5 makeshift furniture for your college apartment

Do you need cheap furniture to create a living space in your college housing? Here are 5 creative furniture you can make inexpensively, and sometimes for free. These furniture alternatives are super easy to install, versatile, and great to take apart, transport, and reuse!

The filing cabinet and the door desk

The most important thing is the desktop. You will spend a great deal of time hunched over your desk studying and doing homework. It should be a large, sturdy piece of furniture on which to stack stacks of books. The most economical way to do this is the filing cabinet and the door desk. It’s simple: get two filing cabinets and a door from Home Depot or Lowes. Stack the door on top of the filing cabinets and voila, you have a spacious desk!

Estimated cost:

$ 20 for an unfinished door

$ 50 for two filing cabinets

The exercise ball computer chair

You can’t have a desk without a chair. An exercise ball is not only very affordable; It may be the most comfortable computer chair you’ve ever owned, especially for your back. Forcing you to balance and engage your abs, an exercise ball is ergonomically correct for your body. Just make sure you get the correct size (size recommendation is on the box and usually goes by your height). Exercise balls are also a great way to multitask. When not used as a chair, they are great for toning and conditioning the body.

Estimated cost:

$ 15 for an exercise ball

The milk box bed frame

Make sure you get commercial strength milk cartons. Don’t trust cheap retail knockoffs. You can order them online at a relatively low price. If you can get them at grocery stores for free, even better! All you need is a mattress. Just line the milk boxes on the floor and place the mattress on top. Milk boxes make it easy to store things under the bed. They are also very versatile. If you decide to buy another type of bed, you can always use the milk boxes for other furniture such as tables or book shelves. They are also great for moving in!

Estimated cost:

$ Free! (or relatively cheap)

The cinder block book box

Cinder blocks and wooden slats are cheap and easy to come by. A trip to a hardware store will provide you with the two things you will need to create this trusty old piece of furniture. The number of cinder blocks and wooden slats to get will depend on how large you want your bookshelf to be. For a bookcase with three shelves, 6 cinder blocks and 3 pieces of wood will do. Just lay the wood on 2 concrete blocks at a time.

Estimated cost: (depends on size)

3 wooden slats: $ 15

6 concrete blocks: $ 12

The coffee table in the trunk

An old trunk has a lot of character. Not only is it a vintage and eclectic piece to add to your apartment, but it’s practical too. Store blankets and other items you are not using inside. If you have an old trunk, perfect! But even if you have to buy one, they are not that hard to find. Keep your eyes peeled at thrift stores or Grandma’s closet. Old tea drawers make nice coffee tables too. But they are increasingly difficult to find.

Estimated cost:

$ Free! (or thrift store prices)

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