How Do Students Live in Student Housing?

Based on the research conducted in 2023, the paper addresses the issue of the housing of Zagreb students from an ethnological and cultural-anthropological perspective. The aim is to contribute to the understanding of students’ housing through a focused, in-depth and qualitative view of the material aspects of housing (selection, design/equipping/changing of domestic spaces, material objectsand furnishings of domestic spaces, etc.), everyday life, behaviour, practices and interactions linked with domestic spaces, and feelings and imaginations linked with the house and home. The research findings show that domestic space with its characteristics causes, limits or accentuates certain behaviours, interactions with roommates, feelings and moods. The examples discussed speak of the limitations and disadvantages of domestic spaces resulting from their often-inadequate size and furnishings, as well as about practices, often small interventions and furnishings, with which tenants try to overcome limitations, create a practical and pleasant space and achieve a pleasant coexistence withtheir roommates. Building a connection with the domestic space, creating intimacy and a sense of home are recorded in the actions of furnishing the space with their own objects, smells, sounds, and established activities and interactions with people and pets. The idea of future (and ideal) domestic spaces is associated with the idea of temporality (current housing), and the current and future place of residence is perceived as a space of becoming independent and independence. The aim of the paper is to pave the way for future extensive ethnological and cultural-anthropological research on housing.