Although a section of their co-op house caught on fire last year, the incident served as a creative outlet for residents instead of a burden to deal with.
Hospitality business senior Lizzy Braxton is spending her second year in the Phoenix cooperative at 239 Oakhill Ave. She said after the fire tore through the second floor on Sept. 4, 2013, no one was harmed, but four bedrooms were affected and had to be redone.
Left with plain white walls, Braxton and one of her roommates decided to cover the hallways with 90s cartoons. The idea was impulsive, but justified by their nostalgia. Braxton said she enjoys the opportunity for her and her housemates to express their artistry on the walls of their own home.
“I love it, it’s so different,” Braxton said. “Any other house you go to it’s plain walls, nobody ever really expresses themselves and paints. But everyone’s always doing some kind of project. We just love to be creative here.”
The MSU Student Housing Cooperative Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides students with an alternative to living in an apartment, dorm or standard house.
Media and information senior Alexander John is the vice president of membership for the cooperative. He said when house members sign a contract, they are signing for partial ownership of the house. That ownership allows them to decorate the house however they wish.
The Phoenix house is the largest of the cooperative houses, and all 29 members have an understanding of how artwork is chosen and regulated. If someone wants to paint in a common space, all members must vote on the project in a house meeting.
Human resource management sophomore Anna Beurkens recently moved into the Phoenix house. Some her friends already lived there, and she said although she doesn’t paint, it’s good to see her housemates express themselves.
“I think its a very open and creative environment. Someone like me who’s not artistic can still appreciate it, because you can really get a sense of the personality of the house.” Beurkens said.
Many of the large projects in the house were completed by past residents. They left their mark on the house in that way, and still influence the other artists in the house.
In one instance, a past member left an unfinished project in the center stairwell of the house. Zoology senior Charli Bradley and her friend took initiative to fix it.
“Kara and I got fed up with the wall that was a half mural and decided to cover it,” Bradley said. “I don’t know what we did, but we just thought it would look cool.”
They had created a diamond that expands on the wall, alternating colors and incorporating black stripes in between each.
Phoenix residents said there is still much more space for them to paint, and some of them have started working on a new project.
