It wasn’t so many moons ago that I was standing, excited and expectant, holding the keys to my first student flat. On opening the door, however, my excitement quickly evaporated as I took in the dingy gloom of my new ‘home’. Luckily, things have moved on. If you’re heading off to University this Autumn, you have nothing to fear – student accommodation is all glitz and glam, these days.

Image credit: Hive Student Residences

To keep up with the ever-increasing expectations of today’s discerning students, a new wave of luxury flats are springing up across the country. Leading the way is Johhny Manns of Hive Student Residences, who has teamed up with Target Living’s interior designer Tara Bernerd to develop a set of super-stylish flats in London’s Hoxton and Bethnal Green.

Gone are the breeze block walls, mouldy curtains and bowing ceilings. In their place, the lucky inhabitants of Hive Student Residences can expect under-floor heating, flat screen TVs, landscaped courtyards and trendy, roof top gardens.

Image credit: Hive Student Residences

And if you end up somewhere a little less salubrious, we’ve got more good news: our sale section has everything you’ll need to glam up your digs without breaking the bank. My must-haves are the funky but functional cereal bowls from Habitat (down from £4 to 96p) and Monsoon’s delicately pretty Kimono Bed Linen Collection, down from £50 to £37.50.

If only I’d had mydeco back in the days when I was forced to sleep under my mum’s frumpy quilt and eat my cereal from a mug.