Every Spouse’s Unique Room, Worst To Best
Marriage is a substantial optional mechanic in Stardew Valley. Catch the eye of one of the 12 potential partners, and your farmer can become engaged and later marry them. The lucky spouse will then move into the farmhouse. When they do, they set up their own room next to the bedroom, decorating it in ways that reflect their personalities and interests.
From Alex’s exercise room to Leah’s art studio, each of these rooms is unique, and while some of them are incredibly well-designed representations of the character they belong to (home decoration options are rife in Stardew Valley), some feel rather lacking.
12
Shane: Messy And Disappointing
Messy, muddy, and cramped, Shane’s room is arguably the worst of the spouse’s unique rooms. With spilled beer soaking into the rug and muddy footprints ruining the floor, the room is quite unpleasant to see.
The room feels like a betrayal of Shane’s relationship arc through the game, wherein the player can help him work through his alcohol dependency. Seeing that the game then uses alcohol as a shorthand for Shane, even after he stops drinking, is disappointing.
11
Alex: Sparse, But Also Somehow Cluttered
As with Shane’s room, Alex’s room is also very disappointing. While he might be a skilled athlete, Alex’s interior decorating ability leaves a lot to be desired. The room is simultaneously barren yet cluttered, full of exercise equipment and sporting goods that will forever sit unused.
But what ends up letting down this room the most is the color choice. While Leah’s, Emily’s and Haley’s rooms are also a little empty, their good use of colors shines through. Meanwhile, the green carpet in Alex’s room is likely to clash with the flooring in the rest of the farmhouse, creating a visual contrast that is unappealing.
10
Sebastian: A Rather Dark And Dingy Throwback
Sebastian’s room has all the hallmarks of being nicer than both Shane’s and Alex’s. It boasts good use of space, is not overly cluttered, and is filled with nice furniture. Some design decisions end up harming the room in the long run, however: the lack of natural light and the stonework-like wallpaper makes the room feel like the basement that Sebastian spent all his time in before marrying the player character.
While Sebastian is not the only spouse to put up brick-like wallpaper (Sam does the same thing if married), the grey color choice makes the room feel overly dark and oppressive, something that is not helped by the room not having windows to let in light.
9
Emily: Less Interesting Than Emily Herself
As with Alex, Emily’s room feels strangely empty. While the crafting table and large picture of the desert (no doubt a reminder of her friend Sandy who runs the shop in the Calico Desert that hides the casino) are nice touches, and the parrot is a cute addition to the household, the room is surprisingly unfocused in design.
Emily is an interesting character with a wide array of passions, from her deep spirituality to her talent for making clothes. While other characters such as Alex or Abigail have their interests represented in their rooms, the fact that Emily’s seem to be ignored if she becomes the player’s spouse is unfortunate.
8
Haley: Cute And Stylish, But A Bit Empty
From the stuffed toys to the make-up table, the photography equipment to the beach-inspired wallpaper, Haley’s room is definitely hers. With some great natural light and space for all her things, it is not hard to imagine Haley spending a fair portion of her time here, either preparing her camera or perfecting her make-up.
What lets the room down a bit is how sparse it feels. Similarly to the one designed by her sister, Haley’s room contains a lot of leftover space that could have been utilized a bit better by this fashionista.
7
Harvey: All About The Airplanes
Between the model airplanes and large radio setup, Harvey’s room can come across as being rather juvenile. Despite this, it is still very charming.
The green wallpaper (which is a lot more pleasant to look at than Alex’s green carpet) combined with the natural light creates a pleasant brightness that is not found in a lot of the other rooms, while the open space makes this little hobby corner feel larger than it actually is. It is easy to picture Harvey sitting in the room putting together a model between shifts at the clinic.
6
Maru: Scientifically Disorganized
With its starry wallpaper, array of computers, and telescope in pride of place, Maru’s room feels like a natural extension of her inquisitive, scientific personality. Meanwhile, the small robot and potted plant both make the room feel lived in and ensures that all of the space is used.
The room still has its drawbacks, though, some of which make little sense. Despite Maru’s otherwise organized personality, her computer monitors all rest on the floor. It’s a bit of a misstep, design-wise, which feels out of character and can be quite distracting.
5
Elliot: Very Cozy, If A Bit Dark
A romantic writer and lover of books, Elliot’s room reflects his interests. Between the filled bookcases, stacked logs and the adorable ship sitting on top of the side table, everything in this room creates an evocative image of a nice little personal library.
Similar to Sebastian’s room, though, the lack of windows does perhaps make this room a little too dark, contrasting with the bright farmhouse. However, the cozy atmosphere and simplistic yet stylish design more than make up for those flaws.
4
Leah: An Artist’s Paradise
Leah’s room is just perfect for an artist. With an easel, plenty of space to carve new sculptures, and an unblocked light source that gives her a lot of natural light to work to, it is easy to picture Leah spending time working on new masterpieces here. The plant in the corner is a nice representation of her environmentalist values, while the completed artworks and bowls of paint sitting to one side are a nice bit of characterization for the space.
While this room is emptier than some of the other potential spouse’s spaces, the rug that occupies the center of the room ties it all together and makes it feel less sparse than the rooms belonging to either Emily or Haley.
3
Sam: Musically Sound
Fittingly for a musician, Sam’s guitar (which you can see him play in his romance route) and keyboard both have pride of place in his room. Combine this with the way the room has been arranged – with the majority of the furniture pushed to the side of the room leaving a large space in the center – and it is easy to picture Sam inviting his bandmates over for a jam session.
The bookcase and computer are other nice touches, each hinting at more hobbies and greater depth to Sam. The posters add a nice splash of color to the room, too, which altogether feels a lot less oppressive than Sebastian’s greystone aesthetic.
2
Abigail: Characteristically Detailed
Whether it is the hamster cage on top of the chest of drawers or the sword resting up against the wall (a nice reminder of her romance arc and the fact that every hero needs a good weapon), Abigail’s room is full to the brim with important little details that come together to make the room feel alive.
The TV on the floor and the drum set also serve as a good reminder of her hobbies outside of monster-slaying, while the blue wallpaper adds a sense of calm that a lot of the rooms otherwise lack.
1
Penny: Adorable And Functional
Almost the complete opposite of Shane’s room, Penny’s room is picture perfect. Neither too cluttered nor barren, the space is used effectively, with stacked bookcases and an adorable table to sit around, with plenty of natural light that is only enhanced by the light blue wallpaper.
While the room is similar to Elliot’s with its focus on books, the natural light ends up making Penny’s little library feel more welcoming, creating an ultimately more attractive space.
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