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Sometimes it’s hard to appreciate what you have until it is taken away from you.
Growing up right outside of Washington DC, I went to the museums, monuments and the Kennedy Center. And then there’s the White House. I’ve been inside many times times, but the holidays were absolutely THE best time to visit. During December, it was like a fantasy with garlands, trees and gigantic gingerbread houses.
The second best time to go was in April for the White House Easter Egg Roll. I wanted my children to have the same experience that I did and to take them Egg Roll this year, but now, thanks in part to the Salahis crashing the White House, you have to submit applications through your Congressman and jump through other hurdles. You can’t enter the White House with a purse (you will be turned away) and can’t park anywhere near it. Times have changed.
The Egg Roll kicked off the idea in my head of a “virtual tour” because the architectural details, which I love studying most of all, and the design are something that you just don’t get to see every day.
Cross Hall, which looks downright regal.
Look at that stair runner with the graceful curve.
President Obama looks at a mirror in the Green Room, which has walls covered with a moire velvet.
Another view of the Green Room.
Another view of the Red Room.
The Oval Office, although the drapes were recently updated and are now red.
The view from behind the President’s desk in the Oval Office.
The flooring of the Oval Office.
How the State Dining Room is normally furnished.
However, given the event, they do change the seating arrangements.
First Lady Michelle Obama hosts Jordan’s Queen Rania in the Yellow Oval room of the White House residence.
The Blue Room
A different angle of the Green Room.
The East Room
The Library
Entrance Hall where visitors arrive.
The China Room was Mrs. Woodrow Wilson’s idea
The Vermeil Room (sometimes referred to as the Gold Room). FYI – vermeil is silver dipped in gold.
Old Family Dining Room. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a Passover Seder Dinner for family, staff and friends on April 6, 2012.
Granted, the rooms may be formal and some may need some updating, but as always, it doesn’t hurt to look and see if there’s anything we can “lift” on a smaller scale to our houses.
Or just admire it for what it is…I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
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Beautiful post! Being from Canada, we don’t get much exposure to the beauty of the White house – thank you for sharing 🙂
I’m glad you liked it! It seems historical structures are just so architecturally interesting and detailed!
And…. we aren’t able to visit it 😦 We’re headed to Washington with our daughter this summer, and I remember a visit from my childhood, but it isn’t possible anymore I understand.
So thanks for the pictures!
It really is stunning, regal and impressive isn’t it….
I would love to walk down Cross Hall 🙂 You would have to feel pretty important!
I would say so! Do they ever do tours inside The White House? P.s. my post on bleige is coming this week.
Yes, they do have public tours, but I’m not sure what’s needed for that. I’m excited about your post 🙂
I have never been into the White House it is quite impresive. Thank you for sharing.
Reblogged this on Ann Novek–With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors.
Brilliant post! Such gorgeous pictures…
I have never been to the White House but it looks just beautiful! I live in an old Victorian Home built in 1893. Not much of the original details are still in the home, but the bones are there, and we love it. I love homes with history, from the grand, like the White House, to the smallest barn that has a story still remembered with it. Thank you for sharing this!
I absolutely LOVED this! It’s been my dream to visit the White House, or D.C. for that matter. What season would you recommend going. It’s too bad (but understandable) that it’s so hard to get in today.
Spring and fall are really nice, I would try to avoid July and August when the heat and humidity is sweltering!
December is beautiful when the city is decorated and lighted!! There is so much to see and do – I’d look at the Kennedy Center to see if there’s anything coming up that appeals to you. Monuments gallore, Georgetown, the zoo, galleries, museums, etc….I hope you get to visit!!
Very nice idea to share photos from the White House and have a peak on how it is decorated indoors. Bravo!!!
It’s beautiful for sure. It’s been ages since I’ve seen any photos of the interior and it’s just as sumptuous as ever. Kylie’s right, we Canucks don’t get much exposure to it and it’s always lovely to see.
We just participated in the White House Easter egg roll, outside gardens were beautiful, thanks for taking us inside, such gorgeous interiors.
That’s too bad that it has become more difficult to get in! My fave is the green room.
I happen to think the Whitehouse is an amazing architectural structure. I love this post! Did you see the Christmas special on HGTV? I hope they make that a regular thing.
No! Drats! I would have loved that too!! Since I’ve had children, my TV watching has gone down the tubes…
In 2000, my hubby and I lived in Warrenton, VA, just 40 miles from DC….I wanted to tour the White House, but like you said, it was very complicated to get in on one of the tours. I think you had to be in line somewhere at the ungodly hour of 6AM or the like, and get on a list, then the tour was later in the day. We just didn’t have time to do all that. We saw the house from a distance and got a shot of it….we visited DC twice and took lots of photos, which I wrote about recently in a post about my Texas accent…..lol….I don’t have an accent y’all…. 🙂
http://texastwangdebi.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/accent-what-accent/
6 AM?? Ouch!! There’s no place worth seeing to have to be there at that hour 😉
And your visit was in 2000, which was pre 9/11 and Salahis, so now the city is so different
I suppose it is different now, I hadn’t thought about it. 9/11 happened after we moved back to Texas.
We drove all around in DC after being advised not to take the car over the bridge…..my husband seemed to think that was a dare….lol
Haha! I actually respect your husband’s moxy!! Frankly, I don’t know why you would have been given the advice, unless you were just planning on seeing on a small part. It’s not like NYC, where cabs are everywhere. I always take my car into the city!
Great post. I never tire of seeing the White House it is so beautiful inside and out.
I’ve never had the opportunity to visit the White House, but it’s amazing to see all these rooms our President lives in. Although I have to admit I’m a little disappointed in the library, I guess I expected it to be a lot grander (with a lot more books), then again it’s just one picture so I might be missing out on the fantasticness of it all.
beautiful post!
Thanks for showing off all the details. It really is a beautiful home.
Amazing interiors!!! 🙂 Thank you for this lovely post!
Kindest Regards,
UNDA
Thanks for the share. I doubt I’ll get to see it for myself so it was nice to take a little walk-thru! 🙂
That’s too bad about the egg roll–I, too, have childhood memories of that! And the D.C. area was a great place to be a kid. I’m so glad that I had parents who made the most of all of the opportunities there. I hope to be able to do the same for Baguette, even though we’re across the country.
Gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing.
Oh the floor of the oval office – Wow! Wouldn’t you just love to have a day with no one at all in the White House & be able to wander & poke around everywhere? How cool would that be.
Or be invisible and eavesdrop on the conversations when they thought no one was around!!
I am also from the DC area, and I miss the beauty of its architecture. Whenever I visit home I enjoy being in DC. Thanks for some lovely pics of the White House. I have been there a few times and it is a special place! I will be able to share these with my kids. Jennifer
There are so many lovely details! Great photo selection! 🙂
Fascinating photos. What a rich history. If those walls could talk!
thanks for the tour – I’d love to visit one day! I especially like the oval rooms and the creative decor they inspire
Fantastic blog post!
The only thing that needs updating in the White House is the President himself. I’d love to see an honest to goodness Patriot sitting at the helm. You’d think at the very least, we’d have put an ‘American Citizen’ in our highest office. No wonder America is slidding so fast. On a more upbeat note, I thought your photographs were impressive.
Great pictures! Nicely done. Thanks for sharing.
I received a letter from President Obama recently. If you’d like to read it, please visit: http://johnbrianshannon.com
Best regards, JBS
A great insight and thanks for sharing
I love this post! Call me nerdy, but I always get so excited about Presidential things- combined with architecture? I DIE.
Where did you grow up? I grow up in Arlington and still live in Falls Church. I use to work at the White House and my kids were able to do the egg roll for years! What fun! My daughter was the Cherry Blossom Princess from Georgia during the Cherry Blossom Festival this year, and although we didn’t get into the White House, the DC metro area was beautiful this spring! Always enjoy your posts!