Ohio State students who live in off-campus housing often name their houses and chalk the name on the front of the house. Photo courtesy of Paige Sommerfeld.
Throughout the University District, the majority of houses are rented by students, often for their junior and senior years.
Though many move into blank slates, not knowing anything about the previous tenants, others inherit a house, following a tradition common in Greek life, siblings and close-knit friend groups.
However they find the houses, the question is always how to make the house more of a home? Between shared history, creative names and interior design, Ohio State students find ways to do exactly that.
Emma Geesling, a third-year in actuarial science, is living in a house affectionately named Love Shack, which was passed down from seniors in her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma.
But the legacy didn’t start just last year as it began with Madison Lasso and her friends, who graduated from Ohio State in 2022. The house originally was named Kappa Krypt, and has since evolved into Love Shack.
“There were two Kappas who lived in it with a bunch of their friends,” Lasso said. “We lived in that house our senior year, so just one year together. I’m not really sure how we came to name it the Kappa Krypt, but I think we just thought it was cool, since we had a group chat that was called the Kappa Krypt.”
Before Lasso’s lease, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow reportedly lived in the house. Lasso said that knowing, at least vaguely, the people who lived there before her helped make moving in feel less like moving into a random house.
“It’s a more familiar place, you know that there’s a shared history with your community, your sorority, which I think that’s a nice aspect, too,” Lasso said. “I like living somewhere with history, with a backstory. It’s been there for a really long time, it’s housed generations of Ohio State students.”
Geesling held the same sentiment about the house, especially knowing that the name, even though it’s changed once or twice, has been passed down with the house too.
“Sometimes I wish we did get to coin it [ourselves], but I love the lineage and the tradition of it,” Geesling said. “Different inside jokes makes it special for that singular group, and maybe that name gets passed down to the next one. Maybe it’s not, and then it changes based on that new friend group’s background and little inside jokes, and I think that’s really special because it brings everyone closer together in the house.’
Paige Sommerfeld, a fourth-year in health sciences, isn’t living in a pass-down house, but her roommates still took it upon themselves to name it.
“We thought [the house] was very red, so we were just sitting there, and then someone just said, ‘Red Rocket,’” Sommerfeld said. “I feel like everybody in the house has a very big personality as it’s not surprising that that is the name.”
Even without the name, Sommerfeld said that a large part of making the house feel like theirs is also on the inside, with decorations and collections.
“We try to make it really homey with stuff that we’ve all brought from home, and then as we collect stuff too, Sommerfeld said. “I look back at pictures of when I moved in, and I feel like, ‘There’s no way I’m living here? Definitely what you bring in — it makes it not feel old and gross.”
Camille Zitney, a fourth-year in architecture, said decorating really helps brighten the space and make it feel individual to each group of students. She does not live in Red Rocket, but in a different house in the University District.
“It’s more about bringing your roommates’ personal styles together and combining things,” Zitney said. “Collecting fridge magnets from everyone’s travels, having old birthday posters and decorations linger really can make your house feel a lot homier, like when you know that people live there and you can tell that it has personality.”
Making a house feel put together and well-decorated doesn’t have to break the bank, Zitney said, especially when the budget might need to go towards rent or groceries.
“I made my own headboard for my room, I made the valance that goes over my bed, and did a lot of different DIY things that still look great,” Zitney said. “But when you’re on that college budget, it’s important to use your resources, get creative, find tutorials online and work with what you have.”
Zitney’s house has a story too. Her older brother lived there and passed the lease down to Zitney’s group two years ago.
“I came to [Ohio State], and I spent not a ton of time there, enough that I knew of the house,” Zitney said. “Even now, I’ll be talking to my brother on the phone, and he’s like, ‘I cannot believe you’re living in my house,’ [and then] I’m like, ‘No, it’s my house. It’s not your house. It’s my friends and I. This is our house, and it feels like our house.’ ”
Zitney said Ohio State students excel at turning a college house rental into their own space.
“You can put whatever you want into a home, but it’s really about it being somewhere that everyone feels safe, comfortable, able to be themselves and really relax at the end of the day,” Zitney said. “You can feel the energy when you walk in, and it’s more than just what you put in it. It’s definitely a feeling, and it makes it feel like home.”
