Michelle Obama spends $600,000 to redecorate white house dining room (legal, election, elect)
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I also think it looks great. I'm also glad that she furnished and draped the room using American craftans and artisans. For those complaining, when you do remodels like this and buy American, especially when you have handcrafted furniture, it can cost a lot of money. This is a room that many international diplomats and guest come for meals at the White House and it should reflect Americanism.
Again, happy that she purchased the textiles and furniture, which is usually the most expensive items in a remodel such as this, from American artisans and companies.
I bet that table itself was over $100K not including the chairs.
Why would it be that much? Is it because of the materials and the labor or because of the prestige of the artisan.
"Congress budgets $100,000 in household transition costs for every new administration, if the (First Lady) spends more than that — and most first families do — they will have to cover the expense of decorating their private quarters with private donations." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/ga...ehouse.html?em
Why would it be that much? Is it because of the materials and the labor or because of the prestige of the artisan.
Yes, both of those. Hand made chairs and tables are unique, one of a kind pieces and they command A LOT of money. Think of them as pieces of usable art. There are paintings that cost more than the total amount of her remodel in the White House for comparison. If she acquired an art piece for the remodel, it would also command a lot of the budget. IMO that amount for the White House is not excessive. Even though the figure alone is huge for us regular Americans, you have to consider the fact that they buy one of a kind items at the White House.
And FWIW, I worked in government procurement for many years, including from 2008-2011 when ARRA was passed "the stimulus" that required us who were doing remodeling of public buildings to "buy American." We found that when you purchase from American companies for specific items (we mostly were shocked at how much window treatments cost that are made in America) you spend way more than you think you will spend. But those items generally were of a much better quality than imported items. We bought a lot of furniture and window treatments for public buildings and we spent about 1.2 million of our budget just on furniture and window treatments at 3 buildings.
Seems like in a haste to post your speculation, you did not realize that this was NOT paid for by tax payers.
Granted, the article is extremely poorly written. It's like it couldn't decide if it wanted to gossip more about the florist or talk about the room.
In any event, buried in the word salad is this:
"The $590,000 tab was paid by the White House Endowment Trust. The private fund is administered by the White House Historical Association for the maintenance and upkeep of White House rooms that are open to the public, such as the Blue, Red and Green Rooms, the East Room and the State Dining Room."
Sometimes it does pay to read the actual copy.
Even when it is from the Daily Mail.
Granted, the article is extremely poorly written. It's like it couldn't decide if it wanted to gossip more about the florist or talk about the room.
In any event, buried in the word salad is this:
"The $590,000 tab was paid by the White House Endowment Trust. The private fund is administered by the White House Historical Association for the maintenance and upkeep of White House rooms that are open to the public, such as the Blue, Red and Green Rooms, the East Room and the State Dining Room."
Sometimes it does pay to read the actual copy.
Even when it is from the Daily Mail.
Thanks. I obviously tired of reading about the florist.
Blue was incorporated into the drapes to represent the blue waters surrounding Hawaii where President Obama was born.
Um, aren't the Obamas departing from the White House next year? Why would they think it's logical to personalize the decor? What if the next First Lady hates the color blue?
The dining room looked absolutely fine & beautiful & modern & functional before the remodel. I'm a minimalist & a utilitarian, so such lavish, unnecessary, costly remodelings make me queasy.
IMO, $595,000 (regardless of where the funds came from or what they were reserved for), several homeless people could have been given their own brand new homes.
Last edited by Zelpha; 07-09-2015 at 11:32 AM..
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