Decorating the Real Oval Office

Filed under: Famous Homes, Design, etc, News & Trends

President Barack Obama doesn't actually work in the Oval Office. So what does his real office look like? We've done some redecorating.

Ask anyone where the president holds court in the White House, and they'll tell you: The Oval Office. But take a look at his newly renovated Oval Office, and you'll notice something a little strange: There's no computer. There are no stacks of papers or top secret briefings piled on his desk. And where is the television? Shouldn't the most powerful man in the free world be able to watch CNN while working?

As it turns out, President Barack Obama doesn't actually do much work in the Oval Office.


According to Slate.com, the Oval Office is used mostly for ceremonial purposes. The president will conduct briefings and hold staff meetings in the iconic space, but when it comes to day-to-day tasks, the article says, Obama spends most of his time elsewhere.

Instead, you'll find him in the Treaty Room, located on the second floor of the White House, which has been used as an office by several presidents. But mostly, you'll find him working in the President's Study, a tiny room (shown above and below) located just a few steps from the Oval Office. (It looks like he was in the process of selecting some art for the walls in the photo above.)


Take a quick glance at the study, and it's easy to see that this modest room could use a bit of a makeover. (The study comes standard with a desk, although many recent presidents -- most likely including President Obama -- haven't used computers regularly due to the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which requires presidents to save all of their correspondence and make it available to the public.)

We know, we know -- the president has enough on his plate without having to worry any more about his office's interior design, but, lucky for him, we're well-versed in the art of stepping up the look of your home.

And we did a little redecorating.


Here's what we'd do if that was our office:

To complement the new-and-improved Oval Office, we'd decorate the president's study in neutral hues with a pop of rich blue in the seating. (We love that Nate Berkus Studio Sofa, and it's on sale for $429.90!)

We'd also mix modern, clean lines with more traditional pieces, like the buttery leather chair. And last, we picked an oversized wall mirror -- the perfect accent piece to make a small room feel larger. You can get a sense of just how small the room is when you look at the diagram (shown below) of The White House.

Finally, we can't redecorate the president's real office without doing something about those hideous curtains! Please, please, replace them with anything, even something basic (silk Pottery Barn window coverings?) would be better.

Do you have a better idea for how to decorate his office? Let us know on our Facebook page!
Looking for more news about presidential decorating? AOL News has all the info on the oval office rug that gets Martin Luther King's quote wrong.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments