Thu. September 2, 2010
Washington, D.C. -
Gay designer Michael Smith is the man responsible for the new look of the Oval Office.
Smith was appointed to the Committee for Preservation of the White House earlier this year.
Smith added a new rug (sewn with quotations from President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), two new sofas, and blue lamps.
In a review called "The Audacity of Taupe," the New York Times called the makeover "subtle" and "yawn."
"The room has been calmed down, perhaps because it is actually used more than usual," White House historian William Seale told the NYT. "It is, in my opinion, more welcoming to a person entering it who is overwhelmed by where he or she is."
The New York Times reports that Smith has also worked for Cindy Crawford and former News Corp. CEO Peter Chernin.
No taxpayer money was used on the Oval Office remodeling, which was done while the President was on vacation.
Adding, subtracting or altering the Oval Office has become somewhat of a tradition. The previous rug, for example, had been added by Laura Bush.
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