Not the Same Old Oval Office

Most offices, even if they’re used by well-known people are unseen by most of us.  Titans of industry and even many public officials spend their “office hours” working in places that only their professional colleagues ever see—except if those offices are part of a worksite redone by a popular designer and get included in a flashy, magazine article presenting work by that design group.

One of the few offices that most of us have, however, seen photos of over the years is the Oval Office, the workplace home of the US president, located in the White House in Washington DC.

Each time that a new president takes possession of the Oval Office, there are changes, often many changes in its appearance—lots of these modifications are made nearly entirely to signal a policy interest or political concern of the new president.

When Joe Biden became president he made oodles of changes to the Oval Office, although not so many that Donald Trump would be confused if he found himself invited back for a visit.  Doors and windows stay in the same place, even when administrations change, and the presidential desk, chair, other seats in the rooms, and occasional tables seem locked in.  For example, the same two long yellow couches have been parallel to each other near the White House fireplace since the Truman administration (at least it seems they’ve been there that long).  These sofas are “extravert-pleasers;” research consistently shows that extraverts enjoy mingling with others while seated on couches while introverts would prefer to spend time together from separate chairs, ideally with arms.

The President of the US and his staff seem as attuned to the possible backdrops of all the photographs and filming done in the White House as any of us are to the backdrops of our Zoom calls.

A lot of the changes from one administration to another are switch-ins, switch-outs of artwork.  Biden has removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office, and it’s unclear exactly what lead to that change, because the US still seems to be on friendly terms with the UK, except, perhaps the practical fact that there is only so much wall and table top space available for silent signaling, and sending “we’re friends” messages to London may not seem as necessary to the new regime as others they want to communicate.

For example, a bust of Cesar Chavez, an advocate for farm workers’ legal rights), the martyred Robert Kennedy, and the seat-near-the-front-of-the-bus claiming Rosa Parks, are now prominently placed in the Oval Office.

A prominent painting of Andrew Jackson, an early US president some of whose opinions and actions are onerous to modern day Americans, given pride of place in the Trump Oval Office is now gone, back for what is likely to be quite a long “time out” in storage.  A large image of Franklin Roosevelt is now notably placed above the fireplace, signaling whatever he might in our tumultuous era.  Another of Benjamin Franklin, is being used by the Biden team to “say” that they respect science, they’re “for” it.

A moon rock that’s found its way into the Oval Office has been included in the décor to bring the US’s previous achievements to mind.

That moon rock and painting of Franklin, together and apart, could have conveyed a number of different messages, so it’s handy that the Biden team spent lots of time leading reporters through the Oval Office, pointing out one thing or another, sharing why one decorative item was in and another was out.  The only way to every be really, really sure that visitors are getting the right messages is to tell them what those messages are, in regular old words.

The only significant change to the actual furnishings of the Oval Office is one that will actually make people in the space feel much more comfortable.  Biden has replaced a light, gold-ish colored rug formally on the floor with one that is a deep blue.  Blue is a color that is linked to the ideas of trustworthiness, credibility, and competence.  No need to spend a lot of time reviewing why those associations are such a plus here.

Replacing a light colored rug with a darker colored one will, even beyond our associations to the color blue, make people feel more comfortable in the Oval Office.  We feel best in spaces where the darkest color is under our feet, the very lightest color is over our heads, and intermediary shades cover the other walls in the room.  Blue rug in place of gold-ish rug => more comfortable people.

Next time you’re pondering what to do with your Zoom backdrop, imagine the challenge of “setting” the entire Oval Office so that it sends all the right messages policy- and other-wise.

And the biggest challenge of all of the Oval Office transitions (probably)?  The changeover happens all in 5 hours, while the new president is being sworn in, having their inaugural lunch, and catching some of the celebratory parade that Washington DC stages every 4 years, new president or not.

P20210122AS-0386: President Joe Biden talks on the phone with Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)