Back-To-School: Student Housing 5 Must-Haves

It's mid October, students have gone back to school and are all settled in for the year. Nevertheless here's a guide for student housing must haves,because I'm sure there are things we never think to buy until we've already moved in.

1.Futon bed – Now that you’re living off campus, you’ll actually need to buy you’re own bed. Because you’re on a student budget and probably live in cramped quarters, a multifunctional bed is preferred. Hence the enduring popularity of the futons for college/university students all over the world. Turn it into a single bed, double bed or sofa – essentially you are purchasing 3 different pieces of furniture for the price of one.

2.Trendy laundry hamper – Yes, you will be lugging your clothes down the hall, several flights of stairs or even across campus to do your laundry (that is, when mom and dad aren’t doing your laundry for you during your visits home). So why not do your laundry while looking as cool as possible? This not only includes wearing your Alma Matter’s matching hooding and sweatpants for that “I’m not trying, but I match anyways” look and some sort of uniquely designed, avant-garde laundry hamper. Sure, a plain old cloth sack will do, but why not really show off your personal style with a unique hamper.

3.A cool twin sized sheet-set and down duvet - Chances are, you sleeping quarters are going to be tiny – and at worst – shared! Set yourself apart with a sheet and duvet set with a design that reflects your individual personality and style.These will certainly jazz up your futon mattress and disguise the fact that it’s a futon.

4.Beanbag chair – beanbag chairs are fun, playful and inviting. Not only that but they are extremely portable – great for impromptu parties that suddenly require more seating in a particular.
5.Dry erase board/calendar – You can find dry erase boards that even have a designated calendar section at your local discount superstore or campus bookstore. Hang it up in your room and use it consistently – you’ll be thankful for the exam and essay deadline reminders constantly in your line of vision.

The Practicality of an Exercise Bike

I am what you would call a “gym rat”. I love going to the gym and taking the cardio classes where I’m motivated to keep moving and push myself by my instructor and the entire class. My roommate Becca does not enjoy the gym at all – a point she’s made quite clear to me, every time I invite her to come with me using a guest past. In fact, ever since we moved in together last July, she hasn’t stopped talking about getting either a recumbent exercise bike or an upright exercise bike to put in the corner of our spacious living room (near the TV, of course). Yesterday, I finally got to the bottom of why she prefers working out at home with the exercise bike to the gym:

1. Exercise bike workouts are lower impact.
Becca has a stress fracture in her shin from running, so she can no longer do that as a form of exercise. Also, she cannot swim, so that is out of the question as well.

2. She’s in control of her workout schedule.
It’s true, I’m often dashing to a muscle conditioning or dance class – forced to arrange my personal schedule around these gym classes. Becca, on the other hand, prefers to have more control over when she can and can’t work out due to the irregular hours of her job as a photographer.

3. There are no gyms within walking distance of our apartment.
Becca refuses to walk more than 5 minutes to get to a gym and since there are none near us, she’d rather have workout equipment set up at our place.


There you have it – the main reasons why Becca wants an exercise bike so badly. I have to admit, she does make some good points. I suppose the next step would be to browse online to fine a bike that we actually both agree on!

-M

Making your bedroom beautiful with a platform bed and an upholstered headboard.

I can’t believe that my new apartment is almost fully furnished. The dining room looks fantastic and now it’s time to turn my attention to the mattress on the floor in my room surrounded by piles of clothing. Looking around at my possessions strewn around the room I realized that I would need more bedroom furniture then I had anticipated.

First thing I needed was to get the mattress of the floor. I turned to my trusty online sources for research. Once again the choice was overwhelming. Did I want to buy a simple frame and an elaborate headboard or did I want to go completely over the top with a big four poster bed, or did I want something elegant and understated like a platform bed.



I took a step back from the research and realized that my primary concern should be preparing the room to be in furnishing shape. I made my bed and folded my clothes.
Next step was to tackle the floors, now that there was nothing on them; I took my broom and dustpan and swept every inch of the room. In retrospect it probably would have been a good idea to do this BEFORE I moved all of my possessions in. I also realized I hadn’t thought to paint the walls a different color then the boring white already applied. Now faced with even more things to decide on I panicked slightly. Could I really live with the white walls? Would my friends be kind enough to help out with another round of painting? I flipped through my book of paint swatches halfheartedly, and then I came across this absolutely stunning and serene blue. With renewed enthusiasm for painting, I dug out my paint trays and brushes and went on a quick mission to the paint store.

A few days later my room was painted; now back to the search for a bed. I decided that the best option for me would be to purchase a queen size platform bed which would fit my mattress like a glove. Not only that but I wouldn’t be sleeping on the floor. I chose one in deep mahogany that is feminine yet noticeable when first walking into the room. To compliment the pretty blue walls and super comfortable bed, I decided that I wanted an upholstered headboard to lean up against. I found one in a blue almost the same shade as my walls in silk.

I cannot wait to sleep in my newly decorated (and spotless clean) room.

-RL

My journeys in finding the perfect dining room chair

When I left off I was talking about my adventures into dining room decorations. I had found the perfect dining table. My walls were painted the prettiest green anyone could imagine. Pieces were falling into place for my very first grown up apartment.

I stepped back to admire my stunning living space and realized there was something missing. How could I forget something as important as dining chairs? Where were my guests going to sit when they came over for delicious dinner parties?

I once again turned to my trusty sources. The internet gave me two well loved chairs that needed a bit of love to revive them to their former glory. The hunt was still on to complete my set of fabulous
dining room chairs. I hunted and hunted. Frustrated I put the search on hold for a pair to compliment the ones sitting in my apartment.



Instead I focused on how I was going to refurnish these stately chairs. Many different things came to mind. I could paint them, stain them. Cover them completely in fabric, endless possibilities. One thing was for certain, the well worn dated pattern on the seats were the first thing that would need to go.
In the end I decided the best and easiest thing to do would be to paint the chairs a solid color and cover the seats with a cute fabric. I really didn’t want to have a green overload, also, thinking long term for future places of residence. I had to choose my paint and fabric carefully.

I ended up painting the chairs this gorgeous deep brown, almost as rich as a dark chocolate bar. The seats got carefully removed, the old fabric hastily discarded. I also bought new cushioning for the inside of the seat, and settled on this thick upholstery fabric with an intricate leaf pattern. I get weepy thinking about how stunning these chairs turned out.

However my work was far from over, I still had to find two more chairs. One weekend I decided to take a drive as far out of the city as I could, in this small town I found the missing pieces in my dream dining room. These two chairs were almost identical to the ones I had already found and fixed up. Overwhelmed and overjoyed I carefully packed them into my car. I stopped to get a piece of pie from the stand on the side of the road and turned around to head back into the city. As I write this I look into my dining room and can’t believe that this dining room set is mine. I have lots more to do in my place, and I cannot wait to share more of my adventures into the adult world.

-RL

Preparing Your Room for the Upcoming Professional Sports Season

I’ve mentioned that I recently moved, and my roommate and I are in the process of furnishing the place. Right now we are focusing on the Living/Entertainment room because we are eager to have guests over.

With Fall upon us, I’m starting to see plenty of tweets about the upcoming NHL pre-season show up in my stream. One thing I look forward to this winter is just hanging out with my friends on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday night, relaxing with snacks and watching the game. This got me thinking about some essential pieces of furniture needed in your entertaining space, to make sports game watching as comfortable and as fun as possible. Here are my top 5 essential pieces that every sports media room should have:

1. Recliner – Recliners the staple of the entertainment room. They are comfortable and adjust to your desired sitting level, so you can literally just put your feet up, lean back and enjoy the game. Consider a recliner that contains a cup holder for your beverage. There also exists the sofa recliner, so that more than one person can have the recliner experience in one chair.

2. Ottoman – Those that aren’t sitting in a recliner chair can still put their feet up on an ottoman. Storage ottomans will allow you to quickly stash away clutter before guests arrive.

3. Flat Screen HDTV – Any kind of TV will do, but new High Definition technology allows you to almost feel like your at the game.

4. Surround sound – Enhances the total viewing experience – it’s like the crowd is right in your living room!

5. Mini fridge – Avoid missing those crucial, game-changing plays when you have to go to the kitchen to refill drinks by having the fridge right in the room with you!

If you have these items in your rec, media, family or living room – be warned, during play-offs, you might never get your guests to leave!

-M