Student Sluttery: Making the most of your dorm

When I was at uni I spent an awful lot of time in my tiny room on campus. It was somewhere to type essays, eat cheese toasties, get ready for parties and relax with a book. My room did all of those things quite well, but what I found difficult was making it feel like my room. As new paint, wallpaper or nailing a picture to the wall would be out of the question, you have to concentrate on the little details. And, unless you're fortunate enough to be loaded, you have to do it on the cheap.

When I start uni again this month, here's a few of the things I'll be doing to Domestic Sluttify (yes, totally a verb) my room:

• I don't need to say what effect fresh flowers have on brightening a room. If you can't nick a vase from home then fill glass bottles and jars with a few bright blooms. University campus gardens tend to have lots of flowers. Just sayin'.
• There are few things nicer than tumbling into a bed covered with cushions. Use fabric to make cushion covers (instructions here) and grab some cushion fillers from eBay.
• Why use a plain ringbinder to store your papers (and you'll amass a lot of papers) when you could use something like these gorgeous boxes we featured? Make your own out of old shoe boxes and pretty wrapping paper if you're really broke.
• Photos of family and friends are an absolute essential when you're away from home. As an alternative to picture frames cluttering your precious desk-space, arrange your pictures on a cute memo board. This sack and cork one (picture above) is only $15 on Etsy.

Have you got any other ideas? What did you do at uni to make your room stand out?