Living In Your Bedroom

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For a lot of people, the bedroom is their central habitat. This is especially common for people renting a room in a house with several other people. Often, college students will feel more comfortable using bedroom as a central living area and not having to venture much out into the rest of the house other than for the bathroom and occasional dishwashing.

There are some simple things you can do to make your bedroom more like a home, should that be something you want or need to do. Here are the steps to take that will turn your bedroom space into your complete living space.

The keys to doing this effectively are focusing on utility, function, form, and comfort. With a little planning and a little work, you can make this single room into a place of great comfort and utility.

Step 1 – Plan your budget

Paint, appliances, wall hangings, furniture, all cost money. If you plan well, you can accomplish a lot without spending too much. 

• Wait for the sales. Plan your work around what's on sale and around sale dates. That way, you can probably get away with buying hardly anything at the full price.
• Look for used items. Check out the local thrift stores, used furniture stores, or online auctions.
• Look around the whole house. There might be items nobody else wants; be sure to ask first though.

Step 2 - Have A Plan

You need to have an idea of what you are going to do and what the finished product will look like. Modern? Retro? Classical? Keeping this general theme in mind will help you to shop efficiently for anything new you might need, and it also helps you to avoid buying things that won't fit into the theme.

Step 3 - Paint The Room

You may have the option of new paint. This is the fastest way to improve the look of a room. The colour of the paint is very important; light paint will give a sense of greater space and brightness, whereas darker paint will tend to make the room seem more compact but the lower colour might also be cosier.  

• Consider whether it is viable to do different colours within the room. It can be particularly effective to paint the principal wall one colour (usually the one a bedhead rests against) and have the other three walls a slightly lighter shade of the same colour group. 

Step 4 - Add appropriate window dressings

Ensure your privacy and keep out heat amd cold with good window soft furnishings, such as a blind or curtains.  

Step 5 - Arrange the furniture

Use the plan you drew up earlier to guide you on placement of the furniture in the room. You don't want it to be too cluttered and the idea is to try and make some furniture do double duty. For example, use sofa bed instead of a bed and a sofa. A comfortable but compact chair or two will make nice addition when you have guests.

• Get a comfortable ergonomic chair for the computer desk. It can also be used for eating on.
• Consider getting a table that folds down or folds onto the wall for a dining table.

Step 6 - Choose Good Lighting

Lighting can really change the mood and comfort levels of your room. Accent lamps are a great way to add a bit of mood to the room without a lot of expense.

• Have a portable desk lamp that can be moved to the bedside table to save on too much clutter. 

Step 7 - Create Storage Space

Storage space tidies things up and makes it much easier to stay tidy. You won't be so tempted to create piles or just leave things wherever they fall.

• Get shelving and cabinets. If you plan on keeping canned foods or boxed snacks in your room, shelves and cabinets are ideal.
• Bookshelves and cubby holes in desks work well for books, games, nick-knacks and small electronics like cords, USBs, cameras and MP3 players.
• Have somewhere to hang and fold clothes if there isn't already wardrobe space provided.

Step 8 - Add electronics

A wall mount for the television is a great space saver that's fairly standard nowadays. Consider a laptop computer instead of a tower or desktop and use a thin wireless keyboard that can be easily tucked away.

• Avoid amassing a huge DVD or CD collection. Rely on downloading your music and movies instead and using laptop and MP3 connections to play your downloads. If you don't want to pay all the time, hire DVDs from the local video store and remember to return them on time.

Keeping your room clean and tidy

Plan a regular cleaning schedule and if possible, rely on the household vacuum cleaner, mop, broom, etc. Once you have a schedule in place, stick to it and living wholly in your bedroom will be a pleasant experience. Realise that odours are going to be one big issue in your tiny home within a house.

• Consider opening your window for fresh air at least once a day to let trapped smells outside and you may also need air fresheners.  
• It is wise to eat food with strong odours outside or at the place you've bought them from rather than having in your room.
• Avoid smoking in your room for the same reason. A room that smells of stale cigarette smoke is unpleasant for everyone who visits and it doesn't do your health any good either.
• Keep an eye our for ants and other pests. They like to get into areas with food. Keep ant traps handy and put one in each corner of your room before you can even see them.