page_title: President's Dining Room
section_title: Clinton renovation
hierarchical_section_title: President's Dining Room / Early history of the room / Clinton renovation
caption_attribution_description: English: White House President's Dining Room during the administration of William Jefferson Clinton. Clinton Presidential Center, NARA.
context_page_description: The President's Dining Room is a dining room located in the northwest corner of the second floor of the White House. It is located directly above the Family Dining Room on the State Floor and looks out upon the North Lawn. The Dining Room is adjacent to the Family Kitchen, a small kitchen designed for use by the First Family, and served by a dumbwaiter connected to the main kitchen on the ground floor.
  The space was originally occupied by a bedroom suite known as the Prince of Wales Room. From 1929 to 1948, this suite was known as the Lincoln Bedroom. The bedroom suite was structurally changed in 1961 to create a dining room and kitchen in the First Family's residence.
context_section_description: The room was again redecorated in 1997 by Kaki Hockersmith, the personal interior designer for President Bill and Hillary Clinton. Hockersmith felt the room was gloomy due to the color of the wallpaper and the lack of light, but the historic wallpaper could not be removed without incurring further damage. Instead, thin wooden lathes were nailed to the walls, and a new wall covering attached to them. This completely obscured the 1961 wallpaper without having to remove it. For the new wall covering, Hockersmith chose a pale green silk (manufactured by Scalamandré, Inc.) with a moiré pattern, onto which was printed medallions in two different tones of green. Portions of the frieze around the top of the room were painted with a pale yellow glaze to bring out its detail.
  A new carpet, in colors complementary to the green wall covering, was also ordered and installed.  The carpet, designed by Hockersmith, featured a diagonal grid-like background pattern designed to be both visually stimulating as well as better able to obscure stains and damage. Clusters of flowers and acorns, in the Colonial Revival style, were woven into the field of the carpet, which was woven by Scott Group Custom Carpets in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
  The Sheraton chairs were restored to the room, and reupholstered in a bright yellow patterned brocade with a curving garland of flowers down and across the seat. The pedestal table was removed, and a custom 1902 dining room table, designed by architect Stanford White installed. The room was decorated with paintings by Childe Hassam, Edmund C. Tarbell, and Guy C. Wiggins.
caption: The President's Dining Room after renovation during the Clinton administration.
exif: {}