Banish empty nest feelings by transforming your student’s new university room into a little palace.

Gabrielle Fagan has done the homework to make it easy.

Student rooms in colleges and universities don't usually win prizes for their style. And even a parent not easily moved to tears about saying goodbye to a stroppy, noisy teenager may feel emotional when leaving their offspring in what may sometimes resemble a tiny dark cell more suited to a prisoner.

But it is essential to turn this first independent home into a smart space — and fast — for two very good reasons.

Firstly, it will make you feel better and might help prevent them feeling so homesick they drop out.

Secondly, a cosy room — with a few funky touches for essential street cred — will attract other students to drop in and be a fast track to them making friends.

Do not attempt to create a shrine to style — as well as being far too costly, it is unnecessary as the room will soon be covered in clothes and coffee cups.

Instead, think quick-fix solutions — from jazzy throws and cushions to lamps and posters — similar to those instant makeovers performed on TV.

You don't need a degree to find the best kit and bargains for a student pad, just follow the style guide.

Room rescue View a room prior to arrival by using the university or college website, to help you get an idea of what is needed and what will fit.

Bear in mind universities generally show off their newest or best halls of residence on campus tours — rarely the older, more cramped blocks which your student may end up in.

So be ready for any eventuality by going equipped with plentiful supplies of Blu-tack (you are not normally allowed to use nails or hooks), so you can quickly cover grotty walls with posters, or plain lining paper.

Grade ‘A’ style: Lamps create instant atmosphere. B&Q's selection is imaginative and great value. A Jasmine lava-style glitter lamp, £15.48, Dana clip on light, £8. (Take a multi-socket extension lead as rooms usually have no more than a couple of sockets).

Budget buys: Brighten a wall — and boost a student's spirits — with a plastic Picture Pockets Hanging Gallery, £14.99, from Clever Little Ideas. Forty photos can be displayed at a time.

Bonding and chilling They will spend hours chatting — and getting ready for evenings out — in their room and, with winter looming, it needs to be snug. Plenty of colourful throws should do the trick and could also be used as makeshift curtains, or clipped to dreary existing curtains for an easy makeover.

It is impossible to provide too many mugs, plates and bowls — washing-up is rarely on the curriculum.

Grade ‘A’ style: Doting grandparents could splash out on old school-style metal trunks with gypsy-pattern cushions on top, so they double as funky storage and extra seating. They are in pink or white, £119 from Graham & Green.

Budget buys: B&Q's City skyline print cushion, £6.98, is a must, withfleece throw, £3.98. Marks & Spencer'’ multi-coloured Calypso stacking cup and saucer set, £15.

Grub and stuff If they are not sleeping (or occasionally studying) they will be eating, whether its snacks to make up for missed meals, or late night stodgesessions after partying.

Equip them with pots, pans, a kettle and toaster, but spend the minimum as items left in communal kitchens have a tendency to go walkabout.

Grade ‘A’ style: Marks & Spencer’s zingy coloured cooking equipment (pictured) includes three melamine spoons, £2.50, and set of three red jars for coffee, tea and sugar, £15. Kettles and toasters start from £9.50 each.

Budget buys: Ikea’s five-piece Annons pan set, £5.99, and John Lewis has a Value Kettle and Toaster set for £17.20.

Dossing and washing Pile up a supermarket trolley with bargain bedding and towels because,unless they are unusually room-proud, they will rarely visit the laundry.

As the bed is a key seating area, as well as a dumping ground for clothes and books, opt for bedlinen in darker shades, which is less likely to show marks, or stains from spilt drinks.

Grade ‘A’ style: A cushion by designer Ben de Lisi with the slogan ‘Rise And Shine’ printed on one side, and ‘Just Five More Minutes’ on thereverse, could appeal to night-owls who struggle with early morning lectures. £10 from Debenhams.

And provide a snazzy Union Jack print laundry storage bag, £20.99, from The Gifted Penguin, so it is easy to carry dirty washing home to you at the end of term.

Budget buys: Sainsbury’s Tu home collection boasts bargains such as duvets from £5.99, pillows at £4.88 a pair, and Circles print duvet set, from £9.99. John Lewis’s Value range has Reversible Duvet Cover sets (duvet cover and pillowcases), £7. And a bale of six red towels is a snip at £7.99, from Argos.

TLC touches It is the little details, as every parent knows, that make a room a home, and can inject much-needed personality into a drab space. Also, bringing these out as cheering surprises just before you leave might help avoid those upsetting, tearful goodbyes.

Grade ‘A’ style: Saving pennies might not dent their student debt butcould help pay for a round. A larger-than-life Marmite money jar, £14.99, from The Contemporary Home. And make playing ‘air guitar’ easy with a cushion shaped like a guitar (pictured), £30, from Hunky Dory Home.

Budget buys: A mug, £6.99, from Strawberry Fool, with the witty slogan‘Now Panic And Freak Out’ could be one antidote to student stress. And help them bring order to chaos with a set of 12 Filopegs, £12.95, from Angelic Hen. They are for clipping up anything from lecture notes to bills, and have down-to-earth labels such as ‘Things To Do While Sober’ and ‘Urgent Essays’.

STUDENT SOURCES

Angelic Hen: 01600 891 572 / www.angelichen.com
Argos: 0845 640 3030 / www.argos.co.uk
B&Q: 0845 850 0175/www.diy.com
Clever Little Ideas: 020 7734 5678 / www.cleverlittleideas.com
Debenhams: 08445 616 161 / www.debenhams.com
Graham & Green: 0845 130 6622 / www.grahamandgreen.co.uk
Hunky Dory Home: 0191 645 4004 / www.hunkydoryhome.co.uk
Ikea: www.ikea.com John Lewis: 0845 6049 049 / www.johnlewis.com
Marks & Spencer: 0845 302 1234 / www.marksandspencer.com
Sainsbury's: 0800 636 262 / www.sainsburys.co.uk
Strawberry Fool: 0845 226 9177 / www.strawberryfool.com
The Gifted Penguin: 01642 763 000 / www.giftedpenguin.co.uk
The Contemporary Home: 02392 469 400 / www.tch.net