Posted on 01/20/2009 3:34:52 PM PST by Canticle_of_Deborah
White House decorator Michael Smith says he'll be "utilizing affordable brands" to make the presidential mansion a home for the new first family -- but that doesn't mean Barack and Michelle Obama will have to skimp on style.
High style does not have to break a budget, whether in the White House or in your own house, celebrity designers told FOXNews.com.Call it Main Street Chic.
The Obamas, their daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, and the first lady-to-be's mother, Marian Robinson, will all be moving into their new home Tuesday, soon after the president-elect takes the oath of office. Smith has a budget of $100,000 to decorate the first family's living quarters.
Using furniture and accessories from stores like Target, Kohl's and Ikea, Smith should be able to create a stylish environment for the first family, designers said.
"You have people like Target and Ikea that hire extremely talented designers to design their furniture for them and meld into that design process, making it affordable," said John Gidding, a host of HGTV's Designed to Sell.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The rumors were true.
Looks like we are calling it "Main Street Chic."
The Design on a Dime team on HGTV, is supposed to help, didnt you hear?
Michael Smith is a flamboyant homosexual. He often does the decorating for the Hillyweird elite.
Seriously?
If anybody else did this we’d be hearing non-stop ridicule.
Filling the beautiful White House with cheap chinese crap. So classy.
$100,000 to decorate for 4 people? That’s almost as much as my house cost! And don’t they have furniture in their other houses that they could use? When my family moves, we move our stuff, too.
Watermelon paisley......drapes?
Exactly what I thought.
Since when does the WH need "decorated" anyway?
I can see it in 100 years (if we last that long) when the pressed wood Obama furniture in the WH warehouse is brought out and pitched because nobody even wants it (no value cheap crap).
I’ll play devils advocate on this one, Hey, seriously, if the worst that can happen is this, AND the Obamas are happy with it, I’m all for it.
Just dont get those folks from “Design on a Dime” or the “Cash in the Attic” folks down there...
HAHAHHHA
Why does it need redecorating? Are they going to throw out really nice antique furniture and replace it with Walmart Schlock?
With cheap stuff. Maybe that includes designer fees.
And dont they have furniture in their other houses that they could use? When my family moves, we move our stuff, too.
That crossed my mind too. Maybe they are keeping the Chicago house.
I think they are talking about the private quarters.
I hope.
I think they are talking about the private quarters.
I hope.
That should be plenty considering The White House has an array of furniture in storage that has been reused by all First Families over the years. Chairs and sofas are reupholstered, and The White House has its own collection of art, not to mention their ability to borrow pieces of art from galleries.
Aren't the Obamas these Ivy-educated, sophisticated people? Why can't they just buy themselves some beds, a sofa, and a dinner table? Everyday schmucks do it all the time. ("Rooms to Go" is a fine source, especially when they're clearing inventory :-).
Military housing often has surplus furniture sitting around, too. When my mom's best friend and her husband moved into the Commander's quarters at Great Lakes, the sailors told them they couldn't use any of the rooms on the top story, but if they wanted any of the furniture stored there, the sailors would bring it downstairs and clean it up!
How many presidents have had family, other than kids, living in the White House?
Andrew Jackson had his wife’s niece, iirc, as a hostess, since he was a childless widower. I’m sure he’s not the only one with family members other than wife and children living in the White House; people lived with extended family much more commonly in the Old Days.
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