Dinnerroom at the WH $500.000 plus
Michelle Obama touches up State Dining Room
The State Dining Room at the White House has a new look. Under the direction of first lady Michelle Obama, the room that hosts many state dinners now has new arm chairs, side chairs, and draperies, its first major upgrade since 1998.
The Committee for the Preservation of the White House approved the project, and the White House Endowment Trust picked up the $590,000 price.
Silk draperies with vertical stripes of peacock blue and ecru replace curtains made of ivory silk brocade and designed with flowers, baskets and ribbons. The blue in the draperies echoes the ‘Kailua’ blue that trims the modern-inspired china service the first lady unveiled in April and recalls the waters that surround President Barack Obama’s home state of Hawaii.
«The new chairs are done in a brown, grid-patterned ‘horsehair’ fabric and trimmed with brass nail heads. They were modeled after arm chairs that President James Monroeacquired for the East Room in 1818 from a cabinetmaker in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, according to White House curator William Allman.»
By David Jackson, USA TODAY
