To those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas! I hope you are all enjoying my White House tour, I know I am. 
Thank you so much for your informative comments. I have to admit I sadly know very little about this important building's history and am enjoying the lesson!
Probably the most famous room in the White House (at least in my understanding) is the East Room, home to some of the most memorable events in the building's history. 
The largest room in the house, it was originally refered to as the Public Audience Hall but the name was thought to sound too reminicent of a throne room and so has since been referred to as the more democratic sounding East Room. 
The room has changed notably from the 19th century. During Grants administration, the room was highly ridiculed as being 'steamboat Gothic', as seen below in 1873. Thanks heavens curators haven't decided to go back to this version of the room!
The room's transformation was done most notably by the architectural firm McKim, Meade and White, seen here below in 1904. 
McKim based the Louis XVI design on the famous Salon de famille at the Chateau de Compiegne, seen below. The details were perhaps slightly less refined due to the limited headroom, but notice the same heirarchy of pilasters and paneled chair rail: a notable inspiration.
Later, from 1949-1952, when the room was dismanteled during the remodeling of the white house, the original paneling was damaged and had to be recreated. The picture below shows a detail of the paneling today (ignore the switchplate cover which I thought was a bit hilarious -thats the best they can do?!). 
The paneling was done in a simpler fashion but is perhaps more elegant to my eye. Certainly, at the least the ceiling is preferable if not the paneling. 
During the Kennedy administration, Jacqueline Kennedy made her famous bid to save the quality and history of the White House. She hired notable interior designer Stephane Boudin who oversaw a lot of the elegant transformation of the interiors including painting the red marble fireplaces a clean white, seen above (which I wish would be brought back into the room; the Clinton's had the white paint removed). 
The curtains are of similar fabric to what Boudin chose although with a more complicated valance, done by Mrs. Bush. The gilded valances are original to the McKim renovation of the room.
The Aubusson styled carpets were installed by the Clintons to help preserve the wood floors.
During the holidays, the central window curtains are opened to display a Creche. In most images I've ever seen, these curtains have been closed for whatever reason -is it the view?
In this image from 1920 below, you can see a different window configuration from the McKim renovation which I prefer. I suppose during the Truman administration, when the room was changed and simplified, only the central window made the cut?
The beautiful mahogany doors and doorframes, seen below, are original to the room from 1815 when the room was first finished after the burning of the White House. Prior to that it was partitioned into spaces as needed, including Abigail Adams hanging her laundry here! 
The theme in this years decoration is the peacock, which I think is a lovely color combination with the gold.
Join me tomorrow to see the State Dining Room.
Last night I had the opportunity to tour the White House for the first time and see all of the holiday decor.
Everyone knows this iconic building and the history is taught to school children the country over. I was embaressed to admit I had never visited given that it's a mere 4 blocks from my apartment!
Everyone says their first impression is that it's small, but that was not mine. It's a BIG house! However, I thought it felt sort of institutional and not residential at all, did anyone else ever get that impression? It could have been the crowds of tourists that led me to feel this.
Today I'm going to show some of the details I noticed in the entrance and cross halls - probably my favorite parts of the house; certainly the most elegant that I was able to see.
The space was dramatically lit, which probably helped my impression! I loved the uplit tree branches in the oversized urns.
The first of many trees greets you, flanking the colonnade.
I thought these drapery rods were unusual and interesting!
A portrait of Bill Clinton above an empire daybed sits on the right of the entry beside the fireplace -certainly a place of honor?
Across the entry hall from the fireplace is the grand staircase where we have all seen pictures of our many presidents before formal occasions, draped in poinsettias for the season.
Directly across the hall from the front door is the seal of the president over the blue room. As the hall is relatively monochrome, it really makes a statement!
The cross hall was probably the most beautiful room in the house. The pink and white marble checkered floor really gleamed in the light. No wonder so many presidential press conferences are held in the East Room with the hall as a backdrop.
I think these photos say more than a thousand words on how multiple lighting sources create a good effect!
A detail of the urns.
These chandeliers which line the cross hall really are stunning!
More poinsettias drape the entry to the State Dining room.
The mouldings are all intricate and obviously well cared for. They could have been made recently -no gloopy paint in sight!
Behind the main staircase was this empire settee. Now, the White House is full of Empire furniture, which I'm not a huge fan of -does anyone know why? A piece or two mixed in is great but a whole house full?
A bust of George Washington lies in the niche between the entrance hall and state dining room.
On the opposite side of the Cross Hall, Lincoln lies in the niche right before the East Room
Lafayette is in a niche in the overdoor of the beautiful cherry doors which lead to the back staircase.
Stay tuned tomorrow for more interiors from the White House!
I just spent an exciting weekend visiting friends in New York. One of my favorite things about the city during the holidays are the window displays. My favorite this year are probably the windows done by the amazing Simon Doonan at Barneys (which just happens to be one of my favorite stores in the city!).
This years theme was a foodie holiday. Hilarious caricatures of everyone's favorite foodie hosts participated: from Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray (grimacing from a clock!) to Paula Deen with her pockets filled with sticks of butter (I loved that one!).
Mario Batali was unceremoniously stuffed like a pig on the dinner table in one window while a glamorous evening gown reminicent of Grace Kelly in the masked ball of To catch a Thief was created from Illy coffee bags in an adjacent display.
Nothing beats New York for getting one into the holiday spirit (and spending more money than you mean to!). What do you do to get into the holiday spirit? 
Happy Decoration day / Memorial Day! Don't forget to remember your passed loved ones and those who have so bravely fought for our freedoms. 
I decided last minute to stay in town and because of the hot weather have been nesting. Lilies from the Dupont farmers market.
This past weekend, I hosted Easter dinner for six and thought I would share it with all of you via the weekly Tablescape Thursdays at Between Naps on the Porch.
I was tired of the white tablecloths I have, so I went to Pottery Barn and got this beautiful tan paisley cloth. It has tiny specs of green in the pattern that match the green linen napkins I already had.
I used my white sanssouci plates for the main course (roast lamb and vegetables) with some pretty antique plates by Ernst Wahliss with a red floral pattern for the salad course (waldorf salad).
The serving pieces are an antique pattern by Minton that I rarely get to use as they're so big! I dream of having a dining room someday so I can hang that huge platter on the wall!
I chose 2 small bunches of ranunculus on either end of the table, leaving the main course as the center of attention (family style).
I had to have a fun party favor to embaress my guests with. These candy suckers in the shape of a bunny snout will come in handy for ransom someday as I insisted each guest had their picture taken 'wearing' them!
I hope you enjoyed my Easter dinner tour!
