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The complexity of the issue is illustrated by the fact that even Kaki Hockersmith Mehlburger, White House decorator for the Clintons and a member of the committee for the preservation of that august mansion, has succumbed to the teardown temptation. Last spring, she and her husband, attorney Max Mehlburger, paid $576,000 to buy a 1930s Dutch Colonial house in Little Rock’s toniest old Heights neighborhood. They plan to tear it down and put up a brand-new house. "I’m a preservationist," Kaki Mehlburger says, "but this is a classic example of a home, built in the 30s, that isn’t historically significant. We don’t know yet what kind of house we’re going to build, but we want one that will enhance the area. We want it to look like it’s been here forever. We hope that in a hundred years, the house we build will be considered historic."

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In March, the Clinton Administration estimated that Mrs. Hockersmith's changes at the White House would cost $250,000. In June, the estimate was raised to $337,000. The White House attributed the difference in figures to "miscommunication" between the usher's office and Mrs. Hockersmith over labor costs, like overtime. Much of the renovation is being done on the weekends, which means that workers must be paid overtime. Usher's Office Denies Tension

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