The White House is the most famous house in the world. It is the house that hosts the most important and influential man in the world for four or eight years, and of course his family.
For security and confidentiality reasons, only some areas of the House are open to the public. However, there are several photos that have come down to us over the years and which clearly show how the furnishings of private spaces change with the change of presidents. The choices in terms of furnishings made during the various presidencies allow not only the tastes of the presidential families, but also the evolution of “American” taste.
Of the whole White House, the room that arouses the greatest curiosity and the most private, that is the presidential bedroom (one of the first to occupy this room was Abraham Lincoln); in 1958, Mamie Eisenhower decided to decorate it with shades of pink and green. Four years later it was Jackie Kennedy, wife of the 35th US President John F. Kennedy, who customized her decoration.
During Kennedy’s presidency this was also used as a living room. In 1981, the Reagan family occupied the room, which was embellished with Chinese wallpaper with birds and flowers personally chosen by Nancy, one of the first ladies who changed the decor of the House the most during her husband’s presidency.
Each first lady has left a trace of their own taste in furniture. Because if it is true that the husband has become “the President”, he continues to be the spouse and the institutional seat will be the main residence for a certain period. The desire to live in a welcoming environment and not in a museum, albeit rich in tradition and history, is therefore understandable.
Although President Reagan’s wife flaunted dazzling designer clothes in social events and surrounded herself with celebrities, Nancy did everything she could to make the private spaces of the White House look like a classic California home. For this she relies on the Beverly Hills-based interior designer Ted Garber. You directly follow the redecoration of the rooms, bringing a bit of glamor back to the house with the most traditional facade in America.
The rooms were embellished with bouquets of fresh flowers and dozens of silver frames with photos of friends and family. Her goal was to always have personal items in sight that could make her family’s new home more welcoming.
Nonetheless, they indulge in some luxuries, such as spending $ 210,000 (deriving from private funds) for a white and red porcelain service from Lenox, a Chinese luxury company.
Scarlet red, the President’s wife’s favorite color, was not chosen only for the porcelain service. The chairs in West Sitting Hall, which serves as the President’s private living room, were embellished with red cushions embroidered with the hosts’ initials. The rooms on the second and third floors also did not escape the Nancy Reagan ‘tornado’, in particular the solarium, the Queens’ Bedroom and the Yellow Room.
The most evident changes are those made to the briefing room, a room dedicated to press conferences where the Reagans added the blue curtains and the seal of the White House, which we still find today.
Equally popular was Michelle Obama, who we could define as the First Lady next door. For the furnishing of the new house he relied on a top designer: Michael S. Smith.
Smith had previously worked with celebrities such as Dustin Hoffmann and Steven Spielberg, but for the Obamas he had to ‘revise’ his style and abandon the luxury and glitz. The White House wanted by Michelle is full of simplicity, brands accessible to most people, contemporary art and the famous vegetable garden that she strongly desired and cared for personally.
Now that the Obamas have been forced to move, the Trumps, led by Melanie, will occupy the presidential mansion. What style will they adopt
Considering the Trump Tower, the eccentric personalities of the Trump spouses, the answer would seem to be clear. Michelle’s vegetable garden There is a
rumor that it will become a golf course.
