When I enter Ellen's apartment, the first thing that catches my eye is a large crystal chandelier hanging over the rustic dark wood dining table. I sit down while Ellen pours coffee into two cups. Like so much else in the apartment, she has found the cups in delicate Chinese porcelain with accompanying saucers at a second-hand shop.
It was not a given for Ellen that she would live in a student apartment when it was decided that she would move to Helsingborg. The fact that it was the easiest option decided the matter. When I ask her what she thinks about living in student accommodation, she is very positive:
- "I think it's fun! You get to know many of your neighbors and if you are new to a place, it is very easy to find people with common interests and stuff like that. I like it very much. Like most student accommodation, there are several common areas at Furutorpsgatan student accommodation. There are study rooms on each floor, two roof terraces for sunny days and, oddly enough, the laundry room is also adapted for socializing. Living in a student residence opens up for a social everyday life, but it is, after all, in your own apartment that you will spend the most time."
How do you make your apartment feel personal? Student apartments can still be seen as standardized.
- "Yes, four walls and a drawer," Ellen says jokingly before continuing. "I brought all my favorite things here, but I also got organized very quickly after I moved in and I think that was my secret to feeling at home right away."
The favorite things are prominent in the room. The large crystal chandelier, the hand-picked paintings on the wall and the dinosaur in the corner are some examples of things that give the apartment its charm.
- "I like every single thing and that makes me feel that the apartment is mine. It feels personal when it's my stuff."
We change the subject from the dinosaur in the room to the potential elephant: how do you actually fit your whole life into twenty square meters? Ellen doesn't seem to have had any major problems getting everything she wants and needs to fit in. The student apartments even have quite a lot of built-in storage, from the shelf in the ceiling to the spacious wardrobe. However, the fact remains that not everything can fit.
- "It's all about prioritizing what you want in your apartment. For example, I didn't prioritize a sofa. Sure, I might have been able to fit that in too, but I prioritized having a big table instead."
In a small space, there is quite a lot of room to make your student apartment your home. From furnishing according to your own needs to decorating according to your personal style, each apartment is as unique as the student who lives there. Ellen Tössberg and her home are an excellent example of this.
This article was originally published in the student magazine HBG STDNT, produced in collaboration with the City of Helsingborg.