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- Donald Trump has brought his love of maximalism and gold furnishings to the White House
- He added gold embellishments to the walls and ceiling of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room.
- He has also renovated the Rose Garden and announced plans to build a ballroom in the East Wing.
The Oval Office is looking a little bit different lately.
Every US president makes new interior design choices upon entering the White House, often reflecting their personal tastes or political views.
In his second nonconsecutive term, President Donald Trump has incorporated his love of maximalism and gold furnishings into the Oval Office.
More White House renovations are in the works. Construction of a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot state ballroom began in the East Wing in September.
Take a look inside Trump’s redecorated White House to see the changes he’s made since former President Joe Biden left office.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Biden’s dark-blue Oval Office rug was originally designed for Bill Clinton.
The rug, which featured the presidential seal in the center, was designed by Kaki Hockersmith, an interior designer based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Upon returning to the White House, Trump replaced it with a lighter rug used by Ronald Reagan.
The rug’s design includes the presidential seal, a sunbeam pattern, and olive branches along the border as a symbol of peace.
Trump also used the rug during his first term.
Biden only had two flags in the Oval Office.
Biden displayed an American flag and a flag with the presidential seal.
Trump added the flags of different branches of the US military.
Trump’s Oval Office features the flags of the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Navy.
During Biden’s presidency, the Oval Office’s ceiling didn’t feature any additional embellishments.
The crown molding on the ceiling matched the cream wallpaper.
Trump added gold trim to the crown molding on the ceiling.
The gold embellishments matched the gold curtains, which remained in place from Biden’s presidency.
Biden’s Oval Office featured a prominent portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Biden also hung portraits of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton together to symbolize the benefits of different opinions, as well as portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Trump added additional portraits and numerous gold embellishments to the space.
Trump added more portraits with decorative frames to create an Oval Office gallery wall. He also replaced Biden’s portrait of FDR with one of George Washington and displayed historic gold urns and baskets from the White House collection on the mantle.
Trump also incorporated smaller gold details, such as coasters, branded with his name.
Trump’s love of gold decor is well-known. His Trump Tower penthouse in New York City features numerous gilded ceilings, furniture pieces, and artwork. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, also includes a ballroom covered in gold from floor to ceiling.
Before Trump took office for the second time, the presidential seal on the ceiling of the Oval Office was a subtle adornment.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt added the plaster relief of the presidential seal to the Oval Office during a 1934 White House renovation.
Trump added gilded gold detailing to the design, making it more visible.
Both the seal and the stars surrounding it were covered in gold paint.
Biden chose to display President Barack Obama’s official White House portrait in the Entrance Hall.
The hyperrealistic portrait, painted by Robert McCurdy, was unveiled at the White House in 2023.
Trump replaced Obama’s portrait with a painting of himself.
Artist Marc Lipp painted a rendering of an Associated Press photo that captured Trump raising his fist in the air following an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The White House Rose Garden previously featured a grass lawn.
Before it was used for press conferences and events, first lady Ellen Wilson originally designed the outdoor space as a formal flower garden in 1913.
First lady Melania Trump added a limestone border around the lawn in 2020.
Trump decided to pave over the grass in the Rose Garden, turning it into an outdoor terrace rebranded as “The Rose Garden Club.”
Trump told Fox News that the grass in the Rose Garden was impractical for large events because it stayed wet when it rained and was too soft for attendees who wore high heels.
“The grass just doesn’t work,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in March.
Workers began transforming the lawn into a patio in June, replacing the grass with concrete and stone tiles. “The Rose Garden Club” was completed in August.
Biden and previous presidents occasionally held large events, such as state dinners, in decorative tents on the White House lawn.
The East Room, the largest state room in the White House, has a seating capacity of 200 people. When Biden hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in 2023, he held the state dinner in a tent outside the White House to accommodate the larger crowd of over 300.
In July, Trump announced plans to build a state ballroom with a capacity of 650 in the East Wing.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which the White House called a “much-needed and exquisite addition,” will cost approximately $200 million to construct. Trump and other “patriot donors” will foot the bill for the project, the White House said.
During the Biden administration, the Cabinet Room featured minimal artwork and decor.
Located in the West Wing near the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room overlooks the Rose Garden and features a large, oval-shaped mahogany table purchased by President Richard Nixon in 1970, according to Obama’s archived White House website.
Seating at the table is assigned in order of when each department was established, with the oldest departments sitting nearest to the president.
Trump added additional paintings to the walls and gold furnishings along the ceiling.
Trump chose portraits of past presidents, including George Washington, John Adams, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower, to decorate the Cabinet Room.
“The vaults are where we have a lot of great pictures and artwork,” Trump told reporters in July. “And I picked it all myself, I’m very proud of it.”
The Cabinet Room featured eagle-shaped wall sconces during Biden’s presidency.
The eagle sconces were installed as part of a 2004 refurbishment of the Cabinet Room that also included a new rug, curtains, and paint color.
Trump added 24-karat gold decals to the walls and installed matching gold curtains.
“Some of the highest quality 24 Karat Gold used in the Oval Office and Cabinet Room of the White House,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in September. “Foreign Leaders, and everyone else, ‘freak out’ when they see the quality and beauty.”
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