The Obamas Will Pay For Their Own Redecorating

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Mar 30th 2009 at 3:02PM

Michelle Obama has already taken a rake to the White House lawn tohelp put a kitchen garden in, now the First Family is taking matters into their own hands when it comes to White House decor. New York magazine reports that Barack and Michelle Obama have decided not to use taxpayers' money to renovate their private quarters at the White House. Traditionally new presidents have $100,000 of government money to outfit their rooms. But the Obamas, who hired famous interior designer Michael S. Smith. will not be using public funds or accepting free goods to redecorate their quarters. Because it will be out of public domain, the exact budget for the Obama overhaul isn't known. Michelle Obama has expressed interests in brands like Pottery Barn but that might be a bit of a waste of Mr. Smith's talents.

Tags: barack obama, BarackObama, michelle obama, MichelleObama, white house, WhiteHouse

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mary Lou Schaeffer Mar 30th 2009 5:17PM

Let's hope their personal taste is not on a par with the tacky gift given to the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The crowning touch to that tacky gift was that the DVDs were not functional in Britain. However,since it is their personal quarters, it is a matter of lesser importance and can always be repaired like much of the damage the White House incurred when our Beloved Bill left office.

William Mar 30th 2009 5:28PM

Good for them! I like how they're setting an example of not wasting taxpayers' money.

"But the Obamas, who hired famous interior designer Michael S. Smith. will not be using public funds or accepting free goods to redecorate their quarters." should be a comma, not a period, in the middle of the sentence.

"but that would might be a bit of a waste of Mr. Smith's talents." would or might?

C.S. Mar 30th 2009 8:27PM

Considering that Mr. Smith's "talents" include purchasing John Thain's famous antique commode while redesigning his executive office, I think it is an open question whether he is too good for Pottery Barn. I would even be willing to entertain the proposition that Pottery Barn is too good for him.

And Mary Lou, you may not know that gifts exchanged by heads of state are usually not actually selected by the heads of state. The hostility shown in your comment seems a bit misplaced. More than a little bit, actually.

C.S. Mar 30th 2009 8:41PM

Also, Mary Lou, you do know that the "damage" sustained by the White House when "our Beloved Bill left office" was not actually . . . any damage whatsoever? That it was a cheap shot by Karl Rove? That this fact has been pretty conclusively documented?

It's clear you don't like Democratic presidents, but I would think that you might be able to rein in your bitterness for the sake of blog comments about redecorating the White House. Now, I will grant you that you might be able to sway some hearts and minds, convincing them in the face of all evidence to the contrary that the Obamas are tacky, classless, and crude, and that they represent a significant step down from the sophiticated, august presence which so recently occupied the office. I would also think those numbers would be slim, and overwhelmingly formed of those whose consideration of what and what is not "tacky" is in line with their foregone conclusions about who is doing the giving or buying rather than the thing being given or bought.

In other words, your bitter jabs reveal nothing more or less than a tacky soul.