We Asked Interior Designers To Explain Trump's White House Redesign, And Boy Did They Have THOUGHTS

“My archetypal content was that the redesign wholly ignored the architecture it sits inside,” said interior decorator Sarah Boardman. “The White House is simply a blend of Palladian and Georgian neoclassical design, with beautifully restrained Irish influences, brushed curves, elegant proportions and elaborate plasterwork that already supply each the ornament the country needs.”

She noted that past presidents person mostly honored that foundation, adjacent if they opted for somewhat bolder carpets oregon richer fabrics.

Art historiographer Robert Wellington, writer of Versailles Mirrored: The Power of Luxury, Louis XIV to Donald Trump, said the aesthetic echoes not conscionable Versailles specifically, but a broader European palace contented that was aboriginal co-opted by America’s Gilded Age elites.

“Trump has agelong shown an involvement successful the Louis XIV style, the look and consciousness radical subordinate with Versailles,” Wellington said. “What I really spot is simply a contented that builds connected European palace plan meant to awesome princely magnificence. In the Gilded Age, America’s robber barons borrowed those strategies to telegraph their ain societal ascendance. Trump is drafting from that and fundamentally bringing his benignant of corporate-branding strategy to the White House. The thought is that if helium surrounds himself with luxurious things, it shows he’s the benignant of idiosyncratic who should pb the country.”

Interior decorator Kelley Wagner ― who has posted galore TikTok critiques of the existent president’s design choices ― besides drew comparisons to Louis XIV’s Versailles and adjacent the lavish interiors shown successful images of Vladimir Putin’s purported residence.

“Both the Sun King’s Versailles and Putin’s location are ‘palaces,’ and were not designed to beryllium nationalist spaces,” she said. “It’s my content that President Trump has a idiosyncratic affinity for these motifs due to the fact that helium believes they convey opulence and power.”

What makes the Versailles-esque attack peculiarly jarring, designers said, is however sharply it contrasts with the gathering it occupies, some symbolically and visually. Wagner noted that the Rococo-style golden appliqués present covering the abstraction consciousness fundamentally mismatched.

“The sinewy motifs are astatine likelihood with the neoclassical style, which focuses much connected geometric shapes,” she said. “Additionally, the nonstop exertion of these pieces onto the wallpaper, marble fireplace situation and the golden leafing of existing elements is simply a spot unconventional.”

The spectacle is the point.

“Gold has ever been tied to status, legacy, and a consciousness of importance, truthful utilizing it truthful heavy successful a governmental abstraction sends a beauteous wide message,” said Andrew Shoukry, an interior decorator and laminitis of Shouk House. “It’s meant to consciousness almighty the infinitesimal you locomotion in. Metallic finishes consciousness ceremonial and astir theatrical, portion dense fabrics and ornate details adhd a consciousness of permanence.”

That theatricality becomes adjacent much striking successful a spot arsenic symbolically important arsenic the Oval Office.

“Covering its neoclassical detailing with golden appliqués and props turns it into a set, not a workspace,” Boardman said. “The summation of reddish ropes, the staged lighting, it each reads much similar a soundstage than the People’s House.”

She likened the effect to different environments designed to task idiosyncratic power. 

“Casinos usage high-gloss golden to make a consciousness of spectacle, wealthiness and heightened reality, a spot wherever you’re meant to consciousness similar thing tin happen,” Boardman said.

Wellington besides pointed to the inherently performative prime of Trump’s approach.

“There’s a batch of performativeness,” helium said. “Trump tin clasp meetings with a overseas person successful beforehand of the mantle that he’s decorated with each the golden trappings, and it’s the backdrop for its show of a palmy businessman who is present president.”

He added that the abstraction carries faint echoes of the “Queen of Versailles” documentary, which followed Florida socialite Jackie Siegel and her quest to physique a megamansion inspired by Louis XIV.

“The plan speaks volumes astir Trump’s personality,” Warren said. “He likes to beryllium the halfway of attention, and the caller gold-heavy Oval Office plan is surely grabbing the headlines.”

Designer and creator Isabella Segalovich likewise noted the attention-grabbing facet of the space.

“From a axenic aesthetic standpoint, the magnitude of 1 peculiar golden shadiness fundamentally chokes abstraction successful the room, and doesn’t let thing other successful abstraction to breathe,” she said. “Like truthful galore different things Trump does, it’s a request for our attention.”

But she besides sees thing other astatine play.

“It’s important to enactment that Trump is thing of a troll,” Segalovich said. “I deliberation there’s a non-zero accidental that helium revels successful the waves of outrage that travel from choices similar pouring factual implicit the Rose Garden and demolishing the East Wing of the White House. ‘Owning the libs,’ aft all, is simply a portion of his marque arsenic overmuch arsenic reddish hats and inexpensive golden decals.”

There’s a deeper symbolic impact.

Boardman emphasized that the occupation isn’t conscionable aesthetic but besides philosophical. 

“The Oval Office is simply a nationalist room, not a idiosyncratic surviving room,” she said. “It’s the interior sanctum of American leadership, and historically it’s been designed to task restraint, steadiness, and quiescent confidence. World leaders, children, subject families, everyone who enters that country should consciousness harmless and grounded.”

Across erstwhile administrations, presidents person added idiosyncratic touches portion inactive honoring the architecture and intent of the space.

“Even erstwhile the palettes shifted ― Reagan’s rosy taupes, Bush’s layered blues, Obama’s persimmon drapery and modern creation ― the choices inactive honored the architecture and conveyed calm, civic power,” Boardman said. 

Wellington echoed that point, noting that “before, it was a precise sober, quiescent space. It was a abstraction for concern and reflection. It was a abstraction for the work of office.”

“If helium could, I fishy he’d rebuild the West Wing wholly successful gold, mirrors, and marble tile, a reflection enclosure alternatively of a spot of governance, but the White House was ne'er meant to glorify 1 person,” Boardman noted. “Its architecture was built to outlast them.”

The caller Oval Office, she added, sends a connection of idiosyncratic powerfulness alternatively than nationalist service.

“In this context, the golden feels similar a changeless reminder to himself of status, powerfulness and opulence,” Boardman said. “It reads arsenic compensation alternatively than confidence, an situation designed to reflector backmost a circumstantial image, adjacent erstwhile it clashes with the room’s past and purpose.”

Interior decorator Liz Potarazu made a akin constituent astir the disconnect betwixt the intended projection of prestige and the effect it really creates.

“It reads little similar assured enactment and much similar performative authority, an aesthetic of dominance alternatively than an bureau grounded successful collaboration and policy-building,” she said. 

The peculiar shadiness of golden is besides notable.

Interior decorator Diana Lombard believes Trump’s usage of ornate, high-shine golden yet creates the other effect of what helium apt intended.

“Gold successful a plated, high-shine decorativeness tinges overmuch much yellowish than a existent antique brass and ends up looking showy arsenic opposed to distinguished,” she said. “Real brass, connected the different hand, has depth, variation, and subtlety. It’s a much nuanced, blase golden that develops a earthy patina implicit clip and, successful my opinion, much accurately represents craftsmanship and existent luxury, and by hold signifies wealthiness overmuch much than plated gold.”

Several experts noted that the golden successful Trump’s Oval Office appears to skew astir greenish successful photos, apt due to the fact that of the lighting choices. That, too, makes the circumstantial shadiness and decorativeness consciousness retired of spot successful the White House’s architectural context.

“When it sits adjacent to the authentic gold-leaf frames of portraits similar Washington oregon Franklin, the opposition is stark,” Boardman added. “One is historical trade ― the different is imitation. I’m not saying determination isn’t a spot for that aesthetic successful definite settings. But this country and this architecture is not it. Because helium near the existing wallpaper from his archetypal administration, the golden clashes and the TV acceptable lighting ramps up the canned gold.”

She emphasized that golden can enactment erstwhile it’s “soft, warm, and utilized arsenic an accent.” Trump’s first-term Oval Office leaned person to that tradition.

“The damask wallpaper, the softer golden drapes, the coral-and-cream carpet ― it didn’t combat the room,” Boardman said, adding that the second-term redesign is rather different. “Heavy, bright, ornate golden successful this quantity isn’t conscionable decorative, it’s symbolic. In a governmental setting, that overmuch metallic radiance attempts to pass dominance, hierarchy and self-focus. It shifts the Oval Office from a moving abstraction into a signifier set.”

That “stage set” prime becomes adjacent much evident erstwhile you look astatine the detailing itself.

“As immoderate person pointed out, immoderate of the golden decals look mighty akin to inexpensive polyurethane decorations you tin buy for arsenic small arsenic $1 on Chinese e-commerce website Alibaba,” Segalovich said. 

Wellington noted that this isn’t conscionable a substance of sensation but of symbolism.

“One mightiness accidental that immoderate of these choices cheapen the bureau and marque it look little dignified,” helium said, “because they bring successful the ocular codes of capitalism and of firm spaces.”

Its divergence from existent plan movements is besides notable.

“I deliberation radical person had specified a visceral absorption to Trump’s redesign of the Oval bureau due to the fact that it diverges truthful drastically from what is presently trending successful design,” Lombard said. “In a satellite saturated with AI and societal media, wherever the enactment betwixt existent and artificial often feels blurred, radical are gravitating toward natural, integrated materials and textures that convey authenticity.” 

Today’s plan sensibility leans toward warmth and environments that consciousness genuine and welcoming, alternatively than overly showy oregon heavy ornamented.

“Contemporary plan has moved adjacent further distant from dense ornamentation,” Boardman said. “Whether successful high-end residential, hospitality oregon organization design, we’re seeing a displacement toward softer palettes, matte finishes, earthy materials, neurodivergent-friendly texture, and spaces that consciousness calm and grounded.”

By contrast, she added, Trump’s Oval Office “has much successful communal with luxury casinos, resorts and themed environments similar the MGM Grand than with immoderate existent plan movement.”

Potarazu observed a akin improvement crossed the plan industry.

“In our firm, we’re seeing a beardown displacement toward ‘quiet luxury’ ― matte finishes, earthy materials and a batch little flash,” she said. “Clients are progressively moving distant from bright, yellow-toned golden finishes and returning to much timeless metals similar polished nickel, aged brass and antique bronze. There’s besides the resurgence of the ‘old-money aesthetic,’ which this mentation of the Oval Office doesn’t rather reach. It feels quintessentially ‘new money.’”

“For me, the usage of ornamentation, maximalism, and adjacent a interaction of golden leafage isn’t arsenic overmuch of a occupation arsenic is the ridiculously outsized decals that basal retired similar garish flames supra the framed portraits,” Segalovich said. 

Ultimately, the plan reflects Trump arsenic a brand, alternatively than a person of people.