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We resisted the temptation to head straight for the White House web site and instead did a search on "decorating the white house." The results weren't overwhelmingly useful, however we did find a link to an interesting page on the President's 1998 holiday decorations. Judging by the 1998 Winter Wonderland pages, it seems that the decoration of the White House, especially during the holidays, is a group effort. According to the site, Hillary Rodham Clinton "announced" the theme, but many other people and groups were involved in the actual preparations, including "the governors' spouses in each of the fifty states," the Knitting Guild of America, and the Society of
Decorative Painters. As for decorating the Presidential residence on a more regular basis, the best information we could locate was indeed found by browsing www.whitehouse.gov. An essay titled "The First Families at Home" describes the various personal touches added by the Presidents and their wives through the years. The Hoovers decorated with "South American rugs, Oriental art, caged songbirds," while the Trumans brought three pianos. According to the article, "Mrs. Eisenhower's feminine and frilly decor, with its 'Mamie pink' accents in flowered slipcovers and draperies, gave way to Mrs. Kennedy's light-blue curtains and blue-and-white furnishings that showed
to advantage against plain off-white walls in the private bedroom and sitting-room areas." Another useful essay presented at the White House site is "Art for the President's House: An Historical Perspective." By perusing this nicely illustrated piece, we learned that many of the famous pieces owned by the White House were donated by citizens after finding out that the current President was interested in the artwork. We also learned that purchases made to decorate the Executive mansion need to be approved by Congress. So, while the First Family may lead the way when it comes to decorating, apparently it's the Legislative branch that writes the checks.
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