The former George W. Bush rug with presidential seal.
This one took some time to evolve. The Obamas turned down the $100,000 budget given to every new president for additional decorating. However there was money leftover from the Inauguration. Nancy Reagan with & Hillary Clinton both moved fast to get their husband's imprimatur on the Oval as quickly as possible. Michelle Obama had more of a quandary as the economy had hit the skids and any efforts to redecorate would have garnered unwanted attention. The first lady worked with the White House Historical Association and her designer Michael Smith, while the Michigan sewn rug (The Scott Group) was donated. Those folks know their rug as they also did the Clinton royal blue Oval Office rug. I am very much hoping the drapes get some badly needed attention as they are now 10 years old.The fact that nineteen months in and the Bushes needed their rug back for their upcoming library opening changed the circumstances to a need rather than a want. The President would have been staring at some gorgeous unadorned hardwood quarter sawn oak floors if they had not had the decorating done while the family had their ten day vacation. It is customary to borrow the predecessors rug until theirs is ready - and it takes time.
The rug however; has politically meaningful American quotes rather than the usual stars. Laura Bush redid the Cabinet room during her husband's second term and the bold russet red carpet has gold stars now. Two toned vertical stripes of tan & beige wallpaper accentuate the height of the 29 foot room with what looks to be a border of oxblood the presidential seal embedded on the ceiling. The chocolate leather parson chairs have not been a solid color in ages.
Upcoming interior upgrades are happening for the Yellow Oval Room on the second floor of the residence and the large Center Hall and West Sitting Hall.
or used in the State Dining Room's or the East Room's table decor. Either room may be used and the East Room would hold more elegant diners, but makes the after dinner entertainment space a new challenge. If Michelle Obama is a last minute dress chooser - oh dear. (Photo of Obamas going up the Grand Staircase back to the residence after greeting Ambassadors to the US.)
col experts on name pronunciation, food requirements, allergies and taboos, complete with full black tie etiquette. A briefing book has already been compiled and the secret invite right now is for the under two dozen friends and staff that get to attend a tasting menu featuring choices for the meals. Her residence staff is theming floral pieces for all of the bathrooms and a host of contract workers need to be ready to produce the pièce de résistance of an elaborate multi-course meal for at most 140 people. It will be the hardest ticket to obtain in Washington DC since the inaugural. All those people who have spent time sucking up to the first lady's friend and Social Secretary while writing puff pieces about her are about to find out if the investment was worth it.
The newly re-elected fourteenth Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Manmohan Singh and his lovely wife, Gursharan Kaur will receive the full ceremonial honors of arriving at the South Lawn. After a troop review and opening remarks, the couples will go through the Diplomatic Reception Room and usually share some time together before the spouses go one direction and the heads of state another. After a luncheon, the next arrival will be on the North side of the White House in view of the world's press as they are formally greeted by the president and first lady in formal attire on the red carpet. They will go upstairs and have a moment to share in the Yellow Oval Room in the private residence. Just before dinner, Ruffles and Flourishes will announce the president and first lady as they descend the Grand Staircase with their honored guests to stand and welcome each invited guest in the Entrance hall as the President's Own plays and photographers film. There are vast differences in height so the images will need some thinking through by the professionals. (Gursharan Kaur with Michelle Obama from April in London during the Obamas first meeting of the G20.)
f my favorite stories from last year was candidate Obama went to the Middle East, including Jordan and to the Aqaba palace. As a candidate he did not have formal privileges to get a ride from the State Department. King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein drove him to the airport in his own personal car. They broke the speed limit and both president and the King are Trekkies. As seen in the top image now their powerful spouses are getting a chance to know each other as well. From Former First Lady Nancy Reagan came to the White House for Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall's visit for the formal dinner. Nancy Reagan and the president both attended Lady Diana's 1981 royal wedding deluxe to Prince Charles. She hosted the very famous dinner for their visit that had a svelte Princess Diana twirling across the floor with John Travolta in the Grand Foyer which works marvelously well as a dance area.
The West Wing side of the Obama Administration shows savvy at the White House website with a blog, policy briefs, and a YouTube channel. Nothing like it exists readily for the Obama East Wing. Yes, there are a couple of photo albums for the first lady, Michelle Obama, but no blog, no fulsome history of each of the State Rooms, the extensive White House American Art collections, no White House Residence senior staff profiles, no details of events hosted by the first lady that resonate - the music series, the output of the $200 investment of the Kitchen Garden or the choices of China, silverware or floral arrangements used at events. Those things must wait for chronicling by a haphazard news media that misses points for posterity. These details are important and will be part of the record of Michelle Obama's tenure as first lady, especially as the first African American. (Photo courtesy the White House of Michelle Obama meeting the retired Chief Florist Nancy Clarke's new granddaughter at a staff party in the mansion.)
Michelle Obama oft repeats that she wants to bring the White House to people who have never seen it and offering up a robust web presence would do that for millions in this nation and millions if not billions more outside of it. Nothing has captured the imagination of global interest like her garden and the implications for nutritional value of home grown local food. Prince Charles waxed ecstatic about the Kitchen Garden and members of Congress along with other guests plus the family eat the fruits of the labor of the kids at Bancroft Elementary, Mrs. Obama, the White House chefs and the landscape crew. It would be great to talk about the garden in terms of healthy eating right at the site - rather than through the occasional news article prompted by a photo op. 
environs and the furniture of history that many in the public are acutely interested in for the first time. It is an opportunity so many want and few have have to make such a lasting impact on learning about the White House and its internationally famous first family. The archives of what Laura Bush did is an excellent example from where to start and innovate. We need more information, history lessons and access on the White House website - Please, Please, PLEASE with a vermeil candelabra on top. (Michelle Obama in her East Wing office with her new Chief of Staff, Susan Sher.)
& Rosalynn Carter sent out over 60,000 cards and the numbers have only increased since the 1970's.The Obamas choice is a closely guarded secret. For Laura Bush's last year she chose a Red, White & Blue holiday theme. Sometimes events inspire the cards, as the tragic circumstances of 9/11 had Laura Bush select a scene for her first card featuring a Psalm and the hall from the residence in the White House. Laura Bush's choice of a deeply Christian message in the 2007 card caused some controversy. (2001 Christmas Card from the George & Laura Bush)
ry young children needed high chairs. It drove her nuts that the family had to pack up like on a vacation to go down two or three levels to the state floor through the State Dining Room to get settled in the formal Old Family Dining Room to eat a regular meal. A bedroom that mirrored hers, now the presidential master suite, right across the wide hall from hers was turned into a private dining room, The President's Dining Room, complete with antique wall paper. The fact that the wall paper is papered over currently with gold damask puts some historians into catatonic shock. Pat Nixon covered it up too, Rosalyn Carter took it down, Barbara Bush covered it up and there it remains lost to look at while swallowing the morning oatmeal, even with its fearsome battle scenes. (Nancy Reagan & Michelle Obama in the Private Family Dining Room on the 2nd floor, The President's Dining Room of the residence. Note the bland gold damask wall paper. Photo courtesy Samantha Appleton)
ight Solarium is where Chelsea celebrated a birthday with friends from school and Ronald Reagan recovered from an assassination attempt. It is also very homey with no signs of the antiques found through the rest of the presidential home. There is also a private dining room for the president off of the oval office. Just downstairs from the Oval in the West Wing complex is the White House Mess where certain invited guests can purchase a hamburger or a steak or see the WH staff eating on the run. The Mess also has a private dining facility for meetings. (On the left is the president's private dining room off the Oval Office where he has private teas or lunch meetings.)
When presidents go to the Vatican, they see the Corps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard of the world's smallest yet sophisticated army that protects the pontiff. Brightly colored uniforms lull tourists, but each is trained as a world class member of the military. There is a beautifully appointed room in the papal apartments set aside for meeting dignitaries. The array of cultural history over a millenia makes an impression because it is everywhere the eye touches from the gardens to the statuary to walls and famous ceilings. Visiting Vatican City is a state visit as the Vatican City is a sovereign state. Pope Benedict XVI receives President Barack Obama & Mrs. Obama as a head f state and the Universal Church. (Just over the president's shoulder and behind Obama's Lead Security, J. Clancy, is the Swiss Guard. Photo courtesy AP) UPDATE: Pete Souza, official photgraoher at the White House took this extraordinary picture of the Obamas being escorted by the Swiss Guard below. Note how tall they are.)
