Photos show how the White House's decor has changed over the years
President Donald Trump redecorated the Oval Office with many of the same artifacts from his first White House term.
Jan 21, 2025 - 20:03
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Joe Biden in the Oval Office.
Al Drago/The New York Times-Pool/Getty Images
The Oval Office has been expanded, renovated, and redecorated several times throughout US history.
Donald Trump redecorated the Oval Office with many of the same artifacts from his first term.
Truman renovated the State Dining Room in the '50s, and Jacqueline Kennedy restored it in the '60s.
The White House has 132 rooms, and each new US president gets $100,000 to redecorate them.
With every new president comes new design choices, often reflecting their values and political views.
We traced the histories of three significant White House rooms — the Oval Office, the Blue Room, and the State Dining Room — to see how their designs have changed over the years.
The Oval Office is the president's formal work space.
Joe Biden in the Oval Office.
Evan Vucci
The office's oval shape was inspired by the shape of the Blue Room on the first floor, according to the White House Historical Association.
It was completed in 1909 under President William Taft.
William Taft in the Oval Office.
B.M. Clinedinst/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
The Oval Office was designed by architect Nathan C. Wyeth.
A fire destroyed much of the West Wing in 1929, so President Herbert Hoover restored and expanded it in 1930.
The new Oval Office under construction.
Harris & Ewing Collection/Library of Congress
Among Hoover's upgrades was the Oval Office's first telephone.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt redesigned and moved the Oval Office in 1934.
The Oval Office in 1934.
Harris & Ewing Collection/Library of Congress
Roosevelt expanded the West Wing to accommodate more staff. The Oval Office was moved to the southeast corner of the White House, which had initially been a laundry-drying yard.
He also added details like a ceiling medallion.
The ceiling of the Oval Office.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
The ceiling depicts the Presidential Seal.
First lady Jacqueline Kennedy had the Resolute Desk restored in 1963.
John F. Kennedy's Oval Office.
Harold Sellers/JFK Library
The Resolute Desk was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.
President Gerald Ford added his own touch with a burgundy color scheme and striped couches in 1975.
Gerald Ford's Oval Office.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
Striped sofas were a popular furniture trend in the '70s.
President George H.W. Bush's Oval Office redecoration included a new rug with a gold Presidential Seal, new drapes, a coffee table, and two tall armchairs.
George H.W. Bush's Oval Office.
Susan Biddle/White House/File/AP
The armchairs on either side of the Resolute Desk, dating back to Hoover's time in the White House, were reupholstered in blue.
First lady Nancy Reagan designed a new Oval Office rug for her husband, President Ronald Reagan.
Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office.
Doug Mills/AP Images
The rug featured olive branches along the border and sunbeam designs around the presidential seal in the center.
President Bill Clinton had a new blue rug and gold curtains installed.
The Oval Office under Bill Clinton.
J.Scott Applewhite/File/AP
The rug was made by The Scott Group of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
President George W. Bush preferred neutral tones for his Oval Office rug.
The Oval Office under George W. Bush.
Mark Wilson/Newsmakers/Getty Images
The new gold rug featured a sunbeam design.
President Barack Obama added red curtains, striped wallpaper, and a new rug also made by The Scott Group.
Barack Obama in the Oval Office.
Pete Souza/Getty Images
The rug featured the Martin Luther King Jr. quote: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.''
During his first term, President Donald Trump reinstalled Clinton's gold curtains, lay down Ronald Reagan's rug, and added a portrait of President Andrew Jackson.
President Joe Biden removed Trump's portrait of Andrew Jackson and hung one of FDR, a progressive who guided the country out of troubled times.
Joe Biden in the Oval Office.
Al Drago/The New York Times-Pool/Getty Images
In addition to Roosevelt, the wall featured portraits of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton hung together to symbolize the benefits of different opinions.
Biden's Oval Office also included busts of fellow progressives and activists showcased throughout the room: Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.
When Trump returned to the White House for his second term in 2025, he brought back the portrait of Jackson and the Reagan rug.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office during his second term.
The oval shape dates back to President George Washington's practice of holding levees, formal greeting receptions inspired by English court, according to the White House Historical Association.
FDR used the Blue Room as his temporary office while the Oval Office was being remodeled in 1934.
The Blue Room during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.
AP
By 1940, Roosevelt cleared out and returned to the Oval Office.
During Kennedy's presidency, the Blue Room displayed various antiques and paintings.
The Blue Room in 1963.
AP
It also featured striped wallpaper.
Heavy blue curtains covered the windows in the 1970s.
The Blue Room.
Harvey Meston/Getty Images
The striped wallpaper was replaced with dark blue.
When Hillary Rodham Clinton served as first lady, she unveiled a renovated Blue Room in 1995.
Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Blue Room.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The room was remodeled after the Committee for the Preservation of the White House recommended that it be refurbished.
Most notably, the blue wallpaper was replaced with yellow wallpaper during the renovations.
George W. Bush and Tony Blair in the Blue Room.
Eric Draper/White House/Getty Images
The Blue Room isn't just for ceremonial greetings. In 2001, President George W. Bush met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair there before addressing the nation in the wake of September 11.
The Blue Room is particularly festive during the holidays.
The Blue Room at Christmas during Barack Obama's presidency.
J. Scott Applewhite/File/AP
For the Obamas' first Christmas in the White House in 2009, the Blue Room was adorned with an 18-foot high Douglas fir illuminated with LED lights.
The Blue Room houses the official White House Christmas tree.
The official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room during Joe Biden's presidency.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
In 2021, first lady Jill Biden decorated the tree with doves carrying a banner with the names of every US state and territory.
The State Dining Room is where the White House hosts state and holiday dinners, as well as the occasional meeting.
The State Dining Room during Donald Trump's first presidency.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The menu is usually chosen by the first lady.
The State Dining Room was green during President Theodore Roosevelt's presidency in 1904.
The State Dining Room during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency.
Library of Congress
Roosevelt expanded the State Dining Room during the 1902 White House renovation and added a moose head to the walls.
The design stayed largely the same until President Harry Truman renovated the entire White House in 1952.
Jacqueline Kennedy restored much of the White House, including the State Dining Room, in the early 1960s.
Jacqueline Kennedy in the State Dining Room.
AP
She conducted a tour of the newly restored White House that was watched by more than 80 million Americans on television in 1962, according to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
During the Reagan presidency, the State Dining Room was decorated with yellow drapes and red tablecloths.
Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, in the State Dining Room.
Ron Edmonds/AP
Back when Clinton was the governor of Arkansas, he spoke at the White House in the State Dining Room in 1987.
The State Dining Room was filled with pink flowers to welcome Australian Prime Minister John Howard in 2006.
The State Dining Room.
Shealah Craighead/White House via Getty Images
It featured a cream-colored carpet and matching curtains.
A funky purple tablecloth with green chair cushions brightened up the State Dining Room in 2012 during Obama's presidency.
The State Dining Room.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The tables were set in honor of British Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to the White House.
The Stat Dining Room can transform into a performance space with mood lighting.
The State Dining Room as a performance space.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The State Dining Room was dramatically lit in purple in 2015 for a post-state dinner reception for the prime minister of Japan.
Trump was the first president since the 1920s to not host a state dinner during his first year in office.
The State Dining Room set for French President Emmanuel Macron's visit in 2018.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
He did host two state dinners during his presidency: President Emmanual Macron of France in 2018 and Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia in 2019.
Biden used the room for meetings and formal events, but he didn't host a state dinner until almost two years into his time in office.
Joe Biden in a meeting with private sector CEOs in the State Dining Room.
Andrew Harnik/AP
During Biden's presidency, the State Dining Room featured the same curtains and rug from the Trump administration.
For his first state dinner in 2022, Biden hosted French President Emmanuel Macron in a glass pavilion on the South Lawn of the White House.
Biden's state dinner for French president Emmanuel Macron on the South Lawn of the White House.
LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images
The event featured a performance by Jon Batiste and a menu including Maine lobster and crème fraîche ice cream.
