The Flats
Most of the flats have 4 or 5 bedrooms with only a few having 3 residents. There have been musical flats, quiet flats, gourmet flats, artistic flats, bookish flats, an LGBTQ+ flat, flats with cats, a flat with rabbits, and flats with faithful hounds. (There are plenty of lovely, theme-less flats, too!) They looked more or less like this when we moved in back in August 2014.
Some examples of what they look like now:
Each flat has a kitchen/living room, most with views across the Links. Kitchens come fully fitted with a cooker, microwave, fridge, sink, toaster, kettle, and basic utensils and crockery. The living rooms sport sofas, tables, and chairs. Thankfully, many members have acquired comfier furniture since moving in. (And the process continues.)
All the bedrooms started off with single beds, a desk, a side-table, shelving, a wardrobe, a chair, and a heater. As time goes by, more and more of the furniture has been gradually swapped out for members’ own choices. When you move in, you are guaranteed a bed, desk, shelving, wardrobe, and a chair. Tenants are allowed to bring their own furniture, and double beds can be fitted into most rooms. Most members have also decorated their rooms, painting walls and even replacing the original fluorescent light fittings. Within each flat is at least one toilet and a separate shower, with relatively large cupboards in each flat’s corridors.
This is what the rooms looked like when we moved in:
With no landlord breathing down your neck, you can paint the walls how you like, cover the floor in rugs or rip up the carpeting to lay down wood floors, hang artwork from the walls, fit shelves or wall hangings, replace the furniture with your own finds, and customise the place as you see fit. The only rule is that you respect the space you live in and leave it in a great condition for whoever moves in after you. Here are some examples of member’s rooms now – a far cry from the sterile, student-halls feel…
