Green Room Makeover Incorporates a Colorful Past

"I like the strength of it. It's a very, very strong picture. The people in it are strong. He liked the idea of a lot of people working together to build," first lady Laura Bush said yesterday, giving a preview of the Lawrence painting and the completed work in the historic room. "I think that's really just a picture of our country; that's what our country relies on."

The painting, titled "The Builders," is part of the Green Room's first overhaul in 36 years. As Mrs. Bush showed off the changes, she said she had always been drawn to the room on the main floor of the White House, just off the East Room.

She remembers an evening during the inaugural festivities for Ronald Reagan's second term. "We came here for one of the parties early on. I remember actually thinking: Isn't it amazing that we can actually sit on the furniture? We were sitting on this couch with our plates from the buffet, from the big buffet. I remember the Adams silver that's there on the table. So I had a wonderful memory of this room already," she said.

For the refurbishing, which started in late July, the Duncan Phyfe sofa was reupholstered in a green-and-ecru striped silk. It matches new draperies that are a slightly different green from the previous ones, and have a deep coral stripe.

As she worked with the curators and designers, Mrs. Bush decided the room needed a welcoming feeling. In some ways, the Green Room can feel imposing, with its austere portrait of Benjamin Franklin by David Martin over the mantel.

"I like this room to have sort of a clubby feeling. It is not a library but it has sort of a feeling, I think, of a library because of the comfortable chairs by the fireplace, the cozy way the room feels because of the surrounding green and the green floor. I think this is one of the more masculine rooms. The Red Room has always been considered the first lady's favorite room, and it is my favorite room, I'll admit," Mrs. Bush said.

She showed off two Duncan Phyfe side chairs formerly covered in a pink that Mrs. Bush described as "light and insipid." The new color is deeper, more like the red of a sunset. The fabric is a silk damask with a whimsical wreath-and-butterfly pattern first created by Scalamandr¿ around 1800.

The room got its name when Thomas Jefferson placed a green canvas on the floor. It's had many makeovers, and the latest didn't try to reproduce a particular period but respected changes made by former occupants.

"There isn't a moment it is supposed to represent," said William G. Allman, the White House curator. "It takes in more than one period."

The green silk wall covering, a deep emerald color with a moire pattern, was selected by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962. Pat Nixon selected the drapery design, featuring floor-length panels and elaborate valances. But the drapes faded over the years.

Some of the room's embellishments date back to the very early days of the White House, which originally housed President John Adams in 1800 but was rebuilt after being burned during the War of 1812. "The marble mantel is the oldest interior architectural element in the White House, bought by President Monroe in 1819," Allman said.