WH unveils redecorated State Dining Room

If you like the look of the room, one way to try to mimic it for yourself at home might be with window treatments: The curtains are made of silk, with vertical stripes of ecru and peacock blue, and hung from carved and gilded poles.

The White House says the room – which has previously been used as a drawing room, office and Cabinet room – before it formally became known as the “State Dining Room” during the Andrew Jackson administration.

The makeover was done under the first lady’s supervision, the Associated Press reported.it included yellow upholstered dining chairs and a new mahogany and “horsehair” fabric dining set custom-made in North Carolina.

The update has been in the works since 2012, upon the arrival of two new custom-made wool rugs – so they can be switched out for cleaning!

And all that for only $590,000!

The last update to the State Dining room was made during Bill Clinton’s presidency. The private fund is administered by the White House Historical Association for the maintenance and upkeep of White House rooms that are open to the public, such as the Blue, Red and Green Rooms, the East Room and the State Dining Room.

The State Dining Room typically serves as a banquet hall and is considered the center of White House hospitality. Roosevelt, is famously engraved with John Adams’ quote, “I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof”. Therefore, First Lady Michelle Obama also had complementary new draperies and chairs created to fit the new design theme. Obama also placed a new, $290,000 painting in the room.

Her modest changes to the room where many dinners and other events are held follow this year’s more dramatic remake of the Old Family Dining Room and the unveiling of the Obama china service.