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First Lady Michelle Obama gives White House State Dining Room a facelift

July 10, 2015 By Natalie Heinitz

First Lady Michelle Obama has redecorated the White House State Dining Room for the first time since the Clinton Administration. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

First Lady Michelle Obama has redecorated the White House State Dining Room for the first time since the Clinton Administration. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

The White House State Dining Room, the top destination for locals and dignitaries, has been redecorated by First Lady Michelle Obama for the first time since the Clinton administration.

The changes include new curtains, whose peacock blue and ecru stripes compliment the “Kailua” blue in the Obama state china service, both of which incorporate a Hawaiian feel from Obama’s home state. The new mahogany, custom-made chairs, however, take influence from President James Monroe’s chair selection for the East Room in 1818.

A new blue-green, custom-made rug was also acquired, which includes designs from the ceiling of the dining room in its intricately woven stitching. Installment on two new rugs, so they could be switched out for cleaning, began in 2012.

In total, the redecoration cost the privately funded White House Historical Association’s White House Endowment Trust $590,000. The Old Family Dining Room, which Michelle Obama redecorated earlier this year, cost $290,000 and now sports a more modern feel with abstract art and bold colors.

Read more about the State Dining Room’s redecoration on bigstory.ap.org.

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Filed Under: The White House, Washington Insider, White House History Tagged With: First Lady, Michelle Obama, Redecoration, White House, White House State Dining Room

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Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful reporters and editors in the world, the Washington press corps. We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos. Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and she hosts the Washington Insider podcast.

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