What an awesome looking building!

My thought is that your layout is really the issue. Though I feel like I know why you made the choices you made.

If all the furniture is movebale, and you dont' mind not having a headboard, I could move the bed to where you have the chair now, long way on the wall, and get some cushions to use it as a daybed.

Everything else can stay more or less where it is: Keep the tv where it, just pointed towards the bed, keep the bookcase and closet where you have them, move the chair to the window, and maybe add another small chair and table to make a second seating area. You could also get rid of the chair, and creat more of a dining area. A small bistro set bu the window would be lovely.

You can't paint, you can't put things on the walls and you can't afford to even to go to IKEA.

I'd rearrange the things you have so that the bookcase isn't the first thing you walk into when you come into the room - See if you can find a used dresser someplace to put your clothes away - perhaps you could trade the desk, desk chair and one of those pole lamps for one? I'd also clean up the cords that are everywhere and put the coffee pot & microwave in your kitchen area. and put the other pole lamp next to your Poang chair for reading - and use the desk lamp as a bedside lamp.

Then I'd take the other $10 and go have a beer.

A couple ideas-

Is the bookshelf as wide as the wardrobe is deep? Maybe you can turn it sideways against the side of the wardrobe?

Also, maybe when not in use store the table you have your laptop on under the desk. You could see if you can find castors to attach to some of the furniture as well so you can easily shift it around.

I agree with Jose A's layout suggestions.

Plants could solve your decorating issue (that is so crazy that you can't hang anything up on the walls!) and make it feel homey as well. Cheap and pretty storage boxes would also cheer things up in your bookcase and on top of the closet area.

I remember a while ago I saw a post on here about some designers who took those spaceboxes (it might have been the same school, I know they were identical) and really pimped them out. Hopefully someone more skilled at searching than I can find that post; it should have some good ideas for you!

Can't put holes in the walls? Get some of those COMMAND hooks (you can have a friend mail you some from the US if they aren't available in the Netherlands). They come off clean, and they can carry some serious weight.
One idea from that: hang a bunch of them on a wall, and hang bags/hats/clothes etc. It can look good, as well as being functional.

I like how your bed is up on the platform, and I think that's the most logical place for it if you want separate living and sleeping spaces. It seems that you like to watch TV from your bed - could you fit one of the end tables at the foot of your bed with the TV on it?

Maybe you can face the wardrobe or bookshelf out into the living space with its back to the platform, and use that as a room divider? Or put the bookshelf so it extends the little hallway and separates it from the bathroom? The backs are probably pretty unattractive, but you could put up some sort of hanging to cover it using some of those removable 3M hooks. (Would they really notice tape or anything on the back of a bookcase when you moved out?)

If you don't mind spending a little bit of money, I'd suggest a very long tension rod (the kind with removable shelves that go in the corner of a shower stall usually extend to 9'). Put it up right at the edge of the platform and get some cheap Ikea curtains (or a fun printed flat sheet) to hang from it. That would help divide up your living spaces and add some color to the room.

For wall decor, you could use removable wall decals, which you can get from a place like Blik (http://www.whatisblik.com/). I've used them before and they don't leave a mark — Plus, some of them are re-usable.

What a conundrum! This should help you out of/or give you a way to look at the space differently. Rotate the bed 90 degrees & set the foot on the two night stands making the head level by rasing it up just right with books, this assumes there is a box spring or other bed structure. Your headboard is now the curtain-the sun still wakes you up/still have view. Storage under the bed, clothes under bed etc. Put the desk at the foot of the bed giving you a studying view and distant focal point and of course a place to setthe tele. Set your chair next to the bed just in front of the opening window, again view, light, and tele viewing capabilities. Microwave, toaster and kettle move to bookshelf plugging into desk lampscurrent position. Move the wardrode front corner to front corner with the bookcase giving a room divider and a bookase deep space of storage facing the window and a Fung Shui break to the room and seperating kitch from bed from bath. Or something like that! that should open up options!! Let us know!

Check out a Kringloops - the Dutch version of Goodwill. Timing is everything - I have found some really cool things at some of them for next to nothing. You could attach lightweight yardage to your walls with the blue gummy sticky stuff. There are lots of drapery fabric stores and they are always having sales. Or have graphics printed off poster size at a print shop. Those Lack tables always seem squatty and rather useless. Stack them maybe and use them for plants or books. These are a few ideas from your neighbor in The Hague. I would have to improve the wall color and lighting in some way. It is easy to say oh get out and explore but it is your nest, it does rain a lot on a good day and winter is on its way AND you need a place to LIVE. Good luck and enjoy your assignment.

Is the reason for "no tape" that it will damage the paint surface? If so, invest in some 3M Command wall hangers. The velcro models will allow you to hang small artwork and the hook models will give allow you to tidy and get bags and things up off some of the surfaces.

Will run more thanl $20, tho'.

A few things I can think of to help clear things up and make it more attractive:
- Take a long length of fabric and drape it over the top and down the side of the wardrobe. It will help inject some color and brake up some of that light wood. I'd try to use one of the colors from the rug or the bed to try and tie that in a bit more. It could be anchored with something heavy on top of the wardrobe (just make sure it's heavy enough to hold!).
- If your suitcases will fit in the overhead storage area, shove them up there. Use some pretty boxes (from Ikea or spray paint cardboard boxes if you really have no money) along the front to hold seldom used items. Use more pretty boxes to hold the random things currently on your shelves.
- If you don't want to put the things on the shelves in boxes, you could get a small curtain tension rod to fit into the top of the bookcase. You can then hang a light curtain/strip of fabric from it to cover the front of the bookcase and hide clutter. This could also be done on just the lower shelves if you want some open sotrage and some hidden.

Since you have a laptop, and presuming the desk is not attached to the wall, I would actually use that as a work table on the platform. I would have it floating in that space, so it's accessible on all sides. If you have dinner guests, borrow some extra chairs from neighbors. The platform and the window are the most interesting part of the room and drawing the eye towards the outdoors will make the rest of the space feel more expansive.

I would move the bed along the side wall with the daybed treatment suggested by Jose A and create a seating area opposite it with the red chair and one of those end tables with the TV on it.

Looks like you could also potentially move the wardrobe with it's back against the longer bathroom wall to free up some more floor space. If you wanted a headboard type feel you could leave it where it is I suppose.

Then I would scavenge some cardboard boxes and get as much of your bags and things you don't use on a regular basis out of the space and up in that crawl space above the bathroom/entryway. Shoe boxes and a little spray paint could make a more orderly storage solution for things that can't be folded on those open shelves.

I also think the hooks that shell4944 mentioned would be a good idea in the entryway.

good luck!

So here are my thoughts...maybe try to create two spaces. I would switch the bed to the opposite wall, so you're just sleeping the other direction. Then what about moving the armoire to the opposite side of the room, directly next to the bed so that it is parallel to the bed, doors opening to the living room (maybe even move the armoire onto that little lip, so it is pressed right up to the bed (if it's safe!). That way the bedroom would be slightly hidden behind the back of the armoire, creating it's own little nook. Then put the desk, TV and bookshelf on the opposite side of the room, so that you you don't walk into them when you first enter. Then switch the chair and table the opposite wall instead and create a little sitting space where the desk used to be. You might block a little of the natural light from the window with the armoire there, but it could be a nice layout! Also, could you store whatever is sitting on top of the armoire in that little ceiling space above the kitchen and the bathroom?

Oh my god your student accommodation is the best I have ever seen. So just get some cushion covers and deal with it. Oh and bluetack posters to your wardrobes and doors, it won't leave greasy marks or pull off the paint.

scratch my idea. just noticed that you mentioned the armoire can't be moved.

Ditto @ Jose A. Creating a daybed is an excellent idea. Also, one of the simplest things you could do would be to just keep the bathroom curtain closed--it makes for better feng shui; & deemphasizes the proximity of the kitchen area to the bathroom. To warm up the space & make it homier-- I would borrow art or photography books from the library & leave them open on one of the tables or against the wall. That way, you could have a free, rotating art exhibit. You could also make the bulletin board more of a focal point (fill it with lots family pictures, etc...) & If you need a new piece of furniture, find out when heavy trash is due to be picked up & stroll around in an interesting neighborhood the night before the pickup. You never know what you might find....

This kind of sounds like dorm room living. I did it for one year only--my freshman year of college. My best piece of advice would be: multi-functional. If you have something big in your room (i.e. a bookshelf), make sure you are using it for more than one thing. Could you tilt it on the side and also use it as a thin table? Could you buy a think blanket to place over your bedding to turn your bed into a couch?

yes, lmbo, i would have loved this in college. My dorm was much smaller and I shared it with my best friend. But it was only my freshman year and I was 18. I believe this would drive me crazy now. Don't worry about your space so much and enjoy being in a far away place. Spend your time exploring!

Declutter--keep everything out of sight and the number of colors minimal.
Then, go out and enjoy the place you are living. You have a wonderful opportunity, so spend it out and about, not striving to do the impossible.

When I lived in a tiny room I used to have a low cabinet instead of this tall full size closet, it really opens up the space. So, you can either cut this closet in half or trade it for a smaller one. Also, you can get rid of the tall shelves cupboard near the entrance and put a lower shelves cupboard with maybe a mirror on top of it.
You can use the space under your large desk for more storage. Use boxes and baskets, put everything in nice boxes around the room (they can also add a bit more color). I see you also have this space above the bathroom, perhaps you can use it for storage as well.
I realize you have no money for room dividers and can't use nails on the walls, but I see you have two standing lamps in front of your bed- so you can use them. Just tie a rope in between them and hang a large fabric to hide the raised platform from the rest of the room.
Even if you can't hang pictures, I would put a large canvas with a nice painting on the floor at the foot of the bed.
Good luck, you have nice dorms.

There's about 20.000 students in Holland willing to have your spacebox to live in. It doesn't give the home feeling a studio does, but student placement is a serious problem in our country. I think most students who have the 'container's face the same problem you do.
One of the tricks I used to have when studying is wait for the 'grofvuil'. In Amsterdam it comes on tuesdays and fridays, so usually monday and thursday night all sort of good stuff pops up. Go for a high end neigbourhood (like Amsterdam Zuid for instance). People get rid of their one season Ikea stuff in a second, still looking good, and ready to use. Also look on 'marktplaats for things. People offer free furniture, bookshelve solutions etc, if you are willing to come pick it up. Then take that € 25 and get some paint. Hema has great discounts on paints every now and then, so you can change the furniture to your prefered color. In case of a money miracle, check Ikea's 'koopjeshoek' for extreme discounted items.

And last but not least. It might just be a year, but the evening on Queensday, you can pick up all sorts of cool stuff people didn't sell on the 'vrijmarkt' (that's the oude gracht and so on for you in Utrecht). A friend of mine picked up a chandelier from the '70's that looked so cool.

If this all fails. You can always try anti-kraak, which means you legally ocupy a building until it's sold or rented (whoich can take years). You might end up with a gem, like the girl that lived in a Baron's estate Frankendael, until it got sold years later.

Move the bed off of the platform, and onto one of the walls. It feels like there's a lot of wasted space up on that platform. I agree with the idea of putting the bed parallel with the wall and making it a day bed (add lots of throw pillows to make it more couch-like).

Then I'd move the desk up on the platform. Take the TV off of it (maybe find another stand for the TV, or put it on one of the side tables). Keep the desk cleared off (unless it's being used). Find a colorful table cloth to drape over it. If it's a floor-length table cloth, you can store items underneath the desk, and also better hide all the cables. Make the desk multi-functional by using it as a dining table, desk, workspace, etc. Depending on how much room you have up there, you may be able to place the desk along one side of the platform, and have a couple of chairs on the other side as a seating area/reading nook.

See if you can find a step-stool that will allow you to access the space above the bathroom. I'd pick up decorative baskets to store items in up there. If you find enough of them, they can line that whole area. They can also incorporate more color into the room.

wow great advice Rapanui, I don't know if I'll ever make it to Holland, but I feel like bookmarking your post on the off chance I do.

I think you can do wonders by changing the fabric colors - they are really bright and patterned right now, so even if you do nothing, try changing the bedding to a solid color or big geometric patterned one with LIGHT colors. Also, you could also try creating hidden/integrated storage places (under the bed, under desk, you know...)

I agree with other comments. I think rearranging what you have and visually organizing the clutter so that the pieces you have can serve dual purposes will help. I like this layout:

http://perpenduum.com/2008/12/dorm-room-by-le-corbusier-charlotte-perriand/

If you can free your bookcase and wardrobe from the wall I think you could do this in your space.

After you rearrange. Clean up. Put the bags somewhere out of sight...maybe in that area above the bathroom. everythingistaken has great suggestions. Consider converting the wardrobe into your kitchen pantry and have it face your dining table/work station as it looks like you don't have a "kitchen"

Plants, lamps, pillows, candles, vases to hold flowers, a beautiful mirror, boxes, containers to store things in...would be money well spent.

You could also probably attach two hooks for hanging on the top side of that small open space above your entry, right between the entry and bathroom and hang a shelving system from there or attach a ladder. You could use it as shelving AND a way to access things you've tucked away.

Consider using a bold, graphic contact paper.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/bedroom/an-small-swedish-bedroom-106534

You could line the back of your shelves.

Thanks so much, all!!!

BTW, I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I was complaining about my apartment; I've had the option to move into a bigger/quieter/more solid building nearby, but don't want to give up my little spacebox - I just want to make it the best spacebox it can be!

On that note, I did figure out how to unscrew the furniture last night, and turned the armoire sideways. I backed the bookshelf against it, to make a kind of room divider, which I got plants to put on top of. The luggage is on the crawlspace shelf with the extraneous kitchen items, and there's a bamboo screen that rolls down in front of the doorway/kitchen. I also took apart one of the small tables. I'm trying to figure out if I can take two legs off the desk and out it on shorter ones, so it half covers the platform... It's not much, but it already feels much bigger (though I do live in fear of the stupid housing company - they do spot checks to see if you're affixing anything to anything. ::eyeroll:: )

I love Marktplaats - though I wish I could have brought my Beddinge with me from SF; they sell used ones on there for unbelievable amounts. I thought I'd scored some awesome free carpet from the dumpster... but it turned out to smell like concentrated urine. :( I'm trying the wegeefwinkel this week...

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I'll post results when I've had time and money to put them to use, and my spacebox is significantly awesomer (hopefully after a freak industrial accident that covers my walls with paint!).

My thoughts (ala Tetris).

Flip your desk to the opposite wall, and push right up against the wardrobe. Put your shelves on the other side of the desk, right up against it. So, it is wardrobe, desk, shelves.

With all your bulky furniture pushed together, on the same wall, it might create the illusion of a "built in" unit of shelves and desk. It also frees up some floor space.

Next, place a rod (or hang a tension pole) across the top of the wardrobe and shelves (over the desk). You can hang a poster, art, some pictures, or a piece of pretty fabric down from the rod. All without puncturing the wall in any way.

The opposite side of the room: get another chair, and place them both along that wall, with your coffee table between them. This is your sitting area. Very inviting when you first walk into the room. You could eventually replace them with a couch.

You could also find something to lean against the wall behind them - a large mural on posterboard perhaps? A room divider placed leaning against the wall? Anything to approximate some paint or wall paper.

I agree with the others, move the microwave into the kitchen. Use that little table it currently sits on as your Landing Strip, instead. You may even be able to find some sort of hooks that you can attach from the storage area, to go above the little table.

Use the storage area as storage, but try to make it pretty, not an eye sore. When you lay down in bed, you don't want clutter to make you anxious.

Finally, get some see-through, white, gauzy curtains, and a tension pole. Hang the tension pole above the edge of the platform your bed is on. The curtains will create the illusion of a room divider, to section off your "bedroom." But you will still get the light from your window!

Tricky!
1) Stack the Lack tables on top of each other -- perhaps right where the microwave currently is. Keep the microwave there. You can put dishes or whatever on the top section. Put the lap top on the desk/table.

2)Spin the bookcase 90 degrees so the open part faces the front door, and the back backs up to the desk. Get a large framed mirror at the local version of the Goodwill or free off Craigslist and rest it on the table, leaning up against the back of the book shelf. This will bounce more light into the room from the windows the mirror faces. The swiveled book shelf will also create something of a foyer -- a place to take off coat, pause, put keys down etc.. Making it perpendicular to the wall will change the perception of the space to feel more square as opposed to long and narrow.
3) I can't tell how long the table is? and lord knows I can't convert all those mms in the floor plan. But you could try swiveling that desk/table to be perpendicular as well, hard up against the back of the book case and see what it feels like.

4)OK, with the bookcase and the long table now perpendicular to the wall, move that orange rug to the newly created space between the bookcase and the bathroom -- so the rug will run across the room crosswise, parallel to the windows.
What's left will be easier to deal with as it will be a square. Or more square. Closer to the golden mean.

5)If you can swing it, try to change out either the drapes or the comforter (white linen table cloths are pretty easy to come by...throw those on the bed.). Purple and orange are exactly opposite each other on the color wheel and therefore can be very hard to live with -- not impossible, but in a small space I would feel like I was under visual assault. Go monchromatic if you can (even if that monochrome is burnt orange.)

6) Another option -- filled with options today. Can the wardrobe go where the bookcase is currently, with its back to the windows, and with the mirror in place as discussed above? then swing the table perpendicular as above. The desk chair would face the mirror -- back to the windows. But you'd be able to see the view.
The bookcase, because it's slimmer, would be easier to maneuver around in the square space.
Or, if it works -- hard to tell from the drawing -- you could line up both the bookcase and wardrobe, then put the desk behind them perpendicular to where it is now. Make sense?
7) If you really want to hide your bed, you can use the existing curtain rod as one leg of a canopy. Get a massive length of fabric -- probably 9 yards -- and drape it over the rod (to the floor), then across the ceiling over the bed (use a stable gun or little nails to get it to stay in the ceiling), then down to the floor again, like a canopy. That will cut off the windows from the rest of the room, however, unless you get very sheer fabric.

Mostly, I think you want to change the proportions of the room to be more square and slow down all that energy coming in through the front door and rocketing right out the windows across the bed.
Good luck!
pam
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

A room divider could be used as a wall treatment. A simple trifold frame with fabric could have sewn pockets, paperclips and even hooks. Placed behind any of the furniture it could sit right against the wall without actually being attached to it.
Storage, style and personality, all in one!

You could move that bookshelf into the middle of the room, perpendicular to the armoire. That separates the bathroom from the rest of the room. There would be a funky, empty corner because it wouldn't make sense to push the bookshelf all the way up against the wall, but cover the space and the back of the bookshelf with a curtain hanging from the ceiling. Then use the curtain as a headboard. That would be cozier than having your bed near the window, and it would be in a place where it could be used as a daybed. Move the chair, side table and TV to the wall where your desk currently resides to make a conversation area. Then put the desk in the window area--I loved having a workspace that looked out onto the rain, snow, and people when I lived in Ammy. Plus, the desk could be used as a dinner table there if you have a couple of people over.

I don't remember seeing fabric stores while I was there--though they exist, I'm sure--but the market at Waterlooplein had a lot of beautiful tapestries that you could use for the curtain or on another wall. There are also curtains at Hema and Ikea. Look at wrapping paper, too--maybe you can use it for wall decor.

Try http://www.gratisoptehalen.nl/ not all pretty stuff, but for free! great for students;)

What I see is a lot of negative space - under the legs of the lack tables, the desk, the poang chair. There isn't a grounded feeling in anything.

Thinking "out of the box" - perhaps you could put your book case on its side and have it become a credenza of sorts. Perpendicular to the wall, and the openings facing the window. And reorient your desk so that it is against the credenza and facing the window, too.

To make the storage more workable - maybe you can find some baskets that will fit in the now-vertical slots of the bookcase. This arrangement has the benefit of screening your bed a bit, too.

Good luck - hopefully you'll spend more time outside of your apt than inside!

Or you could just get a girlfriend and use this as the weekend cottage/getaway };D

want me come over and give you a hand? I am a designer and interior decorator who lives in Utrecht ;-)

Hi there. What a cool space and a great opportunity to use some ingenuity. Here's my two cents: I love the idea of moving the bed so that it sits along the wall. I had mine that way in university and while it was awkward at first I ended up loving it. You can pull the top cover all the way up to the head of the bed and place the pillows against the wall as back cushions. You said you wanted a screen and you don't have a lot of options... move the bookcase so that it sits perpendicular to the wall and next to the wardrobe, for best usability face it out toward your wardrobe, butt your bed up to the other side, this will become your headboard. If you have a nice flat sheet in a colour you like you can use it to drape the "headboard" side. You don't really have to tack it on as long as the bookcase itself is stable,(you can shim it with cardboard if it is wobbly) just place the fabric under something heavy on the top shelf that's low enough that if the fabric is accidentally pulled the heavy stuff won't come over the back of the shelf. I'm sure they have cardboard boxes where you are. If you can find some that are a good size you can cover the front of them with nice paper (even wrapping paper, glue away) and use them on your book shelf. That should free up some space for your kitchen stuff to sit on the shelf too. I would use that lovely step up area as the desk/breakfast area with you extra chair for reading when you can't type anymore. Use the little side tables together in front of your new "daybed". If you are good at sewing (or even know how to tack on) and you come across another nice bedsheet or length of fabric you could use it to dress up the shower curtain and add colour to your room. Sew the sheet carefully either to the rings or to the curtain itself, you can always take it off when you leave, just make sure the plastic liner is the only thing actually touching the water when you shower! Some sticky tack and magazine pictures would also make great wall accents. The space up above would be great for luggage and if you find a box low enough you could slide it under your bed for extra storage, it won't last forever but you don't need it to. Good luck!

Your place is livable! You're not in Calcuta!!

I would explore the options with rotating your bed against the wall instead of window and putting one of the end tables up there. Also the possibility of turning the bookcase on its side so you can use it as a table of sorts to display picture frames, plants, and so on.

it was Ikea Family Live's site that featured 3 box dorms...

http://www.ikeafamilylive.com/stories/we-need-to-fit-our-lives-into-a-box!/explore

granted, you likely can't afford to buy lots of new ikea stuff but i'm sure some of these layouts may inspire you.

Wow. It's a dorm, for a year. I can kind of see wanting to snazz it up, but studying and LIVING in a foreign country seems like it might be enough distraction!

@puddle -- Purple is across from Yellow on the color wheel, not orange. (A primary is always directly across form a secondary.) But anyway, the curtains seem like red to me which matches the chair. And I for one kind of like red with purple, as long as it stops there! (I'd get a different rug, thought -- that's taking the color mixing too far.)

I think the biggest issue is appropriate storage and minimizing clutter. Get that under control and everything will look nicer.

It's for one semester; it's livable; it's fine.

I am so incredibly jealous of you! I visited Utrecht University this summer during an architecture study abroad trip. That campus has such a great collection of fantastic buildings. Have you gone for a slide on the curved wall in OMA's Educatorium? So much fun!

I especially loved the Spaceboxes, where you're living. You could do what I did and be a creepy voyeur, or go talk to your neighbors. Some people did some really creative stuff with what little space they have.

Seriously though, if you're only there for a year, you should spend as much time as possible OUTSIDE of your dorm. Holland is a beautiful country.

?

It's not for one semester; it's for a minimum of 1 full year (calendar, not school) - possibly 2. BTW, I'm not a 20-year-old exchange student, nor is this some fun, carefree adventure that someone else is bankrolling. I've studied here before, and while I hope to travel around as much as possible, realistically, I'll be spending countless hours sitting in this room, just trying to keep up with the somewhat daunting 2 year program I'm in.

And of *course* this place is livable. Sorry for the hyperbole (although way to one-up me with the Calcutta reference. Oy). I just wanted it to be more comfy, since I'll be spending so much time here.

Regarding clutter - I moved in less than 24 hours before those pics were taken. I was trying to rearrange the furniture before organizing things, since I only have a few more days before classes start to worry about things like that. Sorry for the cords and piles of stuff.

Thanks again to all those with great ideas! (Meh to the life coaches. :P )

Hi, Sirian... the link monkeylizard posted to spaceboxes on the Ikea site is actually pretty interesting. You just have to dismiss the specific furnishings and concentrate on the arrangements of "after" pics. You just have to find resources for free/swappable/cheap furniture... there must be action on that front around campus, no? And in the comments above, I noticed suggestions for local charity shops, online classifieds, sidewalk sales, etc. You can do this! Assuming you have a little time to forage while in grad school.... good luck, and please send an "after" picture!

I think the two things you can do with the most impact are to put some art up on the walls (that can be found cheap, even if you get a couple student canvases and paint them a solid color or tack up some prints-- good quality calendars are the ultimate cheap resource) and to get a larger rug. the one you have now is far too small: it looks like an afterthought and emphasizes the small space. try to get one the covers most of the floor. it will bring color and texture to the room and warm it up. yeah, you'll probably have to spend more than $20, but if it's important to you and makes your space feel like a home, then it may be worth it.

Greetings!
If you are not against moving your bed off the platform, my suggestion could offer you a whole new living/dining space!
Leaving the closet where it is, place the bookshelf beside it so that it is facing the bathroom. Place a small side table in the corner that has now been created between the cupboard and bookshelf. You can now use this as a screen and place your bed with the headboard against the wall facing where your desk is currently.
Now that you have a free platform, you can use the desk as a dining table/work space in the centre of the platform.
Alternatively, you could move in a couch on the door side, placing the table on the balcony for dining.
If you can ‘acquire’ some crates, you can create a buffet-style storage for the tv on the platform to sit on, which you could angle straight ahead or towards the bed minimising glare aswell.
Place your rug up on the platform in the middle either in the space or under the table (depending on how you place everything) and now you will have a little more privacy for the sleeping area and a living space that takes advantage of that great little balcony.
I would also suggest some crates/storage boxes to place in the bookshelf if you want to use it for storage to tidy it up a bit and you could place the microwave next to the bookshelf (depending on where your power is).
You will now have a bare wall to walk along to reach the platform which will make a nice display area. 3M hooks/stickies are the best and you could put up framed artwork or just use the stickies for posters.
Hope this helps, there are some other great suggestions already.

Get a lighter colored curtain and beddings and match them, for starters.

We go through the same kind of issues when we our family of four lives in a cabin (at post camp) for one week each year that's usually used for 20 kids. We re-arrange shelves and bunks to make stations and areas. Defining the space is everything.

It looks like you could hang some twine from the loft above so that it's tied somewhere to the window creating a place to hang a cheap divider curtain to seperate the space.

For decor and furniture try Freecycle.com or Craigslist in the free area. Someone in your building might be moving out as well and getting rid of their things. I'd imagine that people have to keep editing what they have.

I agree with the other post suggesting that you go to your neighbors dwellings to see what they've done.

Hope that helps. Whatever you do, please post after photos...we can't wait to see what you do with this fun space.

Looks like you've gotten great suggestions.

You got some great suggestions from all these people! I live in a tiny apartment in NYC and could not live without 2 things: plants (they liven up and make you feel better in small places) and mirrors (leaned against bathroom wall?). This would reflect more light and give the illusion of more space. Good luck and send us pics of end result.

Not a whole lot of productive commentary here, but I just wanted to say that it looks so cool from the outside! I'm also studying abroad (just for a semester, though), so I might borrow some of these ideas.

Since you are going to be "spending countless hours sitting in this room" then I would suggest first of all figuring out what you want to be looking at when you sit at the desk: the wall or the window? Decide on that first and everything else should fall into place.

It looks like you have a very thin balcony on your unit. Is there room there for some potted plants or flowers? Or is that not permitted?

I see places from which you could hang pictures: the backs of the chairs.

Monkeylizard's link to the before/after spaceboxes is helpful.

The black and white chair is probably the worst thing in the room. I'd get rid of that and find a more earth toned chair. A bamboo blind instead of the red curtains would also help.

What I would do? Empty out the whole room and bring each piece back in one by one.

I'd also find out what the penalty is for painting the walls. If it's a $50 fine at the end of the year, I'd bite the cost and slap up some paint.

It'd be pretty cheap and easy to create a sliding curtain to hide the doorways to the kitchen/bath. I'd use canvas drop cloth for the fabric and rig it up on some rope.

Dear Sirian,

I actually lived in one of these a couple of years ago - later on did move to the apartment building across the street.

When I lived there I also had my bed on the platform; just the mattress actually, so I would be able to open the door/window fully! Also, lowering your bed brings even more light into your room.

Don't put anything to close to your heater, some of my friends had burns on wood cabinets that were too close since it gets so hot!

Put your bookcase on the same wall as your wardrobe so that you can put your tv in it as well. Move and flip your desk to multifunction as a dining room table and put your microwave on that as well.

Put your red chair where your desk chair is now so that you can talk to whoever is hanging out on your lowered bed.

And then accesorize!

I did put posters on the wall with the gummy stuff, comes off easily enough. Also put posters on all smooth surfaces (closet and bookcase, bathroom doors). And do get a big rug (though I have to say that I quite like the floor!) Get a nice tablecloth in red / white / black. Maybe get matching bedding at Zeeman - cheap shop with good bedding and table cloths/ tea towels etc. I'd go for this color scheme since the chair and curtains are already these colors and it will be expensive and difficult to change these.

Good luck!

+ def. go to the library to study - there are many comfortable spots to find to accomodate your laptop.
+ check out the Cambridgebar run by students = fun place to relax
+ don't do all your shopping at Spar (bike to Dirk in De Bilt instead)
+ get a coffee at Gutenberg sometime

Now that I reread it, it sounds a little like orders. What I mean is: This is how I would do it... Obviously! :)

haha, thanks, fellow/former spaceboxer! I was just wondering how hot the heater got - you may have just saved my overnight guest's bedding/life...

And specific orders are fijn! If someone moved to SF from wtf's-going-on-land, I would grab them by the shoulders and lead them to Big Lots and Thrift Town. I *love* Zeeman (the only visible purchased decoration/furnishing is the bedding from there), and I fear the campus Spar-trap enough to bike to Lombok for food - will likely switch to Dirk, though.

Love from the polder - the sheep and rabbits say hi!

Interesting question!

Not that I have any solutions for you -- Sabrine the former spaceboxer had those -- but French TV did a report on this student housing last year or the year before. What is remarkable is that they are stacked shipping containers! The French were extolling them as a clever solution for the perennial problem of a shortage of student housing... So, what is the verdict?

If you do bother to purchase anything (like a rug or a pillow or a throw or whatever to brighten your space), make sure it's worth keeping, to remind you of a great year. Otherwise, I agree with those who say to just tidy up a bit and go out to explore your new country!

First off get the kitchen appliances back in the kitchen - they are eating up valuable space. If they don't fit, figure out what you really need and store the rest in the nook above the bathroom.

I do like where the bed is and since it's on the ground it doesn't seem to be blocking the natural light. I agree with someone above who mentioned if you could squeeze one of those little tables up there, the TV might be better there and free up some space in the lower area. Could you possibly move the bookshelf and turn it on its side running parallel to the bed (either on the platform or not). Some nice plants on top could help divide the space.

Use the desk for what it is meant for - your laptop and work station. I'd prefer to see in on the side of the room where the armoire is and the chair and table on the other side.

A throw blanket across the bottom of the bed and a throw pillow on the chair could also make this feel more like home. I would think with my ideas if you could ever afford it or find one for free, you could possibly fit another chair in - or even better trade out the chair for a small loveseat.

missbrown2you has it right. Keep the space very tidy. And a change of the rug would be nice---something you'd want to take home.

Go out and explore and you may just happen upon something affordable that you want to bring into your space.

Here are some links to look at

I think keep it Light and simple and a couple of plants for life!!
http://www.busyboo.com/2009/05/10/prefab-home-spacebox/
http://www.gravestmor.com/wp/archives/2005/10/18/of-capsules-and-spaceboxes/
http://www.delta.tudelft.nl/en/archive/article/spacebox-millionaire/19322

it may not be layout so much as the sheer amount of ugly in the room: bedspread curtain chairs desk... God!

Look at the room and its furnishings and quickly put post-its on everything that's ugly. Remove those objects. Enjoy bare for a while. replace with flea market finds, a piece at a time. Cheap is a great challenge.

I suppose if you have the microwave outside of the kitchen is because you don't have room for it in the kitchen. The food stuff next to the bathroom entrance is the worst bit in my opinion.
So I'd swap the desk and the shelf, and put the microwave etc on the side of the desk closer to the kitchen.

Hmmm, wow, you really do have limitations there! I don't envy you.

That being said, there are a few things you can do.

I would put the desk right beside the dresser and put the bed where the desk is right now so it is not up against the wall lengthwise but is rather in the same position it is now, except turned around of course and a few feet down.

I would also move the chair and the coffee table thing beside it to the landing in front of the window, with the chair on the left-ish and the table sort of in the middle of just off from the chair as a makeshift ottoman. You could make a really lovely sitting area and I think it would be a lot more calming to sit there and look out than it would be to have the light shining into your eyes in the morning when you're trying to get some sleep.

If it fits, it might be worth looking into to move the bookcase beside the now-moved desk so it goes dresser-desk-bookcase with the bookcase being closest to the window. That way there is a little bit of symmetry and you could make a nice display area for artwork above the desk once you get a bit more money (or even frame an art poster as they're cheap and can do wonders for a room).

Is it possible to fit the microwave and other kitchen miscellany on a shelf on the bookcase? It would free up space and take it away from its close proximity to the bathroom.

And what is that big black thing on top of the dresser? It's very distracting and automatically draws the eye up to it. If you can, move it, or at least stuff it in the dresser or something. Clutter kills a small space and it's never more important to keep clean than in a place like this.

Flowers, plants, and even fake plants are your friends. You're really, really in desperate need of a few splashes of colour here. In the future, look at picking up a few things, even if they're just carnations or fake potted trees. It makes the space more inviting and less sterile.

I second the idea about the bistro set down the road (with a very colourful floral centerpiece) but obviously that's way out of the budget for now. Something to think about in the future...

Last but not least, you need to get rid of any ideas of getting your stuff new. I am a student as well and can tell you that you must learn the hard way that new is not sustainable on a student budget (and in the long term for ecological sustainability, of course). Look for garage/yard sales. Look at online websites and put the word out that you're trying to make your space better but have a small budget. Lots of people will just GIVE you things that they don't need (but only if you branch out of your social network of students as they are more or less in the same boat that you are, financially). You will get much more bang for your buck secondhand than you will new. For example, just last night using Kijiji I snagged an awesome 60's mid-century style coffee table, all wood, and a 7 drawer Mad Men-esque dresser with detachable mirror, again solid wood, all delivered in less than 30mins for $50 Canadian. If I had bought these new or at a dealer in a bricks and mortar store, they would have cost ten times that. Be patient and be persistent. You will find the right deals only if you look for them.

Surf Kijiji, or Craigslist, or whatever the local website of choice is. You will be amazed what you'll find, especially free stuff. See if there is a local freecycle chapter as well!

Best of luck!

haha, thanks everyone - yes, there is a mass of ugly stuff, but, post-its or no, it all stays; It's the housing company's. I'm not even supposed to move it - the best I can do is dismantle it and shove it above the bathroom, so no replacing things unless they're easily taken apart.

That aside, it's much nicer now that I've moved the furniture around. I'm basically just decorating it like my apt. in SF (which was also one main room with only a huge sliding glass door for light): lots of mirrors, plants, and pretty fabric. Now, if the weather will just cooperate and toss a little sun my way now and again, I'll be content. :)

On a side note, I *really* miss S.C.R.A.P.

Hiya,

I can totally empathize, because I've lived in a variety of student accommodation for the last 4 or 5 years.

I say it's all about embracing what you got and making it your own. I used to take a couple of items from home with me, like a blanket or some photographs or just something really silly that makes you smile though. Maybe you can get friends and family from home to send you loads of postcards and put them up on your door or something?

Most of the places I've lived in, they had rules about not putting up pictures etc. as well. What are they going to do if you just do it though? I'm living in a place right now where I'm officially not allowed to put nails in the wall, but there were a couple of nails in the wall already that I used, and then I just put all my pictures on one single wall. I've never gotten into any trouble for that, I suppose if your place is clean and tidy otherwise, that goes a long way. I'd rather pay a fine for putting up pictures than not feel at home for a year, or however long it is.

Enjoy your stay in Holland! :)

Come to think of it: is this actually about the appartment? Because as far as student accommodations go, this is on the upper end by a wide margin. Is sounds more like you are second-guessing your life-choice, in which case I'd repeat my advice: make it your own! :)

Wow so many comments, you probably won't even see mine... I agree that maybe the bed should be moved on the wall by the chair instead of infront of that great window... It looks like there's kind of a door up there that is blocked by the window... I would move the chair and that little lack table up on that platform by the window and move the bed along the wall... I would recommend also getting a day bead so you will still be comfortable while you are sleeping, but it will be more inviting if you ever have people over. Maybe you can even fit the book shelf up there with the chair and have like a reading nook... Move the "closet" to the other wall if it fits so you have more room for your bed...

And lastly since you can't paint, get some brighter stuff! I think bright objects work well in rooms that can't be painted... Get some fun pillows and bold lighting... I like your chair and your bedding but I'm not sure if the rug goes with all of that.

Wow, what great ideas spewed forth on this one! The space over the door/bathroom can be utilized for storage with something pretty in front. The feeling of clutter would be the thing that would bother me most, so getting the 'small stuff' out of sight and muting the colors would be my first thought.

heh, I feel like I should post pics of my old apartment, to prove that I understand the concept of minimizing clutter, hiding cords and getting rid of unnecessary things. That's just where everything was when I got here. I took pics right when I got here, because I wanted to rearrange the big furniture, *before* putting everything away. I assure you I don't live like that!

Anyway, place has been getting prettier as I find more secondhand shops. As much as can be is shoved in above the bathroom, with long sideways mirrors to conceal it and reflect light, string lights hidden below the railing for a nice glow at night, and a cascading ivy plant. The walls are made of something impenetrable, so I can't hammer things in, regardless of the lease; I'll probably stick fabric or wallpaper to it, since I hate white walls.

And the world's ugliest mat has been replaced by a nice Ikea rug on clearance. I'm going to start scouting rich neighborhoods on trash nights, per Mirandajane's suggestion.

(and re: Anir's comment. #1, no, actually, it's not, by Dutch/U.S. standards: most students don't want to live in this complex, if they have the option to move to another. It's cool from the outside, but it's temporary housing that's been falling apart for some time. I still love it, but it definitely has a bad rep on campus; there's a reason it's one of the cheapest places you can rent through the university. #2 I think any older person, moving from their own apartment to a student housing room in another country, would have similar questions about how to overcome the built-in obstacles and make the place feel like home for the next year. Now, if I had to share a bedroom, I would *definitely* be questioning my life choices. :) )

I'm curious to see what you've done...PHOTOS PLEASE!