White House 2009

Designers Expect New Look for New Era

Last updated Friday, November 21, 2008 7:43 PM CST in Your Home

By Lisa Tolin
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Change is nothing new for the White House, which is redecorated every four to eight years.

"What they used to do a lot, when a new family would move in, sometimes they'd even auction off the old furniture," says Maria Downs of the White House Historical Association.

The most famous sprucing up was Jacqueline Kennedy's, who livened up the mansion and gave a televised tour of the new look. But not all redesigns have been as warmly embraced. Nancy Reagan's $200,000 china set didn't sit well with Americans, even if it was paid for privately.

President-elect Barack Obama has already joked about one change he'd like to make: After his disastrous attempt at bowling on the campaign trail, he quipped that he'd like to replace the bowling alley with a basketball court. There is already a half court on the grounds, but it's not out of the question to build a full size court.

Other presidents have made way for their sports of choice. President Franklin Roosevelt built an indoor swimming pool -- later covered over by President Richard Nixon to create the press room. Ford, an avid swimmer, used private money to build an outdoor pool.

The first President Bush created a horseshoe pitch, and President Bill Clinton designed a running track, which was just recently removed.

Those facilities, plus a movie theater and gym, leave plenty for Malia and Sasha to do, says Downs, who was President Gerald Ford's social secretary. The girls got a tour of their new bedrooms last week from Barbara and Jenna Bush.

Michelle Obama told "60 Minutes" that she could picture the girls there during her recent tour with Laura Bush.

"I couldn't help but envisioning the girls running into their rooms and, you know, running down the hall and with a dog," she says. "And our hope is that the White House will feel open and fun and full of life and energy."

If Obama's Senate office is any indication, the president-elect's style is tidy and sleek. There is a "wall of heroes" containing historic photos of Abe Lincoln, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, and another wall with a more personal collection of photos taken by his former assistant, David Katz.

That's a departure from what Drucker calls the "ancestor portraits, bonnets and satin" that are everywhere in the executive mansion.

"Every administration redecorates the White House back to the fringe-choked past," he says. "It's as if modern art had never been invented. It's as if photography had never been invented."

Drucker hopes the Obamas embrace the future in their design, especially in the symbolic Lincoln Bedroom.

"The Lincoln Memorial is the most moving, inspiring building in the world to me because it captures the spirit of Abraham Lincoln," he says. "And then you go into the Lincoln Bedroom and it looks like Miss Kitty's Saloon."

Instead of heavy draperies and gilded mirrors, Drucker suggested a more modern tribute to Lincoln's spirit, like a quote of Lincoln's painted by a modern artist.

The room was recently refurbished by the Bushes, who replaced historically inappropriate furnishings with items more closely associated with Lincoln's era.

The Bushes have also overseen ecofriendly changes, including using compact fluorescent lights, energy-efficient cooling units, solar heating and low-flow faucets and toilets. The outside of the White House is illuminated by energy-efficient lighting.

"The update is quite an improvement from the gas lights that President Lincoln used when he lived in the White House," Laura Bush says.

Congress provides $100,000 every four years to redecorate White House rooms used for the first family's private residence. Supplemental funds may be provided by the White House Endowment, a financial arm of the White House Historical Association, by private funds from donors, or by the first family themselves.

The Obamas can also choose from among nearly 500 paintings, sculptures and drawings in the White House collection, Downs says. And there are plenty more modern works, including a painting by Henry Tanner, the first black painter in the White House collection, and an oil by Georgia O'Keeffe, the first woman.

The Obamas could also embrace the digital age, as Barack Obama did to great effect in his campaign.

"I see the library as more of an Internet cafe-lounge with state-of-the-art computer, television and surround-sound capabilities," says Lisa LaPorta of "Designed to Sell" on HGTV, who suggested the room as a place for presidential online chats.

Still, keeping change to a minimum and maintaining much of the current look of the White House wouldn't just respect history -- it would respect the environment.

"Although change is vital to growth, care must be taken to repurpose and reuse as many items as possible," says designer Mark Woodman of the Color Marketing Group, who suggested reupholstering the East Room in a gold-and-aqua scheme.

Based purely on the Obamas' fashion sense, designers are optimistic. When Drucker thinks of the president-elect, he sees a suit with an open collar. He'd like to see that reflected in the White House.

"Somebody needs to open the collar of the White House," Drucker says. "It's always been a suit, some might even say a powdered wig. Somebody needs to open the collar up."

Design Decided

By The Associated Press

The Associated Press asked several interior designers to suggest Obama-style changes for the White House. Some of what they had to say about their designs via e-mail:

THE OVAL OFFICE

Vern Yip

Designer and host of HGTV's "Deserving Design"

I wanted to design an eclectic space that combined White House treasures with modernist Brno flat chairs designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1930, with off-the-shelf, clean-lined, chocolate-velvet Lombard sofas from Crate and Barrel. These store-bought sofas have an ecofriendly construction consisting of a certified, sustainable hardwood frame and seat cushions filled with soy-based filler.

THE LINCOLN BEDROOM

Kim Myles

Designer and host of HGTV's "Myles of Style"

Talk about gilding the lily! The current Lincoln Bedroom hides its most famous feature -- the bed -- behind layers of fussy fabric, busy prints and stodgy color. I've chosen to bring the room back to basics and combined classic and contemporary elements.

THE QUEEN'S BEDROOM

Celerie Kemble

Author of "Celerie Kemble: To Your Taste"

Given that we seem to be in for a long economic slowdown, and many families are struggling, the president cannot seem to be extravagant or ostentatious. ... Luckily, Barack Obama's natural style fits the times perfectly. His suits are sharp but never flashy, and the same should go for his home.

THE GREEN ROOM

Taniya Nayak

Designer of HGTV's "Designed to Sell"

The stone, fabrics and flooring are all made from green products. Sustainable living is a way of life now, and what better place to implement that than in the Green Room of the White House.

THE RED ROOM

Frank Fontana

Designer and star of HGTV's "Design on a Dime"

My concept for this design is something I like to call "Colonial Funk." It comes from the fusion of vintage colonial architecture and hip modern day decor. A similar parallel to the Obamas themselves, as they must fuse their youthful and vibrant energy into a vintage and historic home.

THE LIBRARY

Lisa LaPorta

Designer and star of HGTV's "Designed to Sell"

I see the library as more of an Internet cafe-lounge with state-of-the-art computer, television and surround-sound capabilities as well as a place for books. ... I would like to take down whatever art hangs above the fireplace and replace it with a flat screen television-computer monitor.

THE ROSE GARDEN

John Gidding

Designer on HGTV's "Designed to Sell"

I'm introducing some gradation of slopes into the lawn and putting (in) some informal walking paths. I see the Obamas as a very American, nonformal-style family, happy to walk around their new home and welcoming people to walk there with them, somewhat mitigating the current formal nature of the Rose Garden.

Reader Comments (No comments posted.)

The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.