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mahatmacat1

The White House has a new Decorator!

mahatmacat1
15 years ago

O.K., just the private areas, but this should be fun :) Smith's website is really beautiful, even to this modern-lover :). I think he must have a lot of fans here at g'web.

Hm, on another design topic, I wonder who has designed her Inaugural gown -- does anyone know?

Here is a link that might be useful: portfolio page at his website

Comments (36)

  • teacats
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Is it official?? I had read the rumours -- but wasn't sure that they had made the decision!

    I JUST got his latest book -- Micheal S Smith Houses -- and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! The first book was good too!

    Jan

  • parma42
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love the rooms I can see but a few of the places wouldn't open up for me.

    Only got to see about half of them.

  • mahatmacat1
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I know, parma, happened to me too--I really wanted to see the LA and NYC sets but they just didn't open. Oh well, we have to make do with the rest of them, and what I see in there is beautiful.

  • bronwynsmom
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I know! Isn't that great? Traditional with a twist...personality with restraint...classicism with a funky backbeat. Perfect!! I'm thrilled, and it's a good thing, too, because nobody was going to ask me what I think, so I don't have to hate the choice and be unable to do anything about it. ;>)

  • bellaflora
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OMG! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Michael Smith!! He did Cindy Crawford's house in Brentwood which I love love love. ;-) his own house in CA with this amazing kitchen is just TDF!

    At least the 1st lady has good taste :-)
    I thought they would choose Darryl Carter or Thomas Pheasant (whose style I love too) :-D

  • mahatmacat1
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Uh-oh, just realized I have bought some of his tiles at the local ReBuilding Center...Ann Sacks is HQ in my town.

    So I share a little teeny overstock piece of him :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: they're very pretty...just had to buy a few

  • bellaflora
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fly: wow. I think I found the perfect back splash for my dream kitchen! :-)

  • walkin_yesindeed
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    (long, deep exhalation) ooooooooooooh, that is *nice*! I'd never seen his work before -- how perfect for the Obamas. Fly, *lovin'* that tile, good call!

    When my book sells a million copies, I'm going to hire him. And you can all stop laughing now.

  • jenny_from_the_block
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love Micheal S. Smith's work (his houses for Cindy Crawford are TDF in my opinion too! :-) I read that he may be doing it a while back on Decorno. I heard the budget was "only" $100K, which is really probably only a mere fraction of what his typical clients spend, so it will be fun to see what he does. I have his first book and I'm really looking forward to getting his second one. And I just love his fabric line! (I was able to get a piece of one of his Indian-inspired fabrics from Ebay for cheap, and so now I have my very own Michael S Smith shower curtain ;-)

  • cherigw
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I believe the federally funded "allowance" is $100K. I'm betting either the "O's" are kicking in a bunch or he is!!

  • dilly_dally
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Most decorators would give their eye teeth for the chance to have their work and name asoociated with The White House. I have the feeling he is writing off his salary for the media exposure. It works! Look how we are all talking about him now.

    I would love to see some real style come to The White House.

    Can't wait to see Michele's inauguation gown.

  • mahatmacat1
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Domino just sent out an e-mail with some "exclusive content"; thought I'd share.

    Here is a link that might be useful: more pics :)

  • bronwynsmom
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Flyleft, you completely distracted me...you have Ann Sacks in your town? I am green!!!

  • stinky-gardener
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful! Mr. Smith goes to Washington! How exciting for the O's & for him. I agree with Dilly, this is an opportunity of a lifetime that will lead to enough other jobs to last a lifetime. Thanks for the stunning links, Fly!

  • allison0704
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would love to see some real style come to The White House.

    The White House does have style. The public areas are decorated under the guidance of The White House Historical Society. Can you imagine if they were not? People who think they "can" decorate would be mucking it up......like those who think they "can" sing on American Idol. B-A-D.

    He will be decorating the Private Residence and the Oval Office with the 100K. Anything over, Obama has to cover himself.

    Did you know the President has to pay for the food/meals prepared/eaten in the Private Residence? I thought that was interesting.

  • parma42
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just finished the tour of his home on Domino's web site.

    He has Venetian plaster so, evidently, doesn't mind 'joint compound' on his walls.

    And Amy, he has subway tile, too. :)

    Thanks for all the links, Fly.

  • chijim
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Interesting story from NY Times about moving in day at the White House from Dec. 18, 2008:

    The Obamas move into the White House on Inauguration Day--the same day the Bushes move out. The whole five-hour procedure is extremely well-choreographed.

    There is drama on moving day, however. Gary Walters, who retired last year after 21 years of overseeing the 132-room mansion as chief White House usher, explained that on Inauguration Day it was his job to help the first families move, in the scant and hectic period between the time the exiting president departed for good (about 10:45 a.m., after greeting the president-elect under the North Portico and having a cup of coffee with him in the Blue Room) and the new president and his family left the inaugural parade in the late afternoon.

    That leaves about five hours for the usher and 93 assistants, including household staff, painters, carpenters, florists and even calligraphers, Mr. Walters said, along with the new decorator and his or her staff, to unpack the family's things and put everything away. "The goal is no unopened boxes," said Mr. Walters, who used to move into the White House for a week before Inauguration Day, sleeping on a cot in the basement.

    What Will Change Look Like in White House Dor?

    By PENELOPE GREEN
    Published: December 17, 2008
    EVER since Mary Todd Lincoln overshot the White House decorating budget by $6,700 (a third of her $20,000 appropriation), infuriating her husband and delighting a press corps that had already turned against her, the redecoration of the presidentÂs house has been a public relations minefield. Some new administrations tiptoe through it unscathed; others are less nimble, and bombs explode.


    Blog
    Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
    MOVING DAY There are roughly five hours in between the time the sitting president leaves the White House and the incoming president and his family enter their new quarters; above, a moving truck at the ready for the Clintons,
    "ItÂs an old maxim that you can build a billion-dollar highway thatÂs the biggest pork barrel in the world and no one will say anything," said William Seale, a White House historian, "but if youÂre in public office and you try and change your desk, youÂre going to end up on the front page. In presidential décor, one must remember the public eye is fixed on everything you do."

    Barack ObamaÂs transition team has not responded to inquiries about his interior design plans, so one can only speculate about how the Obamas will make their stylistic mark on the White House. Perhaps they will choose Nate Berkus, the engaging puppy dog of a decorator beloved by Oprah and other Chicagoans, to assist them.

    Or perhaps, as the comedian Andy Borowitz suggested on the phone last week, they will follow the template the president-elect has laid out for his cabinet appointments. "That whole team-of-rivals approach," Mr. Borowitz said, "so instead of one decorator there will be eight: four Republicans and four Democrats, none of whom can stand each other, and heÂll make them each do a room."

    However the Obamas decide to proceed, theyÂll have to follow a few basic rules. For starters, they will have to pay for their own movers. And while Congress budgets $100,000 in household transition costs for every new administration, if the Obamas spend more than that  and most first families do  they will have to cover the expense of decorating their private quarters with private donations. In addition, they canÂt change the public rooms without the approval of a committee of preservationists.

    They would also be wise to remember that appearances do matter: Jimmy CarterÂs earth-toned Oval Office read as both homespun and dreary (never mind that his predecessor, Gerald Ford, had chosen the décor and Mr. Carter was saving money by not redecorating), and the cost of Nancy ReaganÂs china ($210,399) was seen as wildly extravagant (though the china was a private donation and considered a necessity  before then, state dinners were served on a mishmash of patterns because there wasnÂt enough of any one set to go around). The Kennedy White House was too French; the ClintonsÂ, too Arkansas. In recent history, only the Waspy Bushes (both 41 and 43) have escaped decorating derision.

    Some stories about decorating missteps are apocryphal, like that of Nancy ReaganÂs plan to tear down a wall in the Lincoln bedroom or that of the Clintons decorating costs running over budget (mentioned by the former deputy White House counsel, Vincent W. Foster, in a note shortly before he died in an apparent suicide). The bad press in both cases accrued to the presidentÂs wife.

    Attacking the first lady, said Carl Sferrazza Anthony, the author of a dozen books on first wives and their families and the historian of the National First Ladies Library, "is a way of not directly attacking a popular president." Mr. Anthony ticked off a few of Nancy ReaganÂs perceived sins, including that she asked the Carters to move out early so she could start redecorating and that she was decorating the private quarters in an inappropriately lavish way in a time of recession.

    "Conscious of that, she used private funds" to shore up the house, Mr. Anthony said, "fixing floors, redoing hardware. The place was falling apart. Much of the money went to this, rather than the red decorating everybody remembers, because thatÂs what got reported. ThereÂs a saying that in Washington, no good deed goes unpunished."

    The Clintons were savaged for packing up rugs, furniture and lamps given to them during their White House tenancy, and for soliciting donations of household objects for their post-White House residences (a house for her in Washington, and one for him in Chappaqua, N.Y.). They had always lived in public housing, Mr. Anthony said, and "in an effort to get up to speed, they put the word out that people could make donations."

    Money has historically been tight for White House families. Mr. Seale noted that James Monroe had a kind of pawn-shop arrangement, whereby he would finance diplomatic tours by selling pieces of the Directoire furniture he had collected in France to the United States government. "When heÂd finished touring, heÂd buy it back," Mr. Seale said. "Then, of course, there was Mrs. Lincoln, who bought that famous Lincoln bed."

    When her husband was presented with the bill, Mr. Seale said, "He blew up.

    "Let me see if I can get his quote right: ÂIt would stink in the nostrils of the American people to have it said that the president of the United States had approved a bill over-running an appropriation of $20,000 for flub dubs for this damned old house, when the soldiers cannot have blankets. "

    "Flub dubs," Mr. Seale repeated, savoring the words. "IsnÂt that a great phrase?" (Mr. Seale included it in his two-volume history, "The PresidentÂs House," which was just published by the White House Historical Association.)

    DECORATING the White House is the first ladyÂs job; she presides over the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, a board of appointees that includes her decorator and the White House curator, as well as art historians, furniture and decorative art experts and other advisers on historic preservation. (Laura BushÂs decorator, Kenneth Blasingame, a Fort Worth designer, has been steadily reworking rooms like the Lincoln Bedroom, which were revealed, to not much comment, in Architectural Digest last March.)

    Renovations of the public rooms, additions to the formidable collections of art and furniture, and any restoration work is overseen by the committee and financed by the White House Endowment fund, which now has assets of about $27 million.

    When it comes to the private quarters, on the second and third floors, and the Oval Office, though, the décor is the "personal decision of the first family," said Tom Savage, director of museum affairs at Winterthur in Delaware and a member of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House during the Clinton administration. "But there are so many safeguards. The misconception of the public is that a first family can make very dramatic changes, and thatÂs just not so."

    There is drama on moving day, however. Gary Walters, who retired last year after 21 years of overseeing the 132-room mansion as chief White House usher, explained that on Inauguration Day it was his job to help the first families move, in the scant and hectic period between the time the exiting president departed for good (about 10:45 a.m., after greeting the president-elect under the North Portico and having a cup of coffee with him in the Blue Room) and the new president and his family left the inaugural parade in the late afternoon.

    That leaves about five hours for the usher and 93 assistants, including household staff, painters, carpenters, florists and even calligraphers, Mr. Walters said, along with the new decorator and his or her staff, to unpack the familyÂs things and put everything away. "The goal is no unopened boxes," said Mr. Walters, who used to move into the White House for a week before Inauguration Day, sleeping on a cot in the basement.

    "It can be extremely difficult," he added. "When Bush 41 was elected, for example, we expected to have the normal amount of time, until after the parade, but there were grandchildren and they got cold and came in about two hours early."

    Moving day is highly choreographed, the culmination of exhaustive prep work. After the ceremonial, post-election tour given to the president-elect and his family by the outgoing president and his wife, the chief usher meets with the new family. He presents them with floor plans and a book detailing the furniture and art owned by the White House and stored at a facility in Maryland.

    "I asked questions like ÂWhat rooms do you want to use, and what beds? What would you like and where would you like us to put it? Do you have favorite foods? For the president, itÂs ÂWhich desk would you like? The questions are to elicit dialogue about things they might not have thought of," Mr. Walters said.

    Linens and mattresses are replaced, or "put out of service," as he put it. "The new president will not have the linens of the previous president."

    This wasnÂt always the case. Mamie Eisenhower complained that the linens were all mended, said Claire Whitcomb, co-author of "Real Life at the White House: Two Hundred Years of Daily Life at AmericaÂs Most Famous Residence" (Routledge, 2002). "And Eisenhower hated Truman so much, he didnÂt bother to go on the tour. So when he woke up on his first day in office, he didnÂt know where his office was." Also, Ms. Whitcomb continued, the movers lost his suitcase.

    Every family leaves something behind, intentionally or not. When the Fords moved in, Betty Ford found one of the Nixons boxes. "It was marked, ÂTapes, Do Not Touch, " Ms. Whitcomb said. Turns out, it was filled with the former presidentÂs Mantovani recordings. And Ronald Reagan left a note in his desk drawer for George H. W. Bush, she added, that said, "DonÂt let the turkeys get you down."

    Washington observers like Arianna Huffington predict no decorating pitfalls for the president-elect and his family, just another "teachable moment" for the rest of us.

    "There have been a lot of these with the Obamas," Ms. Huffington said, "like learning to get along with your mother-in-law and not holding grudges." She imagines organic cotton curtains and nontoxic cleaning supplies.

    For his part, Mr. Borowitz wondered if Michelle Obama might take "that victory dress and upholster a couch with it."

    "By repurposing it," he said, "she could show how thrifty she was."

    "Money is important," he continued. "Whatever furniture the Clintons didnÂt take, the Obamas could auction off to pay down the costs of the auto industry bailout. Then they could get some modest things from Ikea or Craigslist. IÂm sure there are some other people who have lost their presidents jobs in other countries who are putting their things on Craigslist. If Hugo Chávez gets defeated, maybe they could have his stuff."

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm so glad the Obamas picked Michael Smith. He has exquisite taste and his decorating style is unique, always classy but with interesting touches that take every interior he does out of the ordinary. I can't wait to see how he transforms the private quarters of the White House.

  • johnmari
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Smith isn't really to my own taste but I agree that he seems to be a good choice. However, I'm really glad they get such a small budget (relatively speaking, imagine what we peons could do with $100k LOL) for redecorating the Oval Office and the private apartment. I was cringing at the notion of spending public money on something as, well, petty as redecorating when the nation is in a financial meltdown. Hopefully they'll make good use of the warehouse of furniture and other goods from previous administrations, I'm sure there's some very good stuff in there!

  • peaches12345
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks so much for the wonderful information in this thread, flyleft. I imagine Smith will go all out and do it right w/out even considering the $100K. Renumeration will be in much more than money. Recession or no recession I am ready for style and taste in decor and fashion to come back to the WH in the Kennedy/Reagan tradition. I've wondered during the last several administrations whether the drapes were occasionally being cut up and worn.

  • patricianat
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My understanding about this is that it is the girls' rooms that will get most of the funding and Ikea is doing the oval office for the President.

    I am glad they hired Michael Smith. I feel sure he has enough savvy and wherewithal to have never allowed the red and black dresses.

  • daisyadair
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow - it's amazing how much I didn't know about the whole process!

    Beautiful rooms on the website - formal rooms that you can feel comfortable in.

    On a side note, I was at Ann Sacks last week and now have a very nice pile of tile samples that there's no way I'm going to be able to afford :0)

  • patty_cakes
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think he does fabulous work with real 'style', or maybe just what is *my* idea of style. He can do my home any day! I'm anxious to see the changes made in the WH. I'm all for formality and keeping the historical charm, but IMO, the WH should be loosened up a bit. It might be a 'time for a change' in more ways than one. ;o)

  • mahatmacat1
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ah, daisy, tiles...I was thinking about the piles of various fabulous "just a few" tiles I've bought from ReBuilding Center and wondering if they'd ever see installation LOL...maybe I'll find a place to display the Michael S. Smith tiles (I don't like middle initials, btw...but that's just me) in honor of Obama -- our own version of the Shepherd Fairey poster :)

  • duluthinbloomz4
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    To this point, I think Ikea has only offered a mock-up of the Oval Office to Obama for consideration - they don't have the contract to actually do it.

  • mahatmacat1
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    But they guarantee it can be assembled within the move-in time limit!

  • buildinginva
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am in love with that Ann Sacks tile!!!! Does anyone know what the price point is?

  • daisyadair
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Two prices I did get from Ann Sacks were $15.04 for the Capri, which only comes in a few different colors. Also, the Element line - beautiful colors and ONLY $33.28 a sq. foot!

  • newdawn1895
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Michael Smith did Cindy Crawfords house? I wonder if he used the stuff she sells at Rooms to go in her house, I think not.

  • kat123
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "I'd love to see some real style come to the White House"....isn't that a rather tacky and totally false and unnecessary remark to make on this forum? The White House certainly DOES have stlye and beauty, both inside and out! Mrs. Bush did a wonderful job, plus the Oval Office was perfectly done. The gorgeous custom rug complimented everything from the walls to the stained floors and beautiful furniture.

  • jenny_from_the_block
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes, he did at least two of her homes. Nothing looks like it came from Rooms to Go.... ;-)

  • dilly_dally
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here is a nice little website that shows The White House decor through the ages and changes made both structurally and cosmetically.

    It is not an "official" site it is a .org not a .gov but is packed with photos. It is intersting to see how each family moved furniture around and changed out the wallpaper and drapes.

    Here is a link that might be useful: White House Decor History

  • acountryfarm
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    There are many beautiful rooms in the White House.
    I am always interested in the decor, as my cousin (twice removed) was Sister Parish. She was the decorator during the Kennedy administration and also did some wonderful things.

    I will be anxious to see how the private residence changes in the Obama administration.

    Love all the historical pics, thanks dilly dally.

  • dilly_dally
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks. I found it fascinating. Start with the floor plan of each floor and then mouse over the individual rooms wished to be seen. The Blue Room is the one I started with.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Start

  • mahatmacat1
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    acountryfarm, I recently read something funny about Sister Parish - that she was 'let go' from the White House engagement after she kicked one of the Kennedy kids for jumping on a piece of furniture! I have to say I laughed out loud at that :) Have you heard that? What's the in-family version?

  • stinkytufted
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lets see what happens with the Carpets!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Oval Office Carpets Through the Ages