Make Your New Space Home

By DeMornay Harper
Blog Content Contributor

Many of us are college students, just calling San Marcos home for a relatively short period of time. Although this time at university is so defining to us as young adults, it can seem to blend into a montage of sleepless nights, sleep-filled days, and countless memories with unique individuals. Throughout my time in college, I have seen many students’ apartments. They vary from being so bare that you can hardly tell anyone lives there, to being filled with only the personally one can possess when they have the freedom to define their space as their own for the very first time.

Despite the fact that most of us still consider our parent’s home, “home,” I have seen it to

 be extremely beneficial to try and establish another home with your college apartment. It helps immensely with being homesick, lonely, and dealing with all the stress that is a college course load. Once you find solace in your home away from home and truly make the space your own, you begin to cherish and even look forward to the nights you spend alone instead of dreading them.

Fill Up The Walls

The tale-tell sign of a sad, lonely space is bare walls. Consequently, adding pieces to your walls is the quickest way to warm the space up. I am super impatient so I want everything to be done in my room three days after move-in, but the best thing is slowly adding as you go. That way you have helped build your space with special objects that have meaning to you and carry weight. Maybe you could even look in your new town for gems that assist you in defining your space. Thrift stores are great for this because the goods are cheap, connected to the area, and have a story. I also really recommend putting up pieces that you create yourself. Have a paint night with some friends, or solo, and craft something from the heart.

Bring Life

Live plants are the best. I’m kind of a terrible plant-mom and so many of my babies have died but when they do survive it is the most exciting thing ever. Adding live plants to your space warms it and makes it inherently feel homier. Having the responsibility of a living thing is nice too because when you see it thrive, you know that was because of the love (and water) you poured into it. Next, I’m thinking about getting a dog but baby steps, you know.

Lighting

I felt a huge shift in my room when I changed the lighting. The provided bulbs in most of the student-living apartments are kind of a joke. Either they give you little to no light or you feel like you’re in a hospital room. I changed all of my lamps to warm bulbs and put up warm hued string lights on my ceiling. This brightened up the space to a very comforting level. I am also a huge fan of candles to create a nice ambiance in your room.

Filling It Up

I try and fill my space up with fresh air, so I will leave my window open. My room can feel so stale sometimes with all of the circulated air so this is incredibly refreshing to the energy that lives there. I also love to fill it up with music. This combination of fresh air and the sounds of sweet music does not just fill my space up but it fills my soul.

Making my college apartment a place of solace was one of the best decisions I have made since moving to San Marcos. Now I treasure my alone time spent in my space because it feels like a genuine reflection of me.

Featured image by DeMornay Harper