Audacity of taupe: Designers, pundits rate Oval Office redo

Video: White House mum on Oval Office makeover cost

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   >>> a lot of people like to redo their home offices, but when yours is the most famous office in the world, the oval office , any makeover is going to get a lot of scrutiny. savannah guthrie is back this morning with a new look at president obama 's workplace.

   >> reporter: most presidents do redecorate their offices when they are inaugurated. president obama decided to wait a little while. at first he said he liked the way president bush had it decorat decorated. but now it seems it's time for a change .

   >> good evening.

   >> reporter: on tuesday night, it wasn't just what president obama said that got noticed, but where he said it, an oval office that just got a makeover. while the president and first family were away vacationing on martha's vineyard, workers were putting in new wallpaper, a pair of new sofas, two chairs reupholstered, new brightly coloreded lamps and a coffee table and the centerpiece of the famously oval room, a carpet with famous quotes.

   >> during our discussions --

   >> reporter: new presidents traditionally redecorate their office to make them their own.

   >> we want you to see the new rug, it's a tradition for each president.

   >> reporter: president bush had his wife laura design his oval office rug. he talked about it often. historians say president obama 's choices fit his personality.

   >> the fact that obama is the president for whom words matter so much, makes this rug the most personal of the changes that he's made in the white house .

   >> reporter: but mum's the word from the white house on how much the redesign cost, although officials say it was comparable to what presidents clinton and bush had spent and downplayed just how extreme a makeover this really is.

   >> each president puts his stay up on the office . none of the modest changes that were done inside the oval office were done at any taxpayer expense.

   >> reporter: and the white house points out the new items were made in america. and these oval office redecorations were paid for by donations to the presidential inauguration committee.

   >>> margaret russell , the editor-in-chief at architectural digest mag sheeazinmagazine.

   >> michael's not talking about this project and he won't. you know, he's incredibly discreet about his clients. but they have been in the office now for several months and every president does come in and put his own imprint on the oval office . it was expected.

   >> it's modern.

   >> it is modern.

   >> it is very, very different. and that is one reason why there's been a little bit of scrutiny, in fact i would say bad reviews. and one was talking about the discussion about the scrutiny, one actually compared it to a law office in a strip mall . okay, now i know you're not a designer.

   >> that's just mean.

   >> okay, it is. but what do you think? i mean give us an idea about what he was going for and what the ideas of this room.

   >> i think the ideas are really stronger and i think the room reflects the president who i think is a very modern looking president. but he always has one foot in the past, and one foot in the future. i think that he's very cognizant of the legacy and the foundation of that office . so this office actually has a lot that's been there for a long time. what we saw in the speech last night with the curtains hanging behind the president, those were the same curtains from the president bush . the biggest change is that extraordinary rug that was made in america and has the presidential seal and quotes from four presidents and martin luther king jr . around the edge of it. words mean a great deal to this president. that i think is my favorite thing in the room.

   >> you also like the fact that everything in the office is american made. there's a specific point and that's kind of a first.

   >> i think it's really important, it's surprising to me that in the past everything wasn't american made and it is now. and the design industry has been really hard hit by the economy. so whether it's good or bad reviews if there's more attention paid to design because of this, then i think michael smith has done a good thing. he's focused on very small family owned companies and i think their businesses will get a boost from this exposure.

   >> no taxpayer money was used to remodel this office . you're someone who understands this profession. how much do you think it actually cost?

   >> i have no idea, i know the rug was donated. i think people probably did things at cost just for the honor of being included in that office .

   >> hundreds of thousands?

   >> it's not for me to say.

   >> i guess we're going to have to have the white house cough up that number.

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