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- Donald Trump has brought his love of maximalism and gold furnishings to the White House
- He added gold embellishments to the walls and ceiling of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room.
- He has also renovated the Rose Garden and demolished the East Wing to build a ballroom.
The Oval Office is looking a little bit different lately.
Every US president makes new interior design choices upon entering the White House, often reflecting their personal tastes or political views.
In his second nonconsecutive term, President Donald Trump has incorporated his love of maximalism and gold furnishings into the Oval Office.
More White House renovations are in the works. The East Wing was demolished in October to make way for the construction of a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot state ballroom.
Take a look inside Trump’s redecorated White House to see the changes he’s made since former President Joe Biden left office.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The West Wing Colonnade was unadorned during the Biden years.
CAROLYN KASTER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden walked through the West Colonnade alongside Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in May 2023.
Trump added a “Presidential Walk of Fame” where Biden was depicted with a photo of an autopen producing his signature.
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Trump has criticized Biden’s use of an autopen and sought to invalidate Biden’s pardons and commutations that were signed with the device.
The Palm Room, which connects the White House Residence to the West Colonnade, was previously furnished with plants, green benches, and a tile floor.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
The Palm Room leads out into the Rose Garden.
In September, Trump refinished the room with a new chandelier and a white marble floor.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“New lobby leading to Oval Office — Magnificent marble floor, compliments of President Donald J. Trump!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
During Biden’s time in the White House, the door to the Oval Office was not decorated in any way.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Aside from a presidential seal above the door to the West Wing, the walls were empty.
President Donald Trump added new gold signage outside the Oval Office.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
The gold lettering spelling out “The Oval Office” was set in the Shelley Script font. Trump also added a gold decal to the top of the door.
Biden’s dark-blue Oval Office rug was originally designed for Bill Clinton.
Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz
The rug, which featured the presidential seal in the center, was designed by Kaki Hockersmith, an interior designer based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Upon returning to the White House, Trump replaced it with a lighter rug used by Ronald Reagan.
Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian
The rug’s design includes the presidential seal, a sunbeam pattern, and olive branches along the border as a symbol of peace.
Trump also used the rug during his first term.
Biden only had two flags in the Oval Office.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Biden displayed an American flag and a flag with the presidential seal.
Trump added the flags of different branches of the US military.
JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Trump’s Oval Office features the flags of the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Navy.
During Biden’s presidency, the Oval Office’s ceiling didn’t feature any additional embellishments.
Official White House Photo by Erin Scott
The crown molding on the ceiling matched the cream wallpaper.
Trump added gold trim to the crown molding on the ceiling.
Avi Ohayon /Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
The gold embellishments matched the gold curtains, which remained in place from Biden’s presidency.
Biden’s Oval Office featured a prominent portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Biden also hung portraits of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton together to symbolize the benefits of different opinions, as well as portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Trump added additional portraits and numerous gold embellishments to the space.
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Trump added more portraits with decorative frames to create an Oval Office gallery wall. He also replaced Biden’s portrait of FDR with one of George Washington and displayed historic gold urns and baskets from the White House collection on the mantle.
Trump also incorporated smaller gold details, such as coasters, branded with his name.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Trump’s love of gold decor is well-known. His Trump Tower penthouse in New York City features numerous gilded ceilings, furniture pieces, and artwork. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, also includes a ballroom covered in gold from floor to ceiling.
Before Trump took office for the second time, the presidential seal on the ceiling of the Oval Office was a subtle adornment.
PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images
President Franklin D. Roosevelt added the plaster relief of the presidential seal to the Oval Office during a 1934 White House renovation.
Trump added gilded gold detailing to the design, making it more visible.
ALLISON ROBBERT/AFP via Getty Images
Both the seal and the stars surrounding it were covered in gold paint.
Biden chose to display President Barack Obama’s official White House portrait in the Entrance Hall.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
The hyperrealistic portrait, painted by Robert McCurdy, was unveiled at the White House in 2023.
Trump replaced Obama’s portrait with a painting of himself.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Artist Marc Lipp painted a rendering of an Associated Press photo that captured Trump raising his fist in the air following an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The White House Rose Garden previously featured a grass lawn.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Before it was used for press conferences and events, first lady Ellen Wilson originally designed the outdoor space as a formal flower garden in 1913.
First lady Melania Trump added a limestone border around the lawn in 2020.
Trump decided to pave over the grass in the Rose Garden, turning it into an outdoor terrace rebranded as “The Rose Garden Club.”
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP
Trump told Fox News that the grass in the Rose Garden was impractical for large events because it stayed wet when it rained and was too soft for attendees who wore high heels.
“The grass just doesn’t work,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in March.
Workers began transforming the lawn into a patio in June, replacing the grass with concrete and stone tiles. “The Rose Garden Club” was completed in August.
Biden and previous presidents occasionally held large events, such as state dinners, in decorative tents on the White House lawn.
Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post via Getty Images
The East Room, the largest state room in the White House, has a seating capacity of 200 people. When Biden hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in 2023, he held the state dinner in a tent outside the White House to accommodate the larger crowd of over 300.
Trump announced plans to build a state ballroom with a capacity of 650 in July and demolished the East Wing for its construction in October.
Eric Lee/Getty Images
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which the White House called a “much-needed and exquisite addition,” will cost approximately $300 million to construct. Trump and other “patriot donors” will foot the bill for the project, the White House said.
During the Biden administration, the Cabinet Room featured minimal artwork and decor.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Located in the West Wing near the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room overlooks the Rose Garden and features a large, oval-shaped mahogany table purchased by President Richard Nixon in 1970, according to Obama’s archived White House website.
Seating at the table is assigned in order of when each department was established, with the oldest departments sitting nearest to the president.
Trump added additional paintings to the walls and gold furnishings along the ceiling.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Trump chose portraits of past presidents, including George Washington, John Adams, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower, to decorate the Cabinet Room.
“The vaults are where we have a lot of great pictures and artwork,” Trump told reporters in July. “And I picked it all myself, I’m very proud of it.”
The Cabinet Room featured eagle-shaped wall sconces during Biden’s presidency.
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The eagle sconces were installed as part of a 2004 refurbishment of the Cabinet Room that also included a new rug, curtains, and paint color.
Trump added 24-karat gold decals to the walls and installed matching gold curtains.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
“Some of the highest quality 24 Karat Gold used in the Oval Office and Cabinet Room of the White House,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in September. “Foreign Leaders, and everyone else, ‘freak out’ when they see the quality and beauty.”

