Oval Office Makeover (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

By MARK S. SMITH, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - When President Barack Obama addresses the nation on Iraq Tuesday night, his Oval Office setting will be sporting a new look -- and one that pays homage to a pair of Republican predecessors.

While the president and his family were away on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, workers installed new wallpaper, a new rug, new chairs, lamps and a coffee table. Officials gave photographers a look hours before the speech was to be delivered at 8 p.m. EST.

Check out the Oval Office before (as pictured in April):

And after:

WATCH as former President George W. Bush gives a tour of his Oval Office...and scroll down to keep reading:

The rug -- a honey-colored carpet with the presidential seal -- has a border that includes two noted speech excerpts.

One reads, "GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE," from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, words that were among the most famous ever spoken by a president.

The other is, "THE WELFARE OF EACH OF US IS DEPENDENT FUNDAMENTALLY ON THE WELFARE OF ALL OF US." It's from a speech that Theodore Roosevelt gave at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, N.Y., on Sept. 7, 1903.

Presidents typically put their own touches on the Oval Office early in their terms. President George W. Bush brought in a rug designed by his wife, Laura. It included radiating stripes, which he often said suggested to him the optimism of a sunrise.

In Obama's makeover, the embroidered wingback chairs that Bush and visiting leaders sat on in front of the fireplace have been replaced by more businesslike, leather-covered boardroom-style chairs. The flanking sofas are covered in an unadorned beige corduroy. End table lamps are modernistic, with blue bases and white shades.

There's also a new coffee table. Again, it's got an up-to-date look_ rectangular, and covered with marble-look tiles.

Many items, though, have not changed. They range from the painting of George Washington over the fireplace to the Resolute Desk, built from the timbers of a British warship. A gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes, the desk was installed in the Oval Office by John F. Kennedy, and since has been used by presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Comments

[SarahhJ]

01:25 PM on 09/18/2010

I think that walpaper is not compatible with carpets !

Sarah James
http://bit.ly/homedecorating

[Over50WhiteWoman]

01:37 PM on 09/07/2010

I think it looks elegant, understated, and traditional with the clean modern lines in the table serving a nice counterpoint. The stripes are a tad wide for my taste, but I love a striped wallpaper in a neutral tone. The corduroy covers on the sofas do seem a bit too casual for an office setting, especially this office. And they need to better balance that artwork, which has different sized frames on either side of the fireplace--a bit of a jarring note there. But overall, not bad. Wish they would replace the formal drapes with a more simple window treatment--stop hiding those gorgeous windows. This rug is just right--not so busy.

[LarryFike]

02:12 AM on 09/06/2010

I adore our President, but this is a little too much like the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland for my aesthetic sensibilities. Historical continuity is significant; but we voted for change!

[Joe Smith]

05:51 PM on 09/04/2010

A mistake has been made in the Oval Office makeover that goes beyond the beige. The rug does not have a quote from Dr. King.

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." According media reports, this quote keeping Obama company on his wheat-colored carpet is from King.

Except it's not a King quote. The words belong to a long-gone Bostonian champion of social progress. His roots in the republic ran so deep that his grandfather commanded the Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington.

My investigation into this error led me to David Remnick's biography of Obama, "The Bridge," published this year. Early in the narrative, Remnick, the editor of the New Yorker, presents this as "Barack Obama's favorite quotation." It appears that neither Remnick nor Obama has traced the language to its true source.

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090305100.html

Joe

[docbets]

05:39 AM on 09/04/2010

What are those big square patchy places to the right and left of the fireplace? In both photos.

[Joe Smith]

05:39 PM on 09/04/2010

Doors that are meant to blend into the oval part of the wall.

Joe

[docbets]

05:37 AM on 09/04/2010

I think people forget how much the immediate environment can influence mood, thinking and concentration. If it suits the president, that is the point.

[SonyaInTx]

08:06 PM on 09/03/2010

Taupe doesn't reflect my taste....but it's low key just like President Obama's temperment. That's fine.

As I viewed the photo, I just thought, "Well, at least it's not hot pink, fire engine red or lime green...." LOL...

[ThruSpaceAndTime]

07:49 PM on 09/03/2010

It's a nice office. As for style, it does not reflect my tastes, but to each their own style and comfort, is what I say concerning such matters. Critics abound as do things to criticize. The other thing about the style chosen is the house is the people's house and the people have varying taste. The president is the guest of the people. He is deemed worthy to live in the people's house. (By the way, that is one of the key aspects of the Obama presidency that really ticks bigots off). He can only live there a maximum of eight years. He should not personalize the scene too much. On a related note, I saw the interview on CSPAN (from 08/12/10) where Obama showed the office and he made me smile as the little kid in him was evident when he said (concerning the White House) "It is bigger than our place in Chicago."
http://www.youtube.com/user/CSPAN

Perhaps we should do more than ponder or consider the style of legislation coming out of Congress. Surely a makeover is in order.

Lastly, the picture with cameras and the president holding court brings it home to beat back all supposition...and in this way, America has indeed changed. I still feel that joy, even in this centrist fog. I still feel the inspiration and the unity of a decent man carried to power by decent people. Now what to do about that fog?

[PoliSci2008]

07:10 PM on 09/03/2010

Next thing to do is to get those d@mned stripes off the wall. That would drive me insane working within those walls. No wonder Obama went with a subdued decor, warm & muted colors...to tone-down all those yellow stripes from the previous rug and existing walls.

[PoliSci2008]

07:15 PM on 09/03/2010

Oops! HP did a fast one on me. The picture that came up on my screen was the striped wall. I didn't realized Obama added the stripes! Eeeeek Gosh! I couldn't functioned within those wall, but I still do like the warm tones of the decor.

[SonyaInTx]

08:08 PM on 09/03/2010

Taupe doesn't reflect my taste....but it's low key just like President Obama's temperment. That's fine.

As I viewed the photo, I just thought, "Well, at least it's not hot pink, fire engine red or lime green...." LOL...

[DeloresT]

05:14 PM on 09/03/2010

I hope they add a bit of true red to the furnishings. I read somewhere that every room in a house should have a touch of red in it....for love and luck.

[notalwaysfittoprint]

03:02 PM on 09/03/2010

Actually, the newly designed room reflects the White House mood: Play it safe, don't rock the boat. Evidenced in the decor and in politics where people expected change but get more of the same...

[tyrant510]

06:07 AM on 09/03/2010

Beige, beige, and more beige. How utterly fascinating.

[sfnative59]

03:19 AM on 09/03/2010

Over all I think the room looks good, especially the new carpet. Not liking the coffee table, seems out of place, and the sofas have a rather JCPenney look about them. The wallpaper gives structure to the room and brings out the architectural details. Except for the items I've already mentioned, everything else was already there when Obama took office. If anyone is interested in seeing how the Oval Office has looked since it was first build in 1909, visit whitehousemuseum.org, which has some great photos of past decor, and then you'll see Obama hasn't really done all that bad of a job, or I should say his decorator, Michael S. Smith.

[Balzac]

09:07 PM on 09/02/2010

They should get rid of those sofas. They're too casual. You don't want to put people at ease too much. People are already getting too friendly with President Obama, not observing formalities well enough. They tried to pants Bill Clinton after they got too familiar with him.

[rory talbot]

06:51 PM on 09/02/2010

Interesting choices. I assumed Obama would have put pictures of Reagan up. That's how he governs. Pro-Wall Street.