Oval Office Decor Evolution: Taft to Trump

The Oval Office has served as the official workspace for US presidents since its construction in 1909. Over the last century, every administration has made distinct design choices to personalize the room. The space was originally built under President William Howard Taft and designed by architect Nathan C. Wyeth, featuring an olive-green color scheme.

Significant changes occurred when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the office to the southeast corner of the White House in 1934. President Harry Truman was the first to install a rug with the presidential seal, using turquoise and seafoam green tones. The iconic Resolute Desk was first used by John F. Kennedy, though presidents like Lyndon Johnson and George H.W. Bush preferred their own furniture. Notable additions include a mahogany clock introduced by Gerald Ford in 1975, which has remained in the room ever since. In recent years, the decor has reflected personal style, from Barack Obama's striped wallpaper to Donald Trump's gold embellishments and Joe Biden's selection of historical portraits.

The Oval Office was first established in 1909 during the presidency of William Howard Taft. Designed by architect Nathan C. Wyeth, the workspace was inspired by the White House's oval-shaped Blue Room. Taft's initial design featured a distinct olive-green color scheme.

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt oversaw a major renovation as part of a West Wing expansion. This project moved the Oval Office to the southeast corner of the White House. Roosevelt kept a variety of personal items on his desk, including photos of his sons, ceramic animal figurines, and an appointments easel displaying his daily schedule.

President Harry S. Truman made history by introducing the first rug to feature the presidential seal. He decorated the room with a turquoise rug and matching curtains, while the walls were painted a lighter seafoam green.

President John F. Kennedy was the first to use the famous Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. The desk was crafted from the wood of the British ship H.M.S. Resolute and was originally gifted to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880. Before Kennedy, previous presidents had kept the desk in the second-floor office of the White House Residence and the Broadcast Room.

Following Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson chose to replace the Resolute Desk with his own desk, which he had previously used as a US senator and vice president. Johnson also redecorated the office with white drapes featuring red trim, designed to evoke the American flag.

President Richard Nixon selected bold hues of blue and yellow for his Oval Office decor. The rug, designed by First Lady Pat Nixon, featured the Presidential seal in gold at the center and golden stars on a flag-blue field.

President Gerald Ford changed the upholstery color scheme to burnt orange and khaki. His decor included the wheel from the SS Mayaguez, an American container ship seized by Cambodian forces in 1975 and rescued at Ford's direction. Ford also added a mahogany Seymour tall case clock built between 1795 and 1805. This clock has remained in the Oval Office under every subsequent president since 1975.

President Jimmy Carter brought the Resolute Desk back to the Oval Office but left most of Ford's other decor in place. President Ronald Reagan redecorated during his second term with a rug designed by First Lady Nancy Reagan. The rug featured the presidential seal in the center with sunbeams emerging from the middle, surrounded by a border of olive branches.

President George H.W. Bush redid the office in shades of blue and gold. He brought in the C&O desk that he had used as vice president, moving the Resolute Desk to the Residence Office.

President Bill Clinton chose interior designer Kaki Hockersmith to update the space. She designed yellow curtains and a blue rug with the presidential seal. Clinton also returned the Resolute Desk to the Oval Office.

First Lady Laura Bush designed a new rug for President George W. Bush's Oval Office. The rug featured a sunbeam design with the presidential seal at its center, reminiscent of Reagan's rug, and a lone star to honor Bush's home state of Texas.

President Barack Obama added striped wallpaper and a new rug featuring a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. on the border: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

President Joe Biden brought back Clinton's Oval Office rug and added new portraits of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. During his first term, President Donald Trump had reinstalled Reagan's rug and Clinton's gold curtains, along with a portrait of President Andrew Jackson.

In his second non-consecutive term in 2025, President Trump has made significant changes, adding numerous gold embellishments. Many pieces came from the White House collection, while some statuettes were imported from his Mar-a-Lago estate. He also added flags representing different branches of the US military and additional presidential portraits, with President George Washington in the prominent center spot above the fireplace mantle.