The Oval Office became the central place of every American president
since the beginning of the 20th century. It’s a tradition for every
incoming president to change the décor in the Oval Office, from the
upholstery to the wallpapers. The process is meant to reflect a
president’s individual personality and intentions in office, as well as
putting their own stamp on the world’s most illustrious room.
It
also reflects how the president sees and represents their own country
and how they display the sovereignty of the US to the dignitaries of
other countries, as the room is used to meet them and share important
messages with the citizens. The Oval Office isn’t just for show. Just
like any other office, the presidents also use it for day-to-day work
and meetings with the staff.
American Home Shield decided to look back at the Oval
Office’s evolution from 1909 to 2021. In 1909, during the West Wing
expansion, William Howard Taft decided to move his office from the
Roosevelt Room into what’s now arguably the most iconic seat of power in
the world.
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William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
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Taft
made the decision to move the executive office from the Roosevelt Room
to the room of the president’s secretary (now known as the Chief of
Staff) during his expansion of the West Wing. The office had previously
been rounded at just one end, but Taft had it remodeled to a more
democratic oval shape.
Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
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Following
a period of reinvention in the West Wing, Taft’s immediate successors
made only minor changes to the new Oval Office. President Wilson
preferred to work in the Treaty Room (which would later become Obama’s
“man-cave”), missing out on Oval Office features such as silk velvet
curtains and mahagua wood floor.
Warren Harding (1921-1923)
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Harding
died two years into his administration. A poignant photo of the Oval
Office in August 1923 shows Harding’s leather desk chair and famous
blotter adorned with mourning crepes.
Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
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Coolidge’s
Oval Office still reflects the work that designer Nathan C. Wyeth did
for William Taft. A marble mantel in the neoclassical style adds gravity
and authority to the scene, while the fixtures are by celebrated
lighting and metalwork company E. F. Caldwell & Co.
Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
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Wyeth
and Taft’s Oval Office was ruined by the White House fire of Christmas
Eve, 1929. Sitting President Hoover repaired and expanded the office in a
colonial style, with butternut wood-paneled walls.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
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Despite
Hoover’s renovations, Roosevelt soon relocated the Oval Office to the
southeast corner of the West Wing, where there was better natural light.
He also expanded it by two feet. However, he kept Hoover’s 17-piece
suite, with which the Grand Rapids Furniture Manufacturers Association
had refurnished the old Oval Office. It included a desk, “davenport,
club chair, two large and one smaller wing chairs, two tables, swivel
desk chair, two armchairs, two bookcases, a small table and three
smoking stands of two sizes.”
Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
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Truman
was the first to have a rug with the Seal of the President. It was a
continuous blue-green color, with the crest implied by cutting the pile
to different lengths. The rug would not be replaced until the day that
JFK was assassinated. (This was a coincidence; Jacqueline Kennedy
planned for the office to be redecorated while they were away in Texas.)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
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Eisenhower
is one of just two presidents not to have made significant changes to
the décor of the Oval Office. However, he reportedly destroyed the floor
with his golf spikes, which he neglected to take off when returning
from the putting green he established on the back lawn.
John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
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First
Lady Jacqueline Kennedy invited French interior designer Stéphane
Boudin to renovate and restore the White House. Boudin introduced a new
red rug, white sofas, and pale curtains, but the Kennedys never got to
see the finished job. Prior to the renovation, John Kennedy had
personalized the space with items including a paperweight made from a
coconut shell that saved his life in World War II.
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
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Johnson
covered up Eisenhower’s spike-prints with wood-grain linoleum. He also
brought the Oval Office into the media age, installing a teletype
cabinet and banquette with three television sets. Johnson even had his
own TV remote complete with LBJ monogram—so there was no fighting over
who controlled the channels!
Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
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Nixon
chose a bold combination of blue and gold for his Oval Office—perhaps
anticipating that guests would include Elvis Presley. Nixon also brought
the Wilson desk (currently used by President Biden) into the office,
wrongly believing it to have belonged to his idol, Woodrow Wilson.
Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
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Ford
dialed down Nixon’s gold and royal blue to a bright but mellow color
scheme of yellow, baby blue, and terracotta. It is Ford who installed
the Seymour tall case clock that remains in the Oval Office today. This
mahogany timepiece was built around 1800 and is considered a “treasure”
of the White House.
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
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Carter
kept Ford’s décor, but added some personal effects. He also brought
back the famous Resolute desk first used by JFK and favored by every
president since Carter, with the exception of the Bushes.
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
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The
40th President of the United States waited for his second term before
redecorating. Of note is the new rug with sunbeam design atop a new
floor in walnut and quartered white oak. Reagan also had a 2” base added
to the Resolute desk to fit to stop him banging his knees on the
drawers.
George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)
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The
first President Bush modernized the Oval Office with a steel blue and
cream color scheme. He also displayed numerous family photographs. Bush
Senior is the only president to have used the C&O desk in his Oval
Office—he had grown fond of using it while serving as Reagan’s
vice-president.
Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
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Kaki
Hockersmith decorated Bill Clinton’s office in a scheme that can’t help
but recall the Nixon era. Hockersmith’s eye-catching blue seal rug has
recently been brought back into the Oval Office for the Biden
administration.
George W. Bush (2001-2009)
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Bush
Junior echoed Ronald Reagan with his choice of a sunbeam-themed rug,
which designer Ken Blasingame paired with antique gold drapes. The rug
itself was designed by First Lady Laura Bush, and was intended to evoke
the optimism of sunrise.
Barack Obama (2009-2017)
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President
Obama was the first to choose patterned walls, opting for golden tan
and light-beige striped wallpaper. The room’s cool fawn-colored velvet
sofas and neutral tones reflected the fact that Obama genuinely used the
office to sit down and work. “Someone said that Bush’s looked like the
kind of room you’d have tea in, and that it was very genteel, but that
Obama’s looked like a place you’d have a quick espresso and get down to
work,” according to Obama’s designer, Michael S. Smith.
Donald Trump (2017-2021)
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Trump’s
choice of drapes turned out to be somewhat ironic. The gold curtains he
found in storage were originally chosen by First Lady Hillary Clinton
for husband Bill’s Oval Office. Trump also replaced Obama’s wallpaper,
opting for a motif of sea scrolls, leaves, and floral medallions,
intended to evoke the building’s sense of history.
Joe Biden (2021-)
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President
Biden opted to keep the Clinton drapes in the windows and has brought
back Clinton’s navy rug, too. New additions include a
3.9-billion-year-old moon rock.
The décor of the Oval Office is a
statement of personal taste and of intent. It’s also a chance for the
president’s interior designer to make a statement and do something
historic.
The White House is a home to be proud of. And like all
homeowners, it feels good to take pride in where we live and work, now
more than ever. A home warranty can provide the confidence and budget
protection you need when a home issue arises, so you can get back to the
things you love—like deciding which rug looks best in your home office.