By Adriana Pinegar
College students change residences frequently, but that shouldn’t stop them from feeling at home wherever they live.
At a free class offered by the Habitat for Humanity of Utah County, Shantelle Colborn, an interior designer for BYU facilities, offered suggestions on how to make a room meet its maximum potential. While the class was aimed toward homeowners, her advice is useful for renters as well.
Rental organizations typically deter tenants from significantly altering their units. Major modifications such as painting the walls or tearing up carpet is generally forbidden. However, Colborn said there are several things you can do to make your living space feel more like home.
“Your home is an expression of you,” she said, “so put things in it that make you happy.”
Colborn offered unique suggestions for wall hangings. Framing handwritten notes or cards or personal photos adds meaning and character to a rented space. Her pointers for hanging pictures are to make sure that the pieces are big enough for the wall and hang them around five and half feet from the floor.
Another one of Colborn’s tricks for transforming a room is to play with the lighting. Softer lighting helps a room feel more inviting. Using lamps instead of bright overhead lights can change the feel of a room.
“Lamps add lots of personality,” she said.
Colborn suggests finding an old lamp at a thrift store and giving it a makeover with some spray paint, a hot glue gun, or some modge podge.
“Lighting is so important,” said Alex Vaughn, a design student from Las Vegas. “We had a room that nobody used because it felt so harsh, but when we added some lamps, it felt instantly warmer.”
Installing simple window treatments can also soften the lighting in a room and dress it up without much difficulty.
“You can make sheets into window treatments,” Colborn said.
Many college students are reluctant to put a lot of money or effort into a temporary living situation, but redecorating does not necessarily mean buying more stuff to put in your apartment.
“The less you have, sometimes the better it looks,” Colborn said.
Maximizing a room’s potential can be as simple as angling the furniture or swapping out the pillows on a couch. Finding creative uses for existing pieces of furniture, like bookshelves and end tables, can make a space more personal.
“Just adding a rug and facing our couches toward each other made a hug difference,” Vaughn said.
