No matter how excited you feel about starting or returning to uni in Leeds after a long summer, it’s easy to feel an overwhelming sense of disappointment as you open the door to your new room to find a cold and empty space that closely resembles a prison cell block.

You inevitably feel slightly uncomfortable being surrounded by bare walls and an off-coloured carpet that you would have never chosen yourself. To aid your struggle, I have compiled five top tips to transform your uni house into a comfortable, cosy space you can call a home.

Let’s start with the basics: add some colour to those walls. Print photographs of your favourite memories, people and places, and stick them up (using white tac rather than blue to avoid marks). You can also pin up posters of your favourite events and artists – although if you enjoy nights out, your room will probably end up looking like a promo for Beaverworks by the end of it! Snapfish is an app that prints your phone photos and sends them to you, all for the small price of P&P.

Give your room a cosy touch by adding some fairy lights for extra brightness, without installing a bright lamp that makes the room appear clinical. You could experiment with where you place them; I would recommend along a flat surface to stop them falling down five times a day; like around your mirror, across the head board of your bed, or your door frame.

Do you associate a specific smell with being at home? Bring it to Leeds by lighting up a candle/incense stick you normally have at home. You’ll be surprised by the difference it makes.

Add some jungle glam by buying your favourite plant from your nearest gardening centre (or Urban Outfitters). Most house plants don’t require much maintenance but, if you know you’re completely useless when it comes to gardening skills, you could stick to a cactus, which is almost impossible to neglect.

Let’s be honest, a house in Leeds is not a home without a wavy mandala cloth which you can drape across anywhere you like: your bed, your sofa or pinned up along the walls. This final step will instantly give your once-boring room some character, and hopefully make you feel more at home in Leeds.

Andri Neocleous

Image: Andri Neoclous