The Many Themes of Treehouse Floors; A Ranking
December 6, 2022 • Written by Ari Bowman
Disclaimer to start off: This list is all in good fun and not intended to be a serious ranking. All of the floors’ decorations are wonderful. All rankings are my personal opinion and preference.
When I moved into Treehouse in September, one of the first things that struck me was how elaborate all of the decorations for the different floors were. Since I live on the 13th floor, I rarely ever see the decorations of the MassArt floors besides mine and the ones below it. So, I decided to embark on quite a heavy undertaking; taking the elevator to the 20th floor and then walking down the stairs and stopping on every floor until level 11. During this treacherous journey, I soared into space, hiked vast forests, and traversed the depths of hell until I had seen it all… Here is what I thought of all the stops on this “trek.”
Tenth Place: Floor 12
Last (but certainly not least) is floor 12. When stepping off the elevator, residents are led into a cool wintry landscape. Blue and white evergreen trees, with a cowboy cat in the center decorate the main bulletin board. Residents’ door tags are decorated with small landscape illustrations. While I certainly love the bulletin board, the cowboy cat, and the door tags, I wish there were more decorations that brought us into the theme
Ninth Place: Floor 15
Decorated in the style of the video game Kirby, residents are greeted with the scene of his Dream Land the moment they step off the elevator on the 15th floor. The bulletin board is decorated with Kirby and game boss Whispy Woods, and resident doors are decorated with small Kirbies that have different game foes in their mouths. Similarly to floor 12, I wish there were more that really brought together the idea that we were in Kirby’s Dream Land.
Eighth Place: Floor 18
Floor 18, in the theme of Ben and Jerry’s, is decorated with wonderful bright cut-paper decorations of ice cream and green pastures. Resident door tags are either cows or ice cream pints. While I do love Ben and Jerry’s, I just feel like it would make me want ice cream all the time, which I would not be able to afford. I do really love the decorations though, especially since they are all cut from paper, it is amazing how crisp and clean they look.
Seventh Place: Floor 16
On floor 16, you enter a luscious green forest with different animals and foliage decorations. Each resident’s door tag is a different forest animal. For this floor, I personally really enjoy how well the theme connects with the floor’s color, as the walls are painted green. I do wish, though, that there were more of the leaf/foliage decorations.
Sixth Place: Floor 20
At the very top of Treehouse, residents will find themselves in the holiest area on campus; the Goo Lace. The large bulletin board is decorated with a gorgeous scene of a stairway leading up to the pearly gates. Residents’ doors are decorated with a hand-drawn house and picrews for each individual resident.
Fifth Place: Floor 11
In conjunction with the 20th floor, the 11th floor brings residents down to the depths of the “Bad Place.” A fiery hellscape adorns the main bulletin board, and resident door tags are decorated with various different “hellish” emojis, like skulls, fire, and ghosts. I’m a big fan of how the 11th and 20th floor RA’s coordinated to have themes that complement each other.
Fourth Place: Floor 19
The 19th floor brings residents high into the atmosphere with a beautiful space-themed floor. Each residents’ door tag is decorated with the different planets, and the walls are adorned with multi-colored stars. I really love how well the theme of this floor complements not only the placement of the floor in the building, since it’s the second floor from the top, but also the floor’s dark blue paint job. The theme just lends itself really well to the 19th floor.
Third Place: Floor 17
Next up is the 17th floor, with the theme of Cartoon Network show Steven Universe. The large bulletin board features cut outs of the multiple Crystal Gems, and residents’ door tags are individual gems in different shapes and colors. One of the walls also includes an interactive poll that also goes along with the floor’s theme. I really love the commitment to the theme and how it is incorporated into activities for the floor.
Second Place: Floor 13
Our runner up, floor 13, is decorated in the style of Batman. While I might be a bit biased because it’s the floor that I live on, I think it’s wonderfully decorated; the Gotham city skyline adorns the main bulletin board, and as you walk down the hallway you are greeted by two cardboard cutouts of Batman and Robin from the 1960s Batman show. Residents’ doors are decorated with tags in the style of comic book onomatopoeia, as well as a wanted poster for an individual Batman villain. The walls are decorated with different Batman characters as well as decorative bats.
And finally, First Place: Floor 14
First place is none other than the 14th floor. Also with a space-related theme, residents enter the “soft landing station,” decorated with cute planets. Resident door tags are small astronaut helmets. On the walls there are more happy planets and a portrait of the RA in the same style. I personally am just in love with how cute this floor’s theme is. All of the decorations are really cohesive and create a wonderful atmosphere.
My dear readers, how would you rank all these floors?
