Optimise storage

You’ll often find that you have too much stuff and nowhere to put it. You’ll also discover that when mates come to visit you quickly run out of seating. These storage seats from IKEA are the solution to both problems. Plus, they’re only £15!

5. Tech-Integrated Comfort

Photo by Jack B on Unsplash

Smart homes are becoming “the future of living” according to this Mintel report. With everything being automated or controlled by a remote.

How to add it to your student room:

With smart tech becoming more affordable it’s the perfect time to experiment and make your uni bedroom work for you!

  • Smart LED Light Strips

You’ll be spending so much time in your room, having mood lighting will make a huge impact on how your room looks and feels. These strips from IKEA are only £5 but you could spend more for colour changing options.

  • USB Desk Fans or Lamps

A lamp that you can move around without having to unplug and plug in, yes please! This one from Argos is the perfect stylish solution!

  • Bluetooth Speakers

When you need background music or a housemate dance break, you’ll be glad you got your Bluetooth speaker! The one pictured is from Wilko

Which trend would you try first? Let us know in the comments or tag us in your room makeover pics!

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Keeping Fit and Healthy as a Busy Student on a Budget

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Being a student it can be hard to get into a routine of healthy exercise, even more so when balancing University work alongside. A look online will bring up a wide range of articles and fitness classes to read and take part in. In this blog I want to offer some guidance as to how you can keep fit and healthy as a busy student on a budget.

My housemates have been trying to get me participating in workouts with them however, I have always had the same feelings when asked. There has always been a high financial commitment attached to joining the gym which has always been off putting for me. Even with the more competitive price of the University gym, I still find the gym as too high of a financial commitment. However, the gym is not the only place to effectively participate in a work out, there are many low cost options of staying fit and healthy that can be considered.

With the introduction of lock down last year I soon found myself looking for ways that I could stay active during those times. Home workouts soon found themselves established into my daily routines. Here are a few of the best ways that I have found to start your health and fitness routine!

Stay Hydrated

Glass of Water by Manu Schwendener on Unsplash

Staying hydrated is an extremely important way of keeping healthy. The NHS recommends that we drink around 6-8 glasses of fluid per day.  The easiest way to do this is to just simply have a glass of water with you whilst you’re studying. I have found this to be an extremely easy way of keeping healthy whilst I am at University. If you are not a fan of water on it’s own you can always add no sugar fruit juice or even a slice of lemon.

Water can also be useful in other areas of fitness such as being used in weight loss treatments, more information can be found here.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Keeping a healthy diet has just as much of an impact on your body as exercise can. If you are exercising you need to maintain a healthy diet otherwise all the hard work being put in is being wasted with a poor diet. Here is a link to an article where there is more information about how eating a balanced diet complements exercise.

When looking to change my diet, I found that one of my favorite ways of satisfying my hunger was through snacking. Everyone loves a snack, I probably love them a bit too much if I am being completely honest. To incorporate more of a balanced diet into my lifestyle, I have tried to start swapping out my snacks for a piece of fruit instead.

It is also important for you to eat properly before and after a workout. Here is a short blog on what you should eat before and after a workout. I would recommend giving this a read before attempting any workouts to ensure that training is effective.

Head Out For a Walk

Walking by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash

Walking is one of the easiest and cheapest ways for keeping fit and healthy as a student. Going out for a quick walk has been one of the best ways I have used to stay fit and healthy as a student. A full walking routine does not even have to be implemented into your day, simply walking to the shops instead of driving has the potential for huge benefits to your well being.

I have personally seen improvements to my mood since walking to the shops rather than driving. Being out in open space for a small amount of time is a nice change of scenery which has been a real boost for my mental health. More information on walking and mental health can be found here.  There are other perks of walking too as you get to discover the local area, opening up potential to find new walking routes to try out in the future.

Do not worry if you do not get the chance to go out for a walk. In the next section we are going to look as home workouts as an alternative way to keeping fit and healthy.

Home workouts

Home workouts are another great way that you can stay fit and healthy in your own time. There are an abundance of products that you can try with various workouts that can be used in conjunction with the products. As this blog is more focused on sticking to a budget, products suggested will have multiple uses to maximize the costs of the products.

  • Resistance Bands are a cheap and versatile way of easing into home workouts. Prices start at £15.99 with different prices being found dependent on the resistance of the band. The bands can be used for a full-body workout which I will link here.
  • Dumbbells are another low cost way to start home workouts. Prices start at £13.75 for 2 x 1 kg Dumbbells with prices increasing as the weight increases. Dumbbells can be used for any level too so whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced gym goer, an effective workout can be achieved with dumbbells. I will link a 6 week beginners dumbbell workout here and I will link an arm and upper body workout here.

Dumbbells and Resistance Bands by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

So, here are some really easy and simple ways you can begin to get yourself into a really good healthy routine. Sticking to the new routine will be hard at first, but stick at it! The benefits in the long run are worth it over the initial breaking into the new routine period and you will begin to feel so much better.