6 Sac State students showcase their rooms

November 9, 2020

Students are in their rooms a lot more than they used to be due to the coronavirus pandemic. Because students attend classes virtually through Zoom, it can give us an opportunity to take a look into a student’s personal style and living space. Check out these six unique Sacramento State students’ rooms and what their rooms say about them.

Welcome

Click on a room for a look inside.

Alternative and nostalgic

Pop punk and productivity

Minimalistic and multi-functional

Simple and chic

Modern Boho, neutral colors

Nights with neon lights

Or scroll down to read about each of the rooms.

Alternative and nostalgic

On the left, Julian Rhodes displays posters of his favorite basketball team, favorite video games, artwork done by a friend and some of his own. On the right, he has a black and white checkered accent wall, his favorite pattern, which he had done when he was a teenager.

On mobile? Go landscape to see the full photo. Milan Cabebe

When he’s not out with his friends or serving at church, communications studies major Julian Rhodes said he feels a sense of ease and relaxation knowing that he has his own little space to retreat to when he needs to get away from the world.

“My space is my sanctuary in my house to clear my mind and to get away from the noise of life,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes said he considers his general style as laid-back and alternative with elements of urban street culture, defined by his love of pop culture that's not as known to most people as well as his shoe collection.

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Milan Cabebe

Most of what's in Julian Rhodes' room is tailored toward shoes and fashion. "My love of shoes would represent how I love different patterns, all shapes and sizes and the textures shoes bring to the outfit as it brings texture to the room," Rhodes said.

“My love of shoes would represent how I love different patterns, all shapes and sizes and the textures shoes bring to the outfit as it brings texture to the room,” Rhodes said.

When asked what his room says about him, Rhodes said, “I would say that I’m a very nostalgic person who likes to keep the personal memories close by, and adding in Japanese and American culture mixed into the aesthetic of the room. I like to keep what's dear to me close, say with pictures and my hobbies.”

Minimalistic and multi-functional

Samantha Tiscareno in her bedroom where she sleeps but also conducts photoshoots. She is currently reading the book, "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini.

On mobile? Go landscape to see the full photo. Milan Cabebe

Every morning, Sac State junior Samantha Tiscareno wakes up in pitch black darkness in her twin-sized bed, enveloped in matching black bed sheets, before stepping onto her black spray-painted cardboard floors to pull open one of her lime green wall curtains to let the sunlight hit her face.

Her roommate, Jose, resides in his own bedroom upstairs, which gave Tiscareno the opportunity to claim the downstairs area as her own and build her own room from the ground up. Tiscareno’s makeshift bedroom walls are lime green 12-by-10 inch curtains nailed into wood two-by-fours set up on the ground floor of their Sacramento one-bedroom apartment.

Tiscareno, who hopes to major in business with a focus in entrepreneurship, is in the process of launching her own candle and soap business called GermScents. Because of this, her room serves a dual purpose — for the production of taking her own official merchandising photos and to do recreational photo shoots herself, with her greenscreen-esque wall curtains, as well as a place to sleep.

“I never let anything stop me, I kind of get what I want,” Tiscareno said, when asked what her room says about her. “Like when I started building the room, I don’t necessarily know anything about construction, I simply started putting things together. It basically came fresh from the brain, I wanted to make sure it was completely myself and unbiased, so I didn’t take anyone’s opinions.”

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On the left, Samantha Tiscareno smiles back at her roommate, Jose Pena Toncuso, on the right. Above them are Tiscareno's vinyls of artists such as Arctic Monkeys, Tyler, the Creator and Beyoncé.

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On the left, Samantha Tiscareno smiles back at her roommate, Jose Pena Troncuso, on the right. Above them are Tiscareno's vinyls of artists such as Arctic Monkeys; Tyler, the Creator and Beyoncé.

All along the high perimeter of Tiscareno’s living room and kitchen walls hangs her vinyl collection.

“I think the reason I have so many vinyls up now is because I was never allowed to have them,” Tiscareno said.

Tiscareno said her mom always liked elegant spaces, but she doesn’t feel the same way.

“I like elegance,” Tiscareno said. “It's nice and everything, but I wouldn’t have it everywhere. I kind of like being messy because I feel like that’s how I function inside.”

Tiscareno said each record means something different to her and that they are lined up in a sequence of her emotions, which occasionally feel like a roller coaster.

“Sometimes when I get sad I open the curtains and I’m like ‘Oh look, there they are,’ and realize what I want to listen to,” Tiscareno said. “Then when it's time to say ‘Okay, get out of your sadness,’ because you can’t always wallow in your sadness, I close the curtains and think, ‘Okay, we had a good day.’”

Modern Boho with neutral colors

Lisette Soriano meditates with the crystals that are lined up along the top of her headboard to ensure that she's always in a good headspace. Before moving into this new space, which used to be her older sister’s bedroom, she sat with them in the empty room to cleanse the space and gave affirmations on how she's going to feel in it.

On mobile? Go landscape to see the full photo. Milan Cabebe

Lisette Soriano, a junior majoring in communication studies, has had a lot of time on her hands due to currently not working, so she made remodeling her room her summer project.

Soriano spent the majority of her life in a light purple room she decorated when she was 10, which she said was “super colorful and just all over the place,” and she wanted something more neutral. She started off with painting her walls a light beige color and went from there.

Soriano said she classifies her aesthetic as modern boho with neutral colors, and that she shopped at stores such as H&M Home, Zara Home, IKEA, Urban Outfitters and Amazon to stick to her theme. Her room includes wooden and wicker pieces, as well as pampas grass, a plant she said she saw everywhere on Instagram and loved that it wasn’t the usual green, but beige.

“Before when I was in my old room, I honestly never showed anyone, and I never even wanted to take pictures in my room,” Soriano said. “I was just so embarrassed.”

When asked what her room says about her now, Soriano said, “I think it would say that I am very comfortable with myself. I feel like I’ve neglected my self-care in the past, so literally now, I’m so comfortable in here and I just wake up every morning and I feel so good. I’ve learned to spend time on myself.”

Pop punk and productivity

Jorge Cedeno spends the majority of his days sitting at his triple-monitor desk space. Above his work station, he has bunches of photos of him with friends, his family members and some he took with his film camera.

On mobile? Go landscape to see the full photo. Milan Cabebe

Computer science major Jorge Cedeno’s room is where he attends online classes and works his eight-hour shifts for Sac State’s Student Affairs Information Technology support, so he said it was important to him that his room be a place where he can stay productive, but also a place to relax and unwind.

“Those were very important for me because our majors get really, really intense and just to help with any anxiety,” Cedeno said. “Since you’re doing this all alone here, you almost need a place that you can work and still feel comfortable with, and what better place to do if it’s not your room?”

When Cedeno finishes working at his triple-monitor desk space, then he’s onto doing homework and going back from work to homework again. Cedeno said whenever he starts getting a little too anxious, he’ll grab some food and move to a spot he calls “the heart of his room.” He sits on his rug on the floor next to a cube shelf at the end of his bed, which holds his records, and record player to listen to his favorite pop punk artists.

“My room would say I spend a lot of time on the computer,” Cedeno said. “I work from here and I breathe from here. My room would also say I like tidiness, I have a lot of stuff in my room. So I would also say I like clutter at the same time, but it's organized clutter.”

Simple and chic

Jaime Jolicouer is a senior majoring in fashion merchandising and management. She posts "outfit of the day" (OOTD) pictures on Instagram at @joliheart.style and @jaime.joliheart.

On mobile? Go landscape to see the full photo. Photo courtesy of Edgar Chan

Fashion merchandising and management student Jaime Jolicouer’s room has really come together this year and she said that it’s finally started to become what she’s wanted it to be — simple and chic with a hint of boho.

“I definitely am not very loud with my style, I don't wear a lot of bold colors and I think that shows in my room.” Jolicouer said. “I stick with soft and cool tones because I feel like if I have very bright colors then I have to feel very energetic, and I really just want my room to be a place where I can chill out.”

Jolicouer said she uses Pinterest for room decor inspiration and to keep up with today’s trends.

“I knew when you go on to college, the number one must-have item is a tapestry for almost every girl, but I didn't want the gloomy, basic, indie type,” Jolicouer said. “I wanted something that was very simple that could go with whatever I might have or would change out.”

Jolicouer said she noticed that a really big current trend is having an abundance of plants and greenery hanging in bedrooms.

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Photo courtesy of Edgar Chan

Quarantine has given Jaime Jolicouer more time to add decorations to her space that represent who she is. A little bee painting she did a few months ago hangs on display to show her creative side and a letterboard with a Coco Chanel quote represents her major and love for fashion.

“I didn’t want my room covered with plants because that’s just not my style,” Jolicouer said. “It looks really cool, I really like that type of style but it's just not who I am.”

The latest addition to Jolicouer’s space is a single vine with white roses hanging above her closet.

“I think what my room would say about me as a person is that I'm very conscious about myself,” Jolicouer said. “If I ever were looking for decorations I try to make sure that it goes with the aesthetic of my whole room, and if I were to switch something out, it would still fit with it. I think that's why I still stick with very white colors because everything goes with it.”

Nights with neon lights

Leslie Lucas recently set up a projector in her room which connects to her Amazon TV Fire Stick. She and her housemates don't have cable, so she said getting one these has been a game changer for her.

On mobile? Go landscape to see the full photo. Milan Cabebe

Criminal justice major Leslie Lucas left the U.S. to study abroad in London earlier this spring, but her plans changed when COVID-19 brought her back to settle into a new place in Sacramento.

Lucas moved in two months ago and said she was excited to start decorating. She said she loves shades of white, gray and black when it comes to both clothing and furniture, but something she really loves is the look of neon lights.

“Usually everybody that knows me knows that,” Lucas said. “So every time they give me something as a gift, they always have a light in it.”

During the day, her white walls match her white, modern furniture from IKEA, Target, TJ Maxx and Amazon. In her old apartment, her room was known as the white room by her roommates because she said the color to her is clean, neat and helps her feel at peace.

When asked what her space says about her, Lucas said that she likes keeping her spaces clean and organized, whether that would be her room or her car, which gives her mellow self a sense of further relaxation knowing where all of her things are.

When the day is done and the sun has set, Lucas said she likes to change it up by letting her room become a world of color by turning on her LED strip lights, her starlight that shines on her ceiling and her projector, which is pointed to her blank wall facing opposite to her bed.

“This is where my upbeat side comes in because I love to go out,” Lucas said. “I love the night scenery, and any city that has a downtown is my favorite spot. I love neon lights and anything bright. It’s the fun side of me.”

CORRECTION: Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

A previous version of this article misspelled Pena Troncuso's last name as Toncuso. The story has since been updated to correct this.

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kitchen faucet in gold • Feb 2, 2021 at 5:41 am

I love the black bed over there!
But the violet led I think thats too bright. Good post Milan!
kitchen faucet in gold

https://statehornet.com/2020/11/sac-state-room-tour-decor/#comment-8541