CREDIT: HOME-DESIGNING.COM
This kind of pad is so not possible on a student budget… unless you get really, really lucky at a yard sale.

Being a student enrolled in Interior Design at Fanshawe College has led to a lot of high expectations for my home's esthetics. I know this program cannot be the only one that will mislead people to believing that its students' homes look like they're straight out of magazines. This is a common misunderstanding that I run into way too frequently!

We are students, too. We may have debt, we may be living paycheque to paycheque, or we may be on a strict budget with OSAP while we are getting through school. We have lots of bills, textbooks and supplies to pay for. After all of this money is spent, it leaves most of us with nothing close to buying the picture-perfect home.

I am currently in the process of moving, and I always hear the same phrase: “I can't wait to see your place! I bet it's going to be decorated to the nines!” Every answer is the same: “No, I am a student.” As much as I would love to go out and buy all the picture-perfect furniture and have a home that looks like it should be in a magazine, it's just not possible or worth it for a rental. I know many of you have felt the same at some point in your student career!

With being a student, shopping at high-end furniture stores or even just your average joe stores like The Brick and Leons just isn't affordable for students. Places like Value Village, Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army are about budget range for most of us creative students. Don't get me wrong, you can find spectacular furniture in there, but with the costs of time and effort to refinish it! Accessories, designer pottery, paintings and accessories usually aren't doable on a budget, though places like Winners, Walmart and even yard sales have good bargains for accessories from time to time.

Being a design student has led to a high unrealistic expectation of having the perfect-picture home. At the end of the day, we are all students getting through school, either living in rez, renting or living with our parents. We may not have the dream home right now, but that's okay because we are students!