The Blue Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, the residence of the president of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. It is distinct for its oval shape. The room is used for receptions, receiving lines, and is occasionally set for small dinners. President Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...

 married Frances Folsom in the room on June 2, 1886, the only wedding of a President in the White House. The room is traditionally decorated in shades of blue. With the Yellow Oval Room above it and the Diplomatic Reception Room below it, the Blue Room is one of three oval

Oval

An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...

 rooms in James Hoban

James Hoban

James Hoban was an Irish architect, best known for designing The White House in Washington, D.C.-Life:James Hoban was born and raised in a thatched cottage on the Earl of Desart's estate in Cuffesgrange, near Callan in Co. Kilkenny...

's original design for the White House.

The room is approximately 30 feet by 40 feet. It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, Green Room

Green Room (White House)

The Green Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is used for small receptions and teas. During a state dinner, guests are served cocktails in the three state parlors before the president, first lady, and visiting...

, Red Room

Red Room (White House)

The Red Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House, the home of the President of the United States. The room has served as a parlor and music room, and recent presidents have held small dinner parties in it. It has been traditionally decorated in shades of red.The...

, and South Portico. The three windows look out upon the South Lawn

South Lawn (White House)

The South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC, is located directly south of the mansion, and is bordered on the east by East Executive Drive and the Treasury Building, and on the west by West Executive Drive and the Old Executive Office Building, and along its curved southern perimeter by...

.

The Blue Room is furnished in the French Empire style. A series of redecoratings through the 19th century caused most of the original pieces to be sold or lost. Today much of the furniture is original to the room. Eight pieces of gilded

Gilding

The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...

 European beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

 furniture purchased during the administration of James Monroe

James Monroe

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

 furnish the room, including a bergère

Bergère

A bergère is an enclosed upholstered French armchair with an upholstered back and armrests on upholstered frames. The seat frame is over-upholstered, but the rest of the wooden framing is exposed: it may be moulded or carved, and of beech, painted or gilded, or of fruitwood, walnut or mahogany...

(an armchair

Armchair

An armchair is a chair with arm rests.Armchair may also refer to:*Armchair nanotube, a carbon nanotube with chiral symmetry*Armchair, a sitting sex position*Armchair , a bus operator in London...

 with enclosed sides) and several fauteuil

Fauteuil

A fauteuil is a style of open-arm chair with a primarily exposed wooden frame originating in France in the early 18th century. A fauteuil is made of wood, and frequently with carved relief ornament. It is typically upholstered on the seat, the seat back and on the arms . Some fauteuils have a...

s (an open wood-frame armchair). The suite of furniture was produced in Paris around 1812 by the cabinetmaker Pierre-Antoine Bellangé

Pierre-Antoine Bellange

Pierre-Antoine Bellangé was a French ébéniste working in Paris. Bellangé held an eminent position among the representatives of the decorative arts at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He gained his master craftsman title on October 24, 1788...

, and reproduction side chairs and armchairs was made by Maison Jansen

Maison Jansen

Maison Jansen was a Paris-based interior decoration office founded in 1880 by Dutch-born Jean-Henri Jansen and continuing in practice until 1989...

 in 1961 during the Kennedy restoration. A marble-top center table

Table (furniture)

A table is a form of furniture with a flat and satisfactory horizontal upper surface used to support objects of interest, for storage, show, and/or manipulation...

 has been in the White House since it was purchased by Monroe in 1817. A c. 1817 ormolu

Ormolu

Ormolu is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-karat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze. The mercury is driven off in a kiln...

 French Empire mantel clock

French Empire mantel clock

A French Empire-style mantel clock, is a type of elaborately decorated mantel clock made in France over the Napoleonic Empire between 1804–1814/15, although the clocks manufactured throughout the Bourbon Restoration are also included within this art movement because they share subject, decorative...

 with a figure of Hannibal, by Deniére et Matelin

Deniére et Matelin

Deniére et Matelin were prominent French bronziers, producers of ornamental patinated and gilt-bronze objects and mounts working in Paris during the Directoire and First French Empire periods....

 sits on the mantel.

The early-19th-century French chandelier

Chandelier

A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...

 is made of gilded-wood and cut glass, encircled with acanthus

Acanthus (ornament)

The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration.-Architecture:In architecture, an ornament is carved into stone or wood to resemble leaves from the Mediterranean species of the Acanthus genus of plants, which have deeply cut leaves with some similarity to...

 leaves. Acquired during the Kennedy Administration, it previously hung in the President's Dining Room

President's Dining Room

The President's Dining Room is located in the northwest corner of the second floor of the White House. It was created in 1961 during the administration of John F. Kennedy to provide a dining room in the First Family's residence. The room had previously been used as a bedroom and sitting room...

 on the Second Floor. George Peter Alexander Healy

George Peter Alexander Healy

George Peter Alexander Healy was an American painter born in Boston, Massachusetts.Going to Europe in 1835 Healy studied under Baron Gros in Paris and in Rome...

's 1859 portrait of John Tyler

John Tyler

John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...

 hangs on the west wall above the Monroe sofa. The sapphire

Sapphire (color)

Sapphire is a saturated shade of blue, referring to the gem of the same name. Sapphire gems are most commonly found in a range of blue shades...

 blue silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 fabric used for the draperies and furniture upholstery was chosen by Mrs. Clinton. The silk lampas

Lampas

Lampas is a type of luxury fabric with a background weft typically in taffeta with supplementary wefts laid on top and forming a design, sometimes also with a "brocading weft". Lampas is typically woven in silk, and often has gold and silver thread enrichment.-History:Lampas weaves were developed...

 upholstery fabric retains the gold eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

 medallion on the chair backs which was adapted from the depiction of one of the Monroe-era chairs in a portrait of James Monroe. The painting however depicts the chair upholstered in crimson, not blue, showing the original color used for the room.

Design of the blue satin draperies is derived from early-19th-century French patterns. The present drapery design is similar to those installed during the administration of Richard Nixon. Clement Conger, White House Curator at that time, used archive materials from the Society for the Protection of New England Antiquities

Historic New England

Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities , is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England and is the oldest and largest regional preservation...

 and the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

's Department of Decorative Arts as patterns for the drapery.

The walls are hung with a chamois

Chamois

The chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand...

-colored wallpaper

Wallpaper

Wallpaper is a kind of material used to cover and decorate the interior walls of homes, offices, and other buildings; it is one aspect of interior decoration. It is usually sold in rolls and is put onto a wall using wallpaper paste...

 imprinted with medallions of burnished gold. It is adapted from an early-19th-century American Empire wallpaper having French influences. The upper border is a faux printed blue fabric drapery swag

Swag (disambiguation)

Swag may refer to:* Swag , a 2002 album by former Guns N' Roses guitarist, Gilby Clarke* Swag , an Australian bedroll* Swag , an architectural element* Swag , a 1976 crime novel...

. The faux fabric border is similar in effect to an actual fabric border installed during the administration of John F. Kennedy. The printed dado border along the chair rail is blue and gold with rosette

Rosette (design)

A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...

s. Installation of a new oval carpet

Carpet

A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...

, based on early-19th-century designs, completed the renovation project. The design was adapted from an original design for a neoclassical English carpet from about 1815, the period of the furnishings acquired by Monroe for the Blue Room.

The oval salon

During the administration of John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

, the Blue Room served as the south entrance hall, though it has always functioned as the principal reception room of the White House. During the administration of James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

, architect Benjamin Latrobe

Benjamin Latrobe

Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe was a British-born American neoclassical architect best known for his design of the United States Capitol, along with his work on the Baltimore Basilica, the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States...

 designed a suite of classical-revival

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 furniture for the room, but the furnishings were destroyed in the fire of 1814 (see War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

). When the White House was rebuilt, President James Monroe redecorated the room in the French Empire style

Empire (style)

The Empire style, , sometimes considered the second phase of Neoclassicism, is an early-19th-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts followed in Europe and America until around 1830, although in the U. S. it continued in popularity in...

. Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

 had the room decorated in blue in 1837, and it has remained the tradition ever since, although many administrations have made changes to the decoration. During the administration of James Buchanan the room was refurnished in a Victorian style called Rococo Revival, and a series of increasingly complex highly patterned styles followed until 1902 when the room was returned to an Empire style by Charles Follen McKim

Charles Follen McKim

Charles Follen McKim FAIA was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partnership McKim, Mead, and White....

 during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

.

Truman reconstruction

The Blue Room was completely disassembled and rebuilt during the renovations of the Harry Truman administration. The addition of the Truman Balcony

Truman Balcony

The Truman Balcony is the second-floor balcony of the Executive Residence of the White House, which overlooks the south lawn. It was completed in March 1948, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman.-Controversy over construction plans:...

 provided shade to the oval portico

Portico

A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...

 outside the Blue Room.

Kennedy restoration

The Kennedy administration restoration brought the return of several original Monroe-era chairs designed by Pierre-Antoine Bellangé

Pierre-Antoine Bellange

Pierre-Antoine Bellangé was a French ébéniste working in Paris. Bellangé held an eminent position among the representatives of the decorative arts at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He gained his master craftsman title on October 24, 1788...

 as well as a pier table, also a part of the Bellangé French Empire suite of furniture. Reproductions of the Monroe armchairs and side chairs were made by Maison Jansen

Maison Jansen

Maison Jansen was a Paris-based interior decoration office founded in 1880 by Dutch-born Jean-Henri Jansen and continuing in practice until 1989...

. A French Empire crystal chandelier and four black and gilded bronze wall sconces of the same period were added, as were a pair of gilded bronze winged torcheres. The walls were hung in a striped cream-colored silk satin. A swagged festoon

Festoon

Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...

 valance of blue silk, woven at the New York workshop of Franco Scalamandré

Franco Scalamandré

Franco Scalamandré was a co-founder of Scalamandré Inc., a US manufacturer of traditional textiles, decorative textile trims, wall covering, and carpeting....

, was hung just below the room's cove moulding. The valance was trimmed in a woven decorative tape in a pattern of medallions reproduced from an early 19th century design and silk bobbin fringe

Fringe (trim)

Fringe is an ornamental textile trim applied to an edge of an item, such as drapery, a flag, epaulettes, or decorative tassel.Fringe originates in the ends of the warp, projecting beyond the woven fabric...

. The same blue silk was used for the drapery fabric. The simple panel drapery was trimmed in galloon

Galloon

Galloon is a decorative woven trim sometimes in the form of a braid and commonly made of metallic gold or silver thread, lace, or embroidery. Galloon is used in the trim of military and police uniforms, ecclesiastical garments, and as trim on textiles, drapery, and upholstered furniture.-...

 and the woven tape used in the valance. Drapery trim and tassel

Tassel

A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric decoration. It is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe.-Etymology:...

 tie-backs were also manufactured by Scalamandre. Upholstery fabric was woven in France by Tassinari et Chatel under the direction of Stéphane Boudin of Maison Jansen. A rectangular antique French Empire carpet manufactured at Savonnerie in shades of blue, gold and pink covered the center of the floor. Portraits of early presidents, including one of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 by Rembrandt Peale

Rembrandt Peale

Rembrandt Peale was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson...

 were hung on the south wall between the windows. The room's ceiling moulding, door frames, dado and wainscot panels were highlighted in gold leaf, a treatment popular during the Empire period, that helped unify the gilded seating pieces with the room itself.

Nixon and Clinton refurbishment

The current appearance of the Blue Room is the result of a renovation and refurbishing completed in 1995 by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House

Committee for the Preservation of the White House

The Committee for the Preservation of the White House is an advisory committee charged with the preservation of the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the President of the United States...

, the White House Office of the Curator

White House Office of the Curator

The White House Office of the Curator is charged with the conservation and study of the collection of fine art, furniture and decorative objects used to furnish both the public and private rooms of the White House as an official residence and as an accredited historic house museum.The office began...

, and funded by the White House Endowment Trust

White House Endowment Trust

The White House Endowment Trust, sometimes also called the White House Endowment Fund, is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt fund established to finance the ongoing restoration and refurbishment of the state rooms at the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the President of the...

. It followed a complete redecoration by First Lady Pat Nixon

Pat Nixon

Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan Nixon was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. She was commonly known as Patricia or Pat Nixon.Born in Nevada, Pat Ryan grew up in Los Angeles, California...

in 1971 which retained the Bellange pieces of Monroe but saw the walls covered with wallpaper for the first time since the early 19th century.

External links

• White House Web site for the Blue Room
• White House Museum's Blue Room page, with many historical pictures