apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

When I look at the pictures of the Oval office all I can think about is all the damage to the world that has been done in that room for the last eight years.

would be interesting to see pictures from when Clinton was president... I remember reading how workers were busy redecorating -- painting, recarpeting, changing the furniture -- in the Oval Office while the Inauguration was going on, so that it was a completely different office at the end of the day. Kind of scary when you think about it...

I agree. I find all of those rooms incredibly claustrophobic and cloying. It all seems to be about power and not comfort. Interesting that there's not a thing on the desk in the oval office as well. Nada, no pens, papers, books, anything.

Amen Mazeppa and SFGall!!!!!!

It would be really interesting to have a gallery of Presidential makeovers, to see side-by-side photographs of each room from past administrations.

Can't wait to see what the Obamas do with the White House. I have a feeling Michelle has amazing taste.

Katrin, if you really dig around on the White House Museum site, you can see some of the major Presidential makeovers... but not, alas, all of them (unless I gave up too soon).

I really want to see more Eisenhower- and Carter-era photos, but those seem to be the most difficult to find.

SFGall, W is still trying to work out his opposable thumb. Hence, the lack of writing utensils on his desk.

Anyhoo, snarkiness aside, I agree - the rooms are so boring and provincial and what we'd expect from politicians and their kin. Oh, dear - I guess I hadn't put snarkiness aside after all...

I do love that kelly green color on the wall of the second photo, though. is it kelly?

Or, he doesn't use his desk. Reading and writing are so time consuming!

So much for "Leaving politics aside for the moment..." I don't think anybody took the hint.

I have always been astounded that anything in the White House is actually new---after every redecoration it still manages to look really old. Then again, in a place like that, could you really bring in anything modern? I imagine lots of artifacts are there to stay and have to be incorporated in the rooms.

Off topic on the White House but and interesting bit of trivia for New Yorkers about presidents: An optometrist in NY has an eyeglasses "museum" in his waiting room, with a personal letter from many former presidents and a pair of glasses they wore. It is fascinating to read the letters as they give a real flavor of the personality of each president. Soon W will be out of office and hopefully make his own contribution. I don't know where the office is, I went with my daughter for her check up a couple of summers ago.

I think that there is a sort of historical society that dictates what type of decor is appropriate and authorized in the White House. I think it's similar to the way the historical district of Savanna, GA operates. If you buy/live in a historical home, you have little say as to the way it actually looks.

It's pretty obvious that this was a photo shoot and didn't want any sort of paperwork on the desk - it has to look a certain way for the shoot ya know. Yes, everyone hates Bush but get over it. He's thankfully almost out of here. If all you can think of is the past 8 years when you look at that room, then I feel sorry for you.

The sofas in the Oval Office look like Barcaloungers. The room is WAY too beige and gold. And that radiating motif around the Great Seal on the rug makes me wonder whether the reference to the Sun King were intentional.

The pink bedroom is lovely. The green rug is WAY over the top.

I much preferred the colors during the West Wing administration...

Don't forget that virtually all the papers that a President deals with belong in locked cases when he's not working on them. There are industries in which having a messy desktop is not an option!

That doesn't explain why there isn't even a blotter and desk set, though. I'm assuming it was a styling decision, but it's not one I agree with.

You know that feeling you get when your car or home has been broken into ... I just got that feeling thinking about Bush in our Whitehouse ...

Hrmmm. Very texas-y with the color scheme and the dust ruffles on the couches.

I, too, liked the West Wing/Clinton oval office much better, with its stronger blues. And seriously?...dust ruffles on the couches? Welcoming to the world leaders to my grandmothers living room?

Neat link below.
http://prophecy.org/images/Bush%20-%20Oval%20Room.jpg

Where on earth does he keep the keg and pretzels?
And why on earth did he not choke the first time?

Looks like the house of some rich, old, out-of-touch fuddy-duddy. In other words, very appropriate.

Oy, those old-lady sofas with skirts in the Oval Office... where was W's macho persona when those things were picked out?

The U.S. has produced some of Modernism's superstars... why isn't any of their work represented in the White House? It shouldn't be an 18th-Century mausoleum. Wouldn't it be cool to have some pieces by Eames, Bertoia, Eva Ziesel, Noguchi, etc., mixed in with the antiques? The look now is so fussy and uptight. Maybe Obama or his wife will inject some soul into the place, and help flush away the bad memories of the last 8 years.

The White House is protected by the National Historical society and has to adhere to certain rules about furniture and art. You will not see a Picasso or a Dali in there, just as you won't see an Eames chair. It's intentional that way.

The look in the WH is a little stuffy, but look who lives there?! They are old enough to be grandparents so think of it in that sense. Don't think for a second that Trading Spaces is going to get thier hands on this house and update it. Even if Obama or Hillary move in, the look won't change that much. Honestly, I don't want it to either. There are more important things going on than bitching about a duvet.

Inauguration days are ALWAYS a flurry of activity---nothing from the outgoing administration needs to leave the White House until then, and officially nothing from the incoming administration is allowed to enter the mansion until then. The rooms need to be set up for a seamless transfer of power, and so the new administration does not need to worry about settling in. This is how it's been for generations, so please don't ahistorically berate one family or another; it's just how this is done. Long live the republic (and yes, let's see how the Obamas brighten the place!).

seriously, what did you morons think it was going to look like, a Room and Board catalog?? the house was built in like 1802..it's SUPPOSED to look old...it was the same way when the Clintons or Carters or any other liberal administration was in there as it when a conservative president moves in.

I think that the third room is beatifully elegant (portrait of Jackie and all).

it's history...supposed to invoke some pride.

I have always thought the best looking historical homes look better with clean lines next to the older decorative details such as molding, etc. Not that I would put a bunch of mid-century modern in there, but something less busy would be nice. It would also accentuate the decorative elements like the molding, etc. I also hate most curtains so those would be the first things to go in exchange for something more diaphanous or no curtains at all.

What is that hideous red room? A theatre? It looks like the secret White House Bordello. VILE. Ain't no historical society gonna make me live with head-to-toe red velvet. There is such a thing as human rights. They may as well write "Belle Watling was here" on the wall.

"Morons" is a bit harsh....now Fords office looked really cool actually. Neat couches and color scheme...seems it can look old and nice. (though i doubt anyone was saying it shouldn't look old)
http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/west-wing/oval-office-ford-replica.jpg

I've never been a fan of this early american style. However, I do find the third room to be much better than the others.

I particularly hate the valances they use on all the curtains...

It looks old because it's meant to look like an "old money" home -- all the furniture inherited from ancestors who came over with the Pilgrims or who at least made their money back during the Reconstruction. There's research -- I think it's in Home Psych -- about how it's the "new money" that went for modern trends. Weird but probably revealing of something...

Given that Obama owns an old house, I'm not sure I'd count on him for a sweeping modernization of the WH, any more than I'd expect him to take the inaugural oath in hipster-wear. The Presidency is more something that office-holders accessorize than fundamentally re-imagine.

Reminds me of this article http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30665

Dubya's chair looks like something from Office Depot...
...the sofas are the most dull things I've ever seen outside a Levitz...
...and what's with the big bush on the mantlepiece?

those side chairs are a dime a dozen on craigslist in my area

The red movie theater I believe was built by the Reagans and was used recently for The Super Bowl game. As for George W's uncluttered desk, I doubt if he used it, there are other rooms with desks in the Mansion he might have used. Looks like it was for show not for use. Most of the rooms shown are the public rooms and there is a committee that has to approve any changes made to them, they are in keeping with the historical nature of the house and I don't think there will ever be any modern touches made to them. The President and his family have their own quarters upstairs and they can decorate them any way they want. He can also redecorate the Oval Office to his own taste.