Trump’s Oval Office Re-Design Is a Symbolic Rejection of its Federal Revival Style and the Founders’ Values It Represents

Donald Trump’s recent changes to the interior design style of the Oval Office are highlighted by the controversial use of gilding and golden décor items. This change in style represents a significant symbolic rejection of the values of the Founding Fathers reflected in the room’s original Federal Revival style. Architecture is a language, through which architects speak the spirit of their age. The elements that characterize a particular design style symbolize the values of its era. Architectural styles are mirrored also in the styles of furniture and décor items, which are inspired by similar structures and motifs. Together with architectural design, they form a consistent interior design style. The Oval Office is in the West Wing extension of the Executive Mansion, commonly called the “White House.” It was built during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration in the Federal Revival style. An understanding of the origins of the style reveals the values it represents. Neo-Classical Origins of the Federal Style as the “American Style” The origins of the Federal Revival style begin in the late Italian Renaissance, with the Neo-Classical style, named for its new interpretation of the styles of the Classical civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, the ideals of which the Renaissance esteemed. Neo-Classical is typified by such design elements as classical columns, pediments and arches, and by the color white. The inspiration for white arose from the color of ancient structures and sculptures, some of which were white, while others had simply lost their paint, unbeknownst at the time of the Renaissance. The British substyle of the Neo-Classical is the Georgian style, named for the three Kings named George of the House of Hanover from the early Eighteenth to the early Nineteenth Centuries. The American version is the Federal style, which arose after the establishment of the federal Union of States under the Constitution. As it differs slightly from the Georgian style, it is the true “American Style.” Federal style is inspired by the Roman Republic, which was fitting for the new American Republic based on the ideals of equality, liberty and representative government. It thus emphasizes more curvilinear forms than the rectilinear Georgian. The Romans had not invented the arch, but they had taken it to new heights, both literally and figuratively, expanding them into vaults and domes. Federal style emphasizes columns, arches (which are often elliptical instead of rounded), and domes. Ellipses are a defining shape of the style. Architect Thomas Jefferson’s dome over his home Monticello and the rotunda of the main edifice of the University of Virginia he founded and the serpentine walls of its campus are archetypal examples of the style the Founding Father pioneered. The Federal style’s emphasis on symmetry and proportion is symbolic of the balance between the three Branches of Government. Its restrained elegance and understated characteristic symbolize the restraint expected of a chief executive in a constitutional republic, versus the excessive power of a monarch. The style’s Classical-inspired color of white represents the chasteness of the young Republic. As one of the colors of the American Flag, white also represents purity. The choice of color for the “White House” was thus obvious. Roman-inspired design motifs for architecture, furnishings and décor typical of Federal style include the eagle, the mace and the goddess Liberty. The Federal style lasted until it was supplanted in part by the Greek Revival style, which symbolized the democratizing trend of the populist Jacksonian Democrats, who took their inspiration from the democracy of the ancient Greek city states, in preference for that form of government over the representative governance of the Roman Republic. The Federal Revival Style Renewed interest in America’s Colonial and Federal era heritage during the American Centennial of 1876 led to the Colonial and Georgian Revival styles and the Federal Revival style. These revival styles had their own distinct features and modern elements that differentiated them from the original styles they were reviving, but they were at least somewhat faithful to the styles that inspired them. The Federal Revival style for the West Wing fittingly matches the Federal style of the Executive Mansion. The Oval office, with its elliptical shape and white interior, is particularly representative of the style. Theodore Roosevelt’s selection of the style was in sharp contrast to the “Gilded Age” style of the era, which literally takes its name from its characteristic gilding of interior spaces with gold leaf paint. The Gilded style reflects the extreme ornateness of the late Victorian Era, which is not an American style. Its excessive ornamentation communicates ostentatiousness, which was a status symbol of American industrialists during the turn of the Twentieth Century. Trump’s Gilded Design Symbolically Clashes with the Federal Revival Style Trump makes use of both gilding and golden décor items as status symbols to prove his wealth, which is his characteristic marketing strategy and reflective of his narcissist ego. He once said, for example, that one had to be wealthy to be considered “great.” The real estate tycoon’s heavily gilded Trump Tower penthouse interior is thus as over the top figuratively as it is literally. Restraint is not one of Trump’s qualities and chasteness is not associated with him. Trump’s gilding of the Oval Office and motif of golden decor clashes with its Federal Revival design. Although some gilding could be incorporated into the style to highlight its architectural features, Trump’s is too excessive to be consistent with the style. His imitation of the Gilded Age industrialists’ mansions reflects his lack of respect for the Federal style and the Founders’ federal principles it symbolizes. All the glitter makes a statement, versus being understated, thereby symbolizing the excessive exercise of power versus restraint. The heavy use of the yellow metal greatly detracts from the characteristic white of the Federal Revival style, symbolizing brashness versus chasteness. Trump, who admires Andrew Jackson, could have chosen Greek-style décor to symbolize the populist Trumpist emphasis of democracy over representative government as a more subtle change. Instead, Trump has chosen a style that is based neither on Classical democratic or republican ideals, nor even completely American in its heritage, but which most clearly represents a display of wealth and power. Trump’s gilded style is thus the design equivalent of squaring the walls of the Oval Office. Moreover, instead of conserving the American Style, Trump’s rejection of the Federal style reveals his general lack of conservative inclination. Restoring the Oval Office to its intended design would be one of the most symbolic means for a future occupant to supplant Trumpism.