I'm sorry I can't help you with the paint color but thank you for sharing that article. It really lifted my spirits for rest of the day. I especially loved the last part about the Bushes, decorating the Oval office with collector plates:

Mr. Obama surveyed his new environs with a critical eye. He looked around, said one of his guests, and said, "IÂve got to do something about these plates. IÂm not really a plates kind of guy."

Oh well. I was hoping someone on here had saved an article from 8 years ago that maybe listed the color. It is really beautiful.

If it is really important to you, check the The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) which are programs of the National Park Service. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written reports of the Oval office. They would know.

I forgot to add......... HABS/HAER/HALS is housed at the Library of Congress.

I'll try a guess! What about Benjamin Moore Rich Cream?

Ooohhhh! Oohhhhh! Let me try! Let me try! I have trim painted in BM Filtered Sunlight that (and all monitors are different and colors perceived differently too) looks dead on to that color. I bet if I painted BOTH trim AND walls in that room it'd look like the Oval Office walls!

When I sit and rock my daughter in that room I often wonder what it would look like if I painted the walls the same as the trim. Rich, buttery and glowing. As it stands now the walls are BM Straw 1 shade down from FS and the built ins are Vanilla Ice Cream 1 shade up from FS.

BTW - I thought that the Bush's showed impeccable taste when they decorated. Although not a plate person either, I thought the Oval Office was lovely.

ttodd, Our decorator wanted us to paint the walls and trim the same color, but DH refused and since he hardly ever refuses any idea, I had to listen. I saw another house with same color wall (flat) and trim (semi) and it looked just beautiful -- rich, warm, absolutely yummy.

Thank you for your words about the Bush's impeccable taste. I agree, and would add more, but I feel that political criticisms on a decorating site is in very poor taste.

"Thank you for your words about the Bush's impeccable taste. I agree, and would add more, but I feel that political criticisms on a decorating site is in very poor taste."

Poor taste?

This is a decorating board. Where are the "political criticisms"? Talking about the decorating scheme of a public building is OK.

It's OK to add more comment.

The new White House family is already being critisized for the small changes made to the Oval Office. The African art that the President has brought into the Oval office is one that I like. Some bloggers think it looks schlocky, and already there are copies of it being sold for people's homes at The History Company and will probably soon to be at Target and then Walmart.

The new family has removed all the 'Old West' Texas themed paintings that the former Prez had, and replaced Laura's fake flowers with fake fruit. I can't see fake apples being much more of an improvement over the fake flowers. Can't they get REAL apples? Its the White House. I'm sure the the kitchen there can make apple pie out of them or something when they are rotated.

President Clinton had a sculpture of a nude man in the Oval Office and decorated it like a bank lobby. President Johnson had the floor replaced in the Oval Office with wood-grain linoleum. OMG. Reagan was the one who ripped that out and put in a real wood floor. Thankfully.

People are going to have opinions on decorating on a decorating board. Every presidency has made some gaffes in decorating, even Jackie, with her 'war battle mural' for the dining room, and and some brought in some real beauty.

Here is a link that might be useful: Copy of Oval Office Sculpture

ooooooh I LOVE that "Egg of Power" sculpture!!!!

I have a small collection of eggs, & an even smaller collection of hands - a version of that sculpture (right size, right price) is now on my wish list!

Hopefully here are more pics. I hope the link works - I'm at work and in a huge rush so I don't have time to triple check!

Here is a link that might be useful: Architectural Digest

That is a blog, contains misinformation such as the Lincoln bedroom being filled with "period repros". Not.

dilly dally,

There have been several politically-oriented threads here lately and, given the political divisiveness in this country at the moment, some people find criticisms of President and Laura Bush (and others) political and upsetting and really out of place on this site, even if it's only about their decorating taste. Your comment implying that the new occupant's criticism of the Bush's collector plates had lifted your spirit for the entire day seemed more politically than decoratively themed to me, but my thought may have been colored by your previous comment from another thread (about the White House having a new decorator): "I would love to see some *real style* come to The White House." If I mistook your sentiment, I apologize. Maybe it really was just about plates.

But really, I am getting very tired of the Bush-bashing and other politicization of everything under the sun, and would like to come here and just enjoy decorating discussions without politics.

"Your comment implying that the new occupant's criticism of the Bush's collector plates had lifted your spirit for the entire day seemed more politically than decoratively themed to me."

Well let me affirm that is was not.

I read the linked article and I just happen to like the direction of casual ambiance the Oval office is going, in both dress and decor. It's very refreshing to hear. It lifted my spirits. Maybe our next president will go back to insisting men to wear powdered wigs at all meetings, and requiring skirts on table legs, who knows?

"Some people find criticisms of President and Laura Bush (and others) political and upsetting and really out of place on this site, even if it's only about their decorating taste."

I think that is being a bit over-sensitive. Its a public building and the decorating is paid for with OUR money and they put up photos and give tours of the place. People are going to form an opinion about the color of the drapes or carpet, and which way the chairs should be angled. Domino Magazine (a decorating magazine) even had a 'battle of the White House decorators' type poll. (Jackie won by a landslide.)

http://www.dominomag.com/magazine/polls/090109/white_house

I just do not see anything wrong with commenting on the White House decor on a decorating site. How many times has someone put up a realtor's photo of someone's home for sale in order to critique the furniture and laugh?? Or linked to a decorator's website and then ripped it apart? Like this one going on now: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg0216044514092.html

I can't honestly believe anyone was upset because I thought the choice of Micheal S Smith as a decorator was a good choice. I hope he will bring in some real style to the family living quarters and not use 'formula decorating' or try to think it has to look all "American history-like".

Here are photos of the family private dining room. Its hard to believe Jacqueline Kennedy put up that battle scene wallpaper. Betty Ford disliked the battle scenes and had them removed. The Carters chose to reinstate the battle scenes, and they remained until the Clintons.

Would your family enjoy this room for all their meals? Or would you want Michael S. Smith to come to the rescue and give it some real style (or at least fix it somehow)?

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

In 1992:
{{!gwi}}

This is the room next to the family dining room with the arch closed off in 2002:
{{!gwi}}

Its about the collector plates. Really. And the fake flowers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Real Style

Yes, I would enjoy having my family meals in that room. I would want breakfast, lunch, & dinner in that room. The scenic wallpaper (Zuber, I assume, and priceless) is exquisite. So is the chandelier. I would not want Michael S. Smith to come and ruin, er, "fix" it. It already has "real" style. It may be old fashioned formality, but beautiful still.

And I agree with bigdoglover: so much political commentary slips in here anymore that you're not sure if the criticism of the previous decor is motivated by taste or politics. I'd prefer the political commentary be strictly relegated to Hot Topics.

Dilly Dally - I did not intend for anyone to mistake that the link was to Architectural Digest itself. For that, my apologies for potentially misleading anyone. Yes I know it was a blog and the pic in the blog was from Architectural Digest. When I followed an additional link as provided in the article it took me to a spread of app. 20 photos of the White House FROM Architectural Digest and that is the link that I thought I was providing. Clearly the link I provided didn't take me to the exact spot that I was at.

Please note that I also stated that I was at work and in a huge rush and didn't have time to triple check.

I was basically fine w/ your response until the last word. It came across as harsh and somewhat condescending to my post for no good reason. But then we all read things differently don't we?

I am with awm03, I think when Jacqueline Kennedy did the family dining rm it was exquisite. And yes I would enjoy meals in a room that had such historical style.

awm03 & eandhl, that is a gorgeous mural and I, too, would love to have it and the DR, battle scene and all. I tried to get a similar look in the DR of my last house, had a mural painted by a local artist who was really quite good... however, the lesson I took away from the experience was "OK kids, don't try this yourselves at home." It ended up looking pretty amateurish despite the man's talent and had to be painted over when we put the house up for sale.

dilly dally, there is nothing wrong with being sensitive, it enables us to discern between what's true and what's not. I don't think I was being overly-sensitive at all, and stand by everything I said. Likewise, I will take you at your word that it was about plates, though have to say with your long post that "the lady doth protest too much, methinks." (Shakespeare/Hamlet)

Honestly, I don't have any more time or desire to discuss about what *to me* is politics, so will let you have the last word if you'd like.

I would have dinner in that room, but I would request a tablecloth. Jeez.