Inside the Oval Office

Images of the newly revamped Oval Office, decorated by Michael S. Smith were recently released and the response was tepid, at best. As Penelope Green of the NY Times put it in her article, "The Audacity of Taupe," the general consensus was something like "a collective yawn: too brown, too dowdy, too ho hum." While I like some of the choices Obama made, I generally agree, although I can't say I am surprised at the overall beige-y-ness of the whole affair. I don't think I was alone in my curiosity to see how this administration would handle the tradition of redecorating the White House, considering the state of the economy. When you're out of a job and just barely getting by, the last thing you want to hear about is the President frivolously redecorating his office. For many people, an ostentatious redecorating scheme would have been a slap in the face. I thought, under the circumstances, Obama would make some fairly understated choices for his new office design, and I believe he did.

This is probably a good place for me to note that none of my opinions on Oval Office interiors are driven by the politicians occupying them. I am commenting strictly on design, not politics. I do not think taste runs along party lines. My agreement or disagreement with an administration's policies has no affect on my judgement of their choices in interior decor.

Back to business. It is pretty easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize the end result of design projects when we know very little, if nothing, of parameters: what had to be considered, who was involved, who had to be pleased, and, often most importantly, what the budget was. Having said that, let's get to some criticism!

The White House is allots $100,000 for redecorating but it is said that the Obamas opted not to use taxpayer funds or donations from the White House Historical Association, a private non-profit, reportedly choosing, instead, to foot the bill with their own money. Given the contentious election, the shaky economy and the mixed feelings about Obama and the job he's done since taking office, he's under quite a microscope, as are most world leaders. There seems to be a mass of criticism at his decision to redecorate in the first place, but every single president since Taft has redecorated to some extent. Each new administration typically selects new drapery, furniture, art (often  from the White House's collection) and commissions a new oval rug.

Taft's Oval Office, circo 1909

While it may seem wasteful to some, as an interior designer, I am a proponent of putting a lot of thought into making a space beautiful and functional, especially one in which countless hours will likely be spent. Obviously, the Oval Office is an extremely important room, as the President's office, but also as a venue for press conferences, meetings with White House staff, heads of state, dignitaries, and more. With so much use (and for so many different purposes), the Oval Office should be very comfortable and should reflect the taste and personality of the person spending between four and eight years working in it.

I've already mentioned that I'm generally not much for beige interiors, as I often feel they're a cop out, used so as to not offend anyone, resulting in fairly boring spaces. In the case of the Oval Office, some feel the neutral colors and understated furnishings allow the bones of the room and the historical elements shine. I tend to disagree. Nothing makes things shine like highlighting various elements with bright colors or layering textures and patterns.

Obama's walls are now enlivened with a striped wallpaper, which I think adds interest and warmth and contrasts well with the architectural elements (wainscoting, crown moulding, niches). While I love the shape of the new, slimmed-down sofas, and the texture of the velvet is fantastic, I find they get lost a bit in the solid mass of beige rug. George W. Bush had a killer rug. The white walls, however, left something to be desired.

Designed by Laura Bush, W's rug was fresh and bold with radiating stripes. I loved the seal, placed off-center, so it wasn't covered by a coffee table or boxed in. It was smaller than other Oval Office area rugs, allowing the exquisite white pine and walnut floor pattern to shine. A similar floor was originally installed by Reagan, but was replaced by George W. Bush in 2005. Prior to Reagan, the floor was linoleum! What in the world was linoleum doing on the floor of the Oval Office!?! I think the rug and floor patterns complement each other well.

The stunning wood floor

In keeping with tradition, Obama commissioned his own rug, placing the seal off-center as well, but on a solid background with a border of inspirational quotes. I prefer the furniture and accessories in the Obama Oval Office (the mica coffee table, the blue lamps, which play off his Presidential seal). They are at once fresher, bolder and warmer but the room still doesn't feel complete to me. I'm nonplussed by the drapes, which were a holdover from the Bush Oval Office. I appreciate a floral against a stripe, but in this case, the damask isn't a bold enough contrast.

The drapes in Bush's office (left) versus Obama's
I also think a crisper, more graphic valance silhouette would would play off the stripes better. Something similar to those seen in FDR's 1934 Oval Office:


Truman and Eisenhower had similar offices, and they certainly didn't shy away from color, did they? I love the grey-blue drapes and rug with the pink chairs, although the tone-on-tone presidential seal gets a little lost.

This image shows a recreation of the original 1956 office

Since JFK's tenure, most presidents have used the same desk, called the Resolute desk after the HMS Resolute, an Arctic discovery vessel from which the desk was created using salvaged timbers. Obama has kept this desk.


The pared down drapes and overall simplicity of Johnson's 1966 office give the room a slightly feminine feel.


There is nothing subtle – or feminine – about the Nixon oval office in the early 1970s. He really committed to yellow and blue. Ford kept much of the decor when he moved in.


Carter and Reagan also infused some femininity, what with all that peachiness in their offices in 1977 and 1982, respectively. I prefer the graphic quality of Reagan's sunburst rug over Carter's floral version.


George H.W. Bush's 1992 office is a good example of a revival interior taken too far. The drapes are way more ornate and floufy than the Neoclassical style adhered to. The white walls are so bland, but I do like the colors of the drapes and the rug.


Clinton's 1996 office evokes elements of Nixon's but those Scalamendre-candy-can sofas really push the limits paired with the marigold drapes, blue rug, shrimpy coffee table.

Do you have a favorite?