White House: The President's Dining Room

Recent separate discussions on both the Sister Parish White House furnishing for the Kennedys and the use of scenic wallpapers brought The Devoted Classicist to think about the second floor Family Dining Room, sometimes referred to as the President's Dining Room, at the Executive Mansion.  Before the Kennedy residency, the space had been used as a Bedroom or a Family Room;  previously, the First Families went downstairs for their meals, and a room designated as the Family Dining Room occupies a handsome space with a vaulted ceiling just below this room.

The President's Dining Room is the space labelled 'Dining Room'
in this Second Floor Plan depicting the 1962 use of rooms.
Image from The White House Organization.

Mrs. Parish planned the second floor of the White House to be the home for the Kennedy family on much the same terms as she had done for clients for decades whether for grand Manhattan apartments or country estates.  Previous occupants had envisioned the second floor as homey, family quarters, but it was Parish-Hadley (as it was to become as Albert Hadley joined the firm at this time) -- with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy also advised by another great decorator of the day, Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen, and a committee of wealthy benefactors to foot the bill -- who made it both comfortable and stylish.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy with son John, Jr., and daughter Caroline.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.

The neo-classical chimneypiece, according to author and White House authority
 Patrick Phillips-Schrock is from the 1952 work of Lorenzo Winslow and
not from the McKim Mead and White renovation, is shown
in this photo dated December, 1961.  The concealed door can partially be seen
on the left, open to the adjacent space used for the children's meals.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.

This view from February, 1962, shows a work-in-progress.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.

Benjamin Harrison's china is set on the table
and three pieces from Andrew Jackson's
Biennais service is on the sideboard.
Note the trial chandelier.  April, 1962.

Mrs. Parish's off-white damask seat upholstery is shown here
along with a Waterford chandelier in a circa 1962 photo
by National Geographic Society.
Source: White House Historical Association.

The room was presented as a showcase Federal period furniture made in Maryland, no doubt acquired with the recommendation of Henry Francis DuPont, another influential advisor to Mrs. Kennedy.  (Mr. DuPont, the wealthy collector and perhaps the country's most revered antiquarian of the day, was the founder of the Winterthur Museum of Decorative Arts and the chairman of the newly formed Fine Arts Committee for the White House with Jacqueline Kennedy as honorary chairperson.  DuPont was major force in introducing quality antiques to furnish the State Rooms on the main floor, replacing the largely department-store-quality furniture with fine examples that were gifted or bought with donations).  The chimneypiece on the east wall was replaced by a circa 1815 mantel by Robert Wedford of Philadelphia.  Silver purchased by Andrew Jackson was displayed on a sideboard adorned with an American eagle portrayed by a satinwood inlay.  Silk curtains in two shades of blue were hung inside the openings so as not to obscure the window trim with an assymetric form based on a historic document design.  The main feature of the room, however, was a spectacular scenic wallpaper, circa 1853, depicting the American Revolutionary War that had come from a house in Baltimore.  The first image shows the more finished scheme, rather than an antique rug, a contemporary carpet with a subtle flamestitch pattern was used, and the damask chair seats were changed to tooled white leather (perhaps both being influences by Boudin) adding to the effect that it was a stylish private residence instead of a museum despite the high quality of furnishings.

Image from PARISH-HADLEY:  SIXTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DESIGN.

President William Henry Harrison, in office for only 32 days, broke from tradition and used this room as his bedroom;  he died of pneumonia here in 1841 and most of the predecessors returned to using the bedroom across the hall.  Along with the adjacent corner room, the suite was used by the Prince of Wales in 1860 during his Buchanan administration visit and became known for a time thereafter as the "Prince of Wales Room".  In 1861, Mary Lincoln installed the furniture from the Philadelphia firm of William Carryl now associated with "The Lincoln Bedroom";  their beloved eleven year old son Willie died in the elaborate bed just months after the decoration of the room was complete and President Lincoln was embalmed in the room three years later according to AMERICA'S FIRST FAMILIES by Carl Sferraza Anthony.

Photo:  Library of Congress.

This 1898 view of the room shows how it appeared when used as a bedroom during the McKinley Presidency, photographed for the first time. First Lady Ida McKinley had it painted pink and spent most of her time during her White House occupancy.  The painting above the two brass beds pushed together is of their daughter who had died two decades earlier.

Photo:  Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing.

Some of the Victorian decoration was removed for Alice Roosevelt's use as a bedroom as seen in this 1902 photo.  During a meal with the Nixons about 70 years later, Alice Roosevelt Longworth remembered that she had her appendix removed in the room. Sister Ethel's bedroom is glimpsed through the open door.

Photo:  Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing.

Photo:  Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing.

A daughter of President Taft also used the space as a bedroom as seen in these circa 1911 photographs.  The idea of stylish comfort is beginning to show in the decoration of the room.

Photo:  Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.

As seen in this 1948 view of the room prior to the reconstruction of the White House, the Trumans daughter Margaret used it as her Sitting Room.  The piano leg's breaking through the floor was one of the factors that contributed to the decision to completely gut the mansion and rebuild it within the shell.

Photo:  Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.

The reconstruction deleted the chimney breast as shown in the 1952 photograph taken as the work was not yet completed. Also the doorway that had been adjacent to the fireplace was removed as that was the First Lady's Study on the other side of the wall.

Photo from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.

The reconstruction provided an elliptical end at the entrance to the room that served as a device to visually center the fireplace in the room.  A concealed door on the left leads to a closet.  The corresponding space on the right is also used as storage, but accessed through the hall to the corner room used by Margaret Truman as her bedroom.  The West Sitting Hall, used as a Living Room for the First Family, is seen through the doorway.

President Johnson at the head of the table with his advisors.
White House photo.

President Johnson, right, with his advisors.
White House photo.

Despite the enormous differences between the Kennedys and the Johnsons, there were no widespread changes of the White House decor, as shown in these photos of President Johnson meeting with his advisors in 1967.  In fact, the work that had already been ordered by Jacqueline Kennedy proceeded and was installed during the Johnson Administration.  (The exception was the Oval Office which had furnishings that were installed during the trip to Dallas;  President Johnson kept the curtains by Stephane Boudin but brought in the same desk he had used since his days in the Senate, added a console that held three televisions so he could see all the major networks at the same time, and eventually changed the red carpet to gray).

Photo:  National Archives and Records Administration.

Although it appears that only the rug has changed in circa 1970 photo of the Nixon family dining in the room, the curtains were replaced around 1968, duplicating the previous design.

Photo:  The White House Museum Organization.

At some time later in the early 1970s, the influence of Clement Conger, the new White House Curator, can be seen in the change of carpet, a recreation of a historic document design. Along with Edward Vason Jones and design consultant Sarah Jackson Doyle, who had worked with the Nixons since 1965 (according to The Richard Nixon Foundation), First Lady Pat Nixon refurbished both private family rooms on the second floor as well as public rooms on the main floor.

Photo:  The Richard Nixon Foundation.

This circa 1973 view, again of the Nixon family dining, shows the carpet but few changes otherwise from the Kennedy scheme.

Photo:  National Archives and Records Administration.

When Gerald Ford became President in 1974 after the resignation of Richard Nixon, he became the only person to hold that office who was never elected President or Vice-President by the Electoral Colllege.  Although President Ford may be best remembered for granting Nixon a Presidential Pardon for his role in the Watergate Scandal, this writer associates him with the one who removed the scenic wallpaper;  he just could not bear it and had the walls painted yellow.  Ironically he is shown here raising a glass to the First Lady;  after a long-running battle with alcoholism, she was the founder and first chair of the board of directors of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction.

Photo:  Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.

In Bicentennial Year of 1976, the Fords are shown with guests Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the yellow painted room.  That thermostat between the Queen and the President was always there, apparently, but not so prominent with the design of the wallpaper.  The reproduction carpet is replaced with an Oriental rug.

First Lady Rosalynn Carter is at the head of the table with the President's mother, Lillian,
opposite.  Daughter Amy is in the plaid shirt on the right.
White House photo.

By the time of this circa 1978 photo, the Carters had reinstalled the scenic wallpaper.  Rosalynn Carter's decorator was Carleton Varney, known for his bold use of color.

Photo from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library.

In this photo dating from 1981, the room is set up for a dinner honoring Charles, Prince of Wales.  The second mirror, duplicating the one over the mantle, is too high on the wall, a position especially noticeable with the sideboard removed.  An empire pier table is placed between the windows, now with damask curtains covering the trim, presumably designed by the Reagan's decorator Ted Graber.

Photo from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library.

The room as it usually appeared during the Reagan years is seen in this 1986 photo.  The rug and chair seat upholstery seems to be the same from when the Fords decorated the room.

Photo by the Historic American Building Survey.

The  1992 photograph by the Historic American Building Survey shows the room as it appeared during the occupancy of Barbara and George Herbert Walker Bush, sometimes referred to as Bush 41 as he was the 41st President.  The Bush's decorator was Mark Hampton who apparently made little if any changes to this room.

Photo from The White House Museum Organization.

When the photos of the redecoration of Hillary and Bill Clinton's White House by Little Rock, Arkansas, decorator Kaki Hockersmith became public, they were a sensation.  But not generally in a positive way.  The consensus was that the design lacked an understanding of the scale and history of the White House and how the residence was used.  This time, the scenic wallpaper was not removed, but covered by a pale green fabric. This photo dates from about 1997.

White House Photo of  President George W. Bush with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice,
by Eric Draper.

Laura and George W. Bush, Bush 43, employed Fort Worth, Texas, decorator Kenneth Blasingame to essentially erase all the Clinton decor.  In contrast to the previous schemes, Laura Bush's decor was not controversial, but not particularly newsworthy either.  In this room, it seems the shield-back Hepplewhite dining chairs remain, but the chintz upholstery was changed to a more period-correct horsehair with decorative swag nail-head trim.  Also, the reproduction carpet pattern from the Nixon administration returned.  A golden yellow damask is now covering the walls.

White House photo by Peter Souza.

With the exception of photos of the Obama Oval Office, few photos have been released to reveal the interior design schemes of Santa Monica, California, decorator Michael S.Smith. Although Smith is involved in a number of commercial fabric and furniture lines, he clearly had not yet decorated this room as shown in this 2009 photo of Michelle Obama with Nancy Reagan.  The placement of the mid-19th century giltwood mirror above the mantle also dates from the Laura Bush-Kenneth Blasingame decoration.

More information about the White House can be found at the official White House website and the White House Historical Association.  Non-official sites such as The White House Museum Organization and the Facebook Group, White House Fanatics, are also sources of information.  The ground-breaking book DESIGNING CAMELOT: THE KENNEDY WHITE HOUSE RESTORATION by James Archer Abbott is the ultimate reference for the subject.