If the 2012 Election has worn you and your telephone out, don’t feel alone. People everywhere are experiencing a “downer” or “blue” effect after the hub-bub of the election season.
The Blue Room in the White House is a tribute to the finest French designer of the times.
Our fifth president, James Monroe, redecorated the Blue Room in the French Empire style, which is still the decor of the room. The President ordered a French mahogany suite of furniture a company in France. However, the fine French furniture firm shipped gilded furniture instead of the mahogany piece requested. Their reasoning was that mahogany was not fine enough for a stately Salon or even at a private home. Several pieces of the original suite remains in the Blue Room.
The eighth President, Martin Van Buren redecorated the oval salon and began the tradition of the “blue room”. The Blue Room is full of French antiques such as the blue satin draperies the light gold wallpaper, the crystal chandelier, and of course, the gilded furniture suite.
This large Blue Room served as the south entrance hall for a time, though it has always been used as the main reception room of the White House. Currently, the Blue Room is the center of the State Floor of the White House where the President formally receives guests.
The White House Blue Room is actually Bleu because of its French trappings.
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