WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama likes to say the White House is the “people’s house.” Now, the people are getting a look at the rooms where he lives.
Exclusive photos published Tuesday by Architectural Digest are giving the public its first glimpse of private areas on the second floor of the White House that Obama, his wife, Michelle, daughters Malia and Sasha and family dogs Bo and Sunny have called home for nearly eight years.
Los Angeles-based interior designer Michael Smith decorated the rooms, as well as the Oval Office. A mutual friend in Chicago introduced him to the Obamas after the 2008 election.
The first lady said Smith managed to reflect her family’s tastes while respecting the history of the White House.
“Above all, it has truly felt like a home for our family,” she told the magazine.
Other photos show the Yellow Oval Room; the Treaty Room, where Obama retreats late at night to read briefing material for the next day; a sitting room and a dining room. The rooms are adorned with a variety of modern and contemporary art borrowed from major art institutions, such as the National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian museums.
Architectural Digest has also published photos of the private living quarters of Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Amy Astley, the editor in chief, said the Obamas’ personal style, and the history and diversity of the nation, are reflected in their art and decor choices. The Architectural Digest issue with photos of the Obama living quarters is scheduled to appear on newsstands on Nov. 8, Election Day.
Decorated in beige hues, the master bedroom has an antique canopy bed decked out with fine Italian linen. Identical, footed tables at either side of the bed, one bearing family photos and one stacked with books. Matching, upholstered chairs and a sofa form a sitting area.
Smith called the bedroom the Obamas’ “sanctuary.”
“You really want to make sure that the president of the United States gets a good night’s sleep,” he told the magazine.
That’s something Obama apparently gets. “I have a phone right by my bedside and every morning somebody calls and says, ‘Mr. President, it’s your 7 a.m. wake-up call,'” Obama said during an appearance last week on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
See the new photos below:
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Great. Now ISIS knows what the President’s living quarters look like.
Thanks, Obama!
The American people are curious to see how the First Family lives, and it’s beautiful as could be predicted. But just wait until the head of ISIS, if he lives much longer, checks out the Architectural Digest website. He’s going to be so jealous, but if ISIS wants to scale some fences and be met with men with guns, they can certainly try. They could attack the gold apartment on Fifth Avenue more successfully.
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/obama-white-house
All that African Art is a dead giveaway/snark
Pretty spare by trump standards.
But then as public housing goes…not so bad.
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Great…Now trump can measure the curtains.
Thanks Obama
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Seriously now and snark aside. I am going to miss having Obama at the helm. I know he wants to lay down the responsibilities but dang …I feel confident in his handling of the office. If trump is elected we will be in Deeeeeeep Shit.
Just to close my comment out here’s a take on trump’s 1st 100 days in office:
How well it suits our First Family.