subject: Family Dining Room - China Turbo Compressor Wheels - Turbo Piston Ring Manufacturer [print this page] McKim's neoclassical redesign McKim's neoclassical redesign
Renovations by architect Charles Follen McKim during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt architecturally transformed the Family Dining Room. Using White House architect James Hoban's groin vaulted ground floor hall ceilings as a model, McKim installed a similar groin vault ceiling. The surface was articulated with a low relief plaster meander (Greek key) and five-pointed star decoration, and an eagle within a laurel wreath on the east wall above the mantel. McKim commissioned the Boston furniture manufacturer A.H. Davenport to build a somewhat overscaled Federal-style sideboard and china cabinet, and dining table. Reproduction Chippendale-style sidechairs replaced the series of Victorian chairs used in the nineteenth century.
The Truman reconstruction
A photograph of the ceiling area taken while the room was being dismantled previous to the Truman reconstruction, shows the simple c. 1818 moulding and several pieces of Victorian era wall paper. Plaster decoration and wood trim was removed from the room with the intention of reinstalling it after the reconstruction. Like much of the salvaged wood and plaster from the house, it was pronounced unusable. McKim's groin vaulted ceiling and plaster decoration was copied, along with the Greek key, stars and large eagle ornament. Most of McKim's Colonial Revival furniture was returned to the room.
Kennedy restoration and later administrations
During the Kennedy restoration the room was designed largely by Sister Parish who asked preservation architect Robert Raley, a consulting architect to Henry Francis DuPont's Winterthur Museum, to assess the room. Raley considered the room to be very strong and in keeping with the White House's time of construction. He made two proposals which were followed: the removal of moulding that organized the walls into a series of upper and lower panels; and the lowering of the window height by extending a cornice across the north wall of the room. These changes had the dual effect of unifying the room and giving the vaulted ceiling more presence.
Parish had the walls painted a soft yellow, and yellow silk curtains, tied back twice with ornamental cords and tassels, installed within the frame of the windows. French interior designer Stphane Boudin had recommended a similar treatment by her in the Yellow Oval Room. A series of mantels and chandeliers were tried, finally resulting in permanent installation of a late Louis XVI green marble mantelpiece with a carved eagle and festoons in white marble. this mantel was acquired for the Yellow Oval Room but proved too small for the scale of that room. Baseboard trim was faux painted to match the green marble of the mantel. A Federal period dining and side chairs have been used since.
Today the room appears little changed since the Kennedy restoration. Yellow silk drapery based on an English Regency pattern have been installed and cover the window frames. They were designed in 1981 by Ted Graber, under First Lady Nancy Reagan's supervision. She also approved new upholstery for the chair and a new carpet for the room. A silver mirror plateau, made in New York by John W. Forbes, c. 1820 sits on the table.
Gallery
President Barack Obama hosts a Seder dinner in the Family Dining Room in 2009.
Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Family Dining Room
Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.
McKellar, Kenneth, Douglas W. Orr, Edward Martin, et al. Report of the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion. Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion, Government Printing Office: 1952.
Monkman, Betty C. The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families. Abbeville Press: 2000. ISBN 0-7892-0624-2.
Seale, William. The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 0-912308-28-1.
Seale, William, The White House: The History of an American Idea. White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. ISBN 0-912308-85-0.
The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.
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Categories: Rooms in the White HouseHidden categories: Articles lacking in-text citations from August 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations
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