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How to liven up your dorm room – or boring apartment 

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Waterloo chapter.

As we enter the new school year and many are starting university for the first time, there’s so much on our minds while we try to prepare. The first thing on most of our minds is academics. We make sure we have our laptops, pens, pads, and notebooks in order; however, we all forget to liven up our spaces. 

Being stuck in a plain and boring dorm room or made-for-students apartment brings our moods down. The plain white walls and grey floors don’t help by adding to the gloomy feeling as we enter the darker months. Taking a few easy steps to decorate and personalize your space can help make your room feel like home and ease the potential home-sickness first-years may face. 

An easy first step to adding life—quite literally—to your space is a houseplant or two! There are many low-cost, low-maintenance houseplants and succulents on the market, so they don’t end up being another chore and responsibility. As an added bonus, they add a splash of colour to a drab corner, and cute decorative pots add some personality and character to an otherwise boring desk. 

With the upcoming poster fair on the UW campus, adding a piece of art to a blank wall can go a long way in adding a personal flair to the space. Adding a poster that really screams “you” can help make your mark and define the room as yours. Similarly, adding photos of friends, loved ones, fur babies and cherished places helps make the space more familiar and home-like. 

Another way to cozy up a cold-feeling room is with some cute throw blankets and pillows. Once again, they are low-cost and can become super useful as the days get colder and shorter. Additionally, adding squishmallows or jellycats to the corner of your bed or on a couch adds a ton of personality. 

No matter how you choose to spruce your place up—if at all—a clean and comfortable home is a productive one. I wish you all a fantastic time for what may be your first chance living away from home. And I hope these tips help make a drab space feel like home. 

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nina difelice

Waterloo '27

psych major out here who's trying to read minds and cares way too much about everything (thats what i get for being nosy and anxious) religious iced chai drinker and way too obsessed with pop culture