Drapery in the Oval Office
Posted by Neil Gordon on Fri, Sep 03, 2010 @ 01:11 PM
The draperies in the Oval Office in the White House have seen changes over the many years. I have gathered a collection of some of our past president's famous work area.
It's customary for occupants of the White House to put their own touches on the Oval Office during their terms. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's office, seen here on Nov. 30, 1934. You can see decorative valances with the custom Eagle design.
The desk Resolute, seen here in John F. Kennedy's office on Feb. 5, 1961, was a gift from Queen Victoria to Rutherford B. Hayes. It was built from pieces of a salvaged Arctic discovery vessel. (With the exception of the terms of Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Ford, it has been the desk used in the Oval Office, including by President Obama.) The valance design has changed to a Queen Ann style valance.
The Oval Office during the Johnson administration. Very skimpy panels on a decorative wood pole. If they would have asked my advise, I would have made the panels twice as full.
The comedian Bob Hope visited Richard Nixon in the Oval Office, which Mrs. Nixon had decorated with a blue rug adorned with rings of gold stars, on Nov. 21, 1973. The desk was the same one he had used as vice president. I like the curved valance that follows the oval contour of the office. You can see below that the Ford Administration made no changes to the drapery.
During the Carter Administration, the draperies were changes to Kingston Valances with sheers and side panels. The Kingston seems to shallow.
Regan kept the same treatment but changed the fabrics and colors. I remember that Nancy Regan liked red. It does look good.
George H.W. Bush's redecoration of the room, seen here on Jan. 22, 1990, included a new rug with a gold presidential seal, new drapes, a coffee table and two tall armchairs. It seems that the official top treatment of the Oval Office is the Kingston Valance shown in the first Bush's Oval Office and in Clinton's Administration shown below.
President Clinton's loud Oval Office, seen here on Sept. 3, 1993, had a navy blue rug and gold drapes.
In George Bush's Oval Office a very sloppy Kingston. Probably due to the selection of the fabric.
President Obama's Oval Office, seen here on Aug. 31, 2010, was revamped by Michael Smith, a California decorator. It features two fawn-colored cotton velvet sofas; a new rug ringed with inspirational quotations from Martin Luther King Jr., President Kennedy and others; two elegant midnight-blue lamps; and an extremely contemporary mica coffee table.
No matter your political opinion, the Obama Oval Office is by far the best of all I have seen. Check out the photo below for more.
