The Oval Office Gets a Makeover

I'm afraid of viaiotlng NDA with previous corp. (the current corp I mentioned in the post)but I didn't work on OVAL related stuffs for a long time.developing such an app need a lot of time, that's why the project looks freeze.why not contribute to sussen?sussen is different from what I want to do from design to implement.

AKAIK you've got the anwser in one!

Yuck. Michael Smith could do waay better. Bland, beige and fuddy duddy. I liked the Clinton office better!

nice, now i see clearly those hidden doors...
well, that's a good way to put it up a notch...
nice insights works well in clientele explanation and information resource option.
www.lanasinteriordesign.com
construction bahamas

As a designer myself, I feel it is always important to give the client what they want. If it is functional and pleasing to the eye of the client then that is what matters most. This is the office of the President. If he is pleased with the result, that is all that matters. My only comment would be,
to rid the mantle of the hedge. I found it too heavy in the Bush oval office decor and it is too heavy in this setting. It would be an opportunity to display something less intrusive and more reflective of the President himself. The fireplace is completely weighed down by it.

L.A. designer Michael Smith redesigned the Oval Office. He has been talked about all over the news and the interwebs...

Ok I have seen beige done well but this isn't one of them. I love teal but there is too little of it. I agree that they probably thought that it is a backdrop for the personalities that occupy the room but it just seems dawdy. :(

The room certainly lacks all pretension and will not intimidate by overpowering visitors. The seal has been scaled so it is centered without any furniture being placed over it... sensible. The whole thing is sensible and, mainly, academic. It has that Harvard professorial vibe going on; an afterthought to the activity of the minds in the room.

Reminds me of jobs I've worked on where the client or client's wife insisted on overriding some element(s) of the design, to put their own 'thumbprint' on the work. They end up robbing the essence of the design, and the designer loses interest in having their name associated with the work. It generally seems to happen with clients who lack experience in working with (and trusting) interior designers.

i'm a architect and have done lot's of office interiors in the past(20yrs). All i can say.., poor design psychology here. Very relaxing,too soft, monotonous ...President's office needs to motivate more spirit for solving problems... Well can't dso much about that now...Just a splash of more of Michelle's Teal dresstones & deep brick reds for the sofa pillows & more Greens(plants) will cure the effect.

Chairs & desk even the coffee table - fine, but those sofas are disgusting (where did the get them off the set of Roseanne?) and so are those lamps! I would have gone with high backed chesterfields in the same leather as the chairs and gone for a deep coloured rug; maybe burgundy. A room can be understated without looking bland.

One comment that has not been made is the use of the space - it is an office for the President/cabinet and the occasional dignitary. The subdued color palette is the right choice, it will let the personalities of those in the room be front and center and not be competing with the background - that is what good design is about.

One comment that has not been made is the use of the space - it is an office for the President/cabinet and the occasional dignitary. The subdued color palette is the right choice, it will let the personalities of those in the room be front and center and not be competing with the background - that is what good design is about.

I'm all for comfortable and understated, but still believe the space should make some kind of statement other than boring. Personally, I don't think the sofas look comfortable at all. But, as has been said, one must work to please the client, and if President Obama is happy, who's going to argue?

I definately would have focused on bringing the Obama's personalities into this room. Everyone would have loved to see that. Fresh, Organized, Optimistic, and Respectful.

Maybe we could give Mr. Smith a little credit - perhaps the occupant requested an understated environment, to provide some "calm in the midst of the storm"?

Everything is so low .. no height, no interest. The pillows are uninspiring. I appreciate the hurdles that the designer may have had to go through .. but wow .. this is the Oval Office .. what an opportunity, to bad it is so blah.

Does anyone remember what Valery Giscard D'Estaing and his wife did with their official residence (Of course, it was French and 'socialist', so probably a no-no for the White House).

"drab" is a good choice:)

This is the Oval Office and should be elegant and understated. It looks like the lobby at the Marriott Courtyard.

hey Kat - I am a strong believer in that you can't please everyone. I think where the design takes a stand is that its much more casual than what we have seen in the past. This I applaud as a statement in itself. Its comfortable and very real. Yet in that it seems to lack some umphhhh.
Thanks for comments everyone - always interested to hear your thoughts.

where is the red of the flag. How that would have popped all that beige!! And could the presidential seal in the rug be any smaller?!

I am not surprised at the way this looks, although it would have been nice to have a design statement or concept at work. If you are anxious to please everyone, you can end up pleasing no one, in design as in politics Take a stand!

the designer, michael smith was mentioned in the ny times article. I was surprised at how uninteresting it was, no artful touches, no elegance, no personality.. it must have been done by a committee.

wow, I think they've cornered the beige market. incredibly ho-hum. and agreed, how could they not mention the designer?