# Oval Office gets a makeover **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 31, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157 "2010-08-31T17:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/1 "2010-08-31T17:06:40Z")
Here’s how it looked under Dubya and until recently: [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/\_p2bw3CgJ08k/SX09tOxOtdI/AAAAAAAAChM/pFKfxq3z1YM/s400/oval+office.jpg](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p2bw3CgJ08k/SX09tOxOtdI/AAAAAAAAChM/pFKfxq3z1YM/s400/oval+office.jpg) And here’s the makeover: [http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/31/the-oval-office-gets-a-makeover/](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/31/the-oval-office-gets-a-makeover/) I can’t say I’m crazy about the new look. The stripes make it look a little like an ice cream parlor, and the couches and table are just too modern in that setting for my taste. Having quotations woven into the border of the rug seems weird. I don’t like the presidential seal on the rug where people will step on it, although I know that’s been done for many years, dating back to Truman, IIRC. So that’s my nitpicking. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/2 "2010-08-31T17:13:59Z")
The stripes on the walls are iffy and the table in the middle does seem to stand out from the rest of the wooden furniture, but that looks like a really warm and comfortable living room. Whether or not that’s how the Oval Office should be perceived is left to the individual, I suppose, but I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/3 "2010-08-31T17:16:16Z")
Not sure I’m a fan of either. I liked the blue carpet that Clinton had in there. The Dubya office was just too creamy. It looked like a ladies powder room or something. Now it looks more like an office again, at least, but I think the Oval Office should have a more powerful red, white and blue theme. This one does look comfortable. Is that the same desk? ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/4 "2010-08-31T17:18:22Z")
I always liked how it was decorated for the Bartlett administration… [Pics](http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/special/wwtv.htm) ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/5 "2010-08-31T17:35:47Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Is that the same desk? [/QUOTE] (From the “after” pic page) \*But history did not go out the door in this redesign. The president held onto the historic Resolute desk, paintings, and other art work he added when he came into office. \* [Info on the desk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolute_desk) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/6 "2010-08-31T17:47:05Z")
I’ve just put together a gallery on Flickr that shows Oval Office Decor since the days of Kennedy. They are mostly pictures of replicas in presidential museums: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/galleries/72157624849561182](http://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/galleries/72157624849561182) I’d have added a couple of my own, except that you can’t add your own pictures to Flickr galleries. They are of the replica of Ford’s Oval Office in Grand Rapids, Michigan: [picture 1](http://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/2661082275/) and [picture 2](http://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/2661908268/). ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/7 "2010-08-31T18:15:34Z")
I don’t like the new couches – they look too stuffed to sit on in dignified way. Fine for watching a movie, but not for having a security briefing. I do like the carpet better, though. I don’t care for the stripey walls either. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/8 "2010-08-31T18:17:15Z")
It looks more comfortable and more masculine than it did under Bush. I’m not a fan of the coffee table as a style choice, but it appears more usable than the Bush table - which doesn’t even seem to be able to support a cup of coffee. Its a much more “usable” and “comfortable” room. However, I think the Bush Oval Office was a more attractive room. I love the Bush carpet, but I wouldn’t want my kids, dog, or cabinet secretary walking on it. The Obama carpet is kind of blah, but I wouldn’t feel at all bad if the Secretary of Defense had an accident on it (well, unless he hit the Presidential Seal, that would be disrepectful) ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/9 "2010-08-31T18:38:24Z")
That furniture would look good for a family room, but it seems too comfy for the gravitas of the Oval Office. It’s a couch you would sit _in_, as opposed to one you would sit _on_. The leather chairs are OK but the couches are wrong for the room. The rug has too much of an expanse of tan; there’s not enough character. It needs a pattern of some sort. The wallpaper is OK, I’d probably not notice it after a couple days. I kind of like the coffee table. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/10 "2010-08-31T18:53:46Z")
I like it. I like the absence of patterns on the upholsteries. It’s more calm than all that spindly, fussy furniture that was there before. The stripes look better on the walls than on every single seating surface. It all looks uncluttered but not cold. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/11 "2010-08-31T19:30:10Z")
I actually love it. I think it looks inviting and comfortable, yet functional as an office and meeting space. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/12 "2010-08-31T19:37:52Z")
I think it looks like an office for a person who wants subordinates to feel comfortable and at ease. Gravitas be damned, it’s a working office, not a showplace to demonstrate how big a dick the boss swings. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/13 "2010-08-31T19:44:05Z")
I’d have trouble staying awake if I had to work in there all day. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/14 "2010-08-31T20:08:09Z")
I like it. The earth tones make it seem a little calmer and warmer. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/15 "2010-08-31T20:18:27Z")
I prefer the new look. The darker colors look better. Agree Bush’s over-use of white makes it look like a the interior of a masoleum (granted the camera angles a little crazy on the picture provided, maybe it looks better from a different perspective. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/16 "2010-08-31T20:34:52Z")
I like everything except the stripey wallpaper, but I like dead plain walls so I can showcase art with no distractions. I think I prefer the much plainer carpeting, and I really like the new coffee table. It looks like a room designed to get down and work in, not hold little tea parties like the Bush one. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/17 "2010-08-31T20:38:56Z")
I like it. Much more comfortable than it usually is. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/18 "2010-08-31T20:47:32Z")
Nice. Nothing to get excited about. Nothing to dread. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/19 "2010-08-31T21:53:53Z")
Could use a bean-bag chair and a pinball machine in the corner. ETA: Aw crap, what do you mean the room has no corners ?! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157/20 "2010-08-31T22:41:24Z")
Looks too like something a secret muslim would use for an office. I’m just saying. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oval-office-gets-a-makeover/552157.md?page=2)