Summer Living: What’s in Your Space?

This summer, I let fate decide my housing situation. After being away from campus for two consecutive terms, I took a chance and was lucky enough to get an air-conditioned room on campus.

However, many other students have chosen to venture outside the campus housing bubble and make the most of alternative summer spaces for sophomores. So where are they this term, and how have they made their space their home?

A retreat in the Kappa Delta

Ellie Alloway, Class of 2026, spent her entire move-in day decorating. For a room like hers, though, it’s a small price to pay. Located on the second floor of Kappa Delta sorority, Alloway’s room feels like you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole once the door closes behind you.

Plants, artificial and real, hang from the ceiling and populate her windowsill. Under her vaulted bed, one can slip into a cozy corner with many cushions to sit on. The room is bathed in a purple glow, interspersed with twinkling lights. On the wall closest to her door, black wallpaper serves as a panel for a Polaroid photo album of her visitors. My photo is the third to join the wall.

“My mother and I had to build some of the hotel room furniture and have it come in that way,” Alloway said.

Their efforts have paid off. Every corner of the space is maximized for an otherworldly result.

Woody charm

The house that Annabella Wu ’26 sublet with her friends is brimming with character. It’s a sweet combination of their tastes and the decor left behind by the many tenants who came before them. The wood paneling in the living room gives the space a cozy cabin feel, which continues downstairs to the kitchen.

“I found out about this place through a (Kappa Kappa Gamma member),” Wu said. “She was asking if anyone wanted to sublet her place for the summer. My friends and I checked it out and really liked it.”

With years of students coming and going, the space has accumulated string lights, comfy sofas and plenty of mismatched glassware.

The house has a charm that only time and care can create.

A castle in Hanover

With its high ceilings and spacious backyard, Chateau on South Park Street is gearing up to be a gathering place for all of its 10 residents’ friends this summer. Waiting outside, the home’s quaint front steps make it seem like an equally quaint home. But as Soshie Bernstein ’26 led me into a large living room with a comfy L-shaped sofa, my assumptions were quickly disproved. We headed out the back door to the patio, where the home’s backyard takes center stage. Lawn chairs, a fire pit, and a tree swing provide everything you need for a quiet evening or a larger gathering. With string lights draping the area at night, the home’s courtyard contributes greatly to its gathering-house character.

On the way home, I stopped briefly in the room of Justine Brown, Class of 2026, who told me I had seen her room on a good day. Although it’s a mess, I can’t imagine the dark blue shelves and cabinets will ever become boring to look at. Brown’s decor complements the accent tone, with vibrant reds and oranges providing a welcome contrast.

Laurel Hamilton, Class of 2026, also gave me a tour of her Chateau Room, her space echoing the warm, coastal tones I saw in other areas of the house. Sunlight streamed through her window, providing the perfect midday glow.

I left the Chateau feeling a little calmer than when I arrived, although that could be attributed to the invitation I received to their s’mores party the following week.

As I walked back to my dorm that night, I thought about how different all the spaces I had seen were from my own. Rooms so decorated they were unrecognizable, rooms pre-decorated for the many lives that had been lived in them, and homes with accents and quirks built in. We all occupy these spaces so briefly, and yet our personalities shine through. Funnily enough, I walked through my door and turned on the same string lights that everyone else seemed to have.

All photos taken by Noelle Blake ’26.