req: how to organize all of my stuff and make my room more "home" and "warm" feeling?

[ShoelessOne]

So, I want to make my room feel a bit "warmer" and "inviting", wondering if anybody has any great ideas/opinions on the matter. I'm just gonna ramble below, if you have an opinion on a specific topic, feel free to chime in, or if you have any general advice, let me know!


I have so many damn USB devices, like 9, literally. So many. I use lots of them pretty regularly, so I can just put them away in a box or something. BUT, i figure having as little shit out as possible means cleaner, warmer, feeling.

My walls are shit, marks, scuffs, chipped paint... its not ghetto bad, but its not new house/nice house good. I live in a house with 4 other guys, we're college students, so its a rental. I was thinking it would be nice to hang stuff up on my wall... BUT, again, I want a "clean, warm, enviting" sort of feeling, not a "hard, clean, cool, grrr i'm a tough guy" sort of feel... more artsy. So, should i go for the cover my walls sort of feel, or should I possibly get some fabric and cover my walls up with random fabrics and things?

lighting is huge, i know this - I'm planning on picking up a lamp with a serious shade to throw off some soft lights - i'm also buying some fake flicker candles on ebay (4 of them) that might add a bit of ambiance to the place, make it a bit more "chill" feeling.

I'm thinking about getting rid of my overhead light completly, or at least for the most part - either replacing it with some black lights, or possibly just replacing the fixture - as of now its an ugly ass glass thing from the 50s it seems... It does stop break up the direct like from the bulbs, but its sort of harsh.

I'm buying some book ends to stack books, instead of having them lay around.

QUESTION: As i mentioned, my walls arent in great shape, at all. BUT, i'm not sure what I am OK to hang up, etc - is there any magic answer to hang stuff up (posters, or frames, etc) on walls that is strong but wont do any damage?

I currently have a futon in my room as my bed - its pretty comfy sometimes, but its also pretty big - I was thinking about just putting a box spring + mattress on the floor - it will save some space. At the same time, I do have some shit shoved underneath my bed, and it is sort of nice to be able to throw stuff underthere. Still trying to decide on this one.

I have tons of little nick-nacky stuff, headphones x 3 pair, speakers, cups, cameras, camping mess kits, checks, CD spindles, lighters, etc. No place to put them all. I've been trying to organize them on a shelving unit, which is going OK so far I suppose.



Anyway, I guess I'm just talking - anybody have any good ideas/techniques for creating a warm, down to earth, enviting, "artsy" environtment?


Thanks!

[Othersider]

Paint your damn walls. It's not hard, it's not particularly expensive, and it's an immediate improvement (especially if they're textured plaster, not that boring drywall). Stick with whatever color it already is, since you're renting. That'll save you the corner/border detail work which is the only real hard part of painting, since those places probably aren't as damaged as the rest of the wall anyway.

If you want to warm up a large empty wall real quickly, hang a carpet. A big one. A cheap Persian for a more classic feel, or a geometric IKEA thing for a more modern but still warm environment.

I've had my electronics in armoires for years (just upgraded to a bigger better one) and I'm never going back to a "computer desk". I don't want my home to look like a damn office, and it's so nice to be able to close the doors and have it all disappear.

[ShoelessOne]

thats for the rug advice!

If I could paint the walls, I would, but "the man" doesnt want us touching anything like that


I got some lighting now, and the rug idea is a great one - link to a good source of such things on the interweb for CHEAP?

thanks!

(also, i think there was a plant thread already, but any good advice for room plants?)

[demosh]

Originally Posted by ShoelessOne

If I could paint the walls, I would, but "the man" doesnt want us touching anything like that

Are you sure? Have you asked? If the walls are in bad shape, he might not mind if you fix them up, especially if its out of your own pocket.

Edit: How about some for inspiration?

[Othersider]

Originally Posted by ShoelessOne

I got some lighting now, and the rug idea is a great one - link to a good source of such things on the interweb for CHEAP?

Rugs are heavy. Paying shipping kind of defeats the whole point of the cheap rug thing.

Seriously, unless you're way out in the boonies there's probably some Middle-Easterner run store with a perpetual going-out-of-business sale nearby. That's the perfect source for these things. Then just stitch some very large washers to one edge of it, put them over screws in the wall, and you're set.

[ShoelessOne]

Originally Posted by demosh

Are you sure? Have you asked? If the walls are in bad shape, he might not mind if you fix them up, especially if its out of your own pocket.

Edit: How about some for inspiration?

ok, well, these really dont show the room very well (but you at least get the idea of how small it is).







just some random pictures - i got some new book ends, a new lamp (x2)...

[ShoelessOne]

fake edit: i'll try to take some more pictures of my room as a whole when i get home... or perhaps a quick video, might give you a better feel/etc

[Pepsiholic]

First of all, clean your shit up. Organize piles of stuff that you really HAVE TO HAVE and another pile where there is stuff that you would like to keep. Get rid of stuff that you don't need to have.

[Lantec]

head to an IKEA, sit in their various showrooms, they'll help you gain an idea of what you like and want in your room.

[code30]

go to fred meyer or office depot and get a waist height plastic drawer thing. It has like one big drawer and like 4 or 5 smaller ones. Great for organizing little things.

[ShoelessOne]

haha, yeah, my room isnt quite as bad anymore - i should have mentioned those photos were taken before I was "inspired" to do something about the mess

I'll post more pictures of my room as it currently is a bit later...

[Joojie]

i'm home sick and i'm totally bored...so i layed out your room... ..i obviously have no idea what the scale is, but i think i got it pretty close...

maybe get a low and long dresser, you can put a tv on it and lamps and such...if you have it parallel w/ your bed, you can put your bed up into the couch position and watch tv or whatever
get a side table that can be used kind of as a coffee table when you use the "couch" and put your reading lamp on the other side of the bed

If you get a rug, get a big one...that floor needs to be covered!

get a nice plant or something and put it in front of the window so you don't have to have the blinds down all the time.

also, talk to your landlord about paint, ask if you can just put a fresh coat of white on, or "off white", he may even let you paint a color if he approves it first...or he could be a douche bag...

[thegreatrazor]

I have to agree with the plant maybe you could get a 10 gal aquarium too and try one of these setups http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...cutter_10g.php it doesnt take up much space and brings alot of life to a room.

[miasman1]

that white isn't a warm color. Go to your local paint store(NOT Home Depot, but places like Kelly-Moore, Dunn-Edwards, Benjamin Moore and places like that) and ask them for ideas. Go to Home Depot, and you'll get hell. It's like asking someone at Abercrombie do they look hot.

[Drummahjake]

Originally Posted by ShoelessOne

I have that same lamp. $12 at Wal-Mart.