Our beautiful new tv cabinet and bookcase in the office!

 Progress is moving a little slowly since the last post…..but the work that has been done is amazing!  We have our new tv cabinet in the office 90% installed…..minus about two days worth of electronics installation.  At this point, in my opinion, BIGGER IS BETTER!  Wow!  What a difference 17′ of glossy black cabinetry can make in a space!  Instead of shrinking the space, the floor to ceiling cabinet has truly blown the roof off our room!  It is amazing the lift this cabinet gives to the space.  This is going to house so much of our collection of antique accessories, it is unbelievable!  Plus, it will hold all of the electronics for tv and sound for the entire house, as well as a fax machine AND printer for the office.  I am so excited to be getting this piece in our home.  It truly is a beautiful marriage of form and function.  John McGilvray and his crew have worked tirelessly to complete this, and they have done an amazing job.  The effect that the air conditioning soffit had in the room has been completely eliminated, and this room has started to feel larger, more cozy, and it now has details that are consistent with the rest of the house.

Guys from McGilvray Woodworks working on the cabinet installation. They were perfectionists!

So in addition to the nearly completed cabinet, the ceiling, crown, and base moldings are complete in the office…..so tomorrow, Dan Border and his crew will start putting the finishing touches on ceiling and trim paint.  Hopefully by mid week we will be ready for wallpaper in this room. 

Antique heart pine floors, nearing completion.

Max Wood Floors worked ON SATURDAY to complete the floors in the kitchen and den.  The floors are fantastic, and they did a really great job of fitting them together perfectly.  It really has given these rooms the patina they lacked before.  We have trim work details like shoe molding in both the kitchen and the den to complete.  In the kitchen, the trim work will be a little more difficult since we have to marry a slightly lower new floor to the position of the cabinets.  This can be overcome with new base pieces on the cabinets, and a new molding at the base of the island.  Once again, John McGilvray and his crew will be rescuing us from what could have otherwise been a tricky predicament. 

Kitchen floors are complete.....and just lacking a little trim work

Dan Border and his painting crew are making steady progress.  The upstairs bedrooms are in the process of getting their new colors, and windows still continue to be completed.  They are doing a great job……and delivering a silky smooth finish.  The former “green” bedroom, will still be called the green bedroom…..but the walls have gone from green to cream.  The master bedroom is getting a much more dramatic treatment.  We had a neutral tan tone in the bedroom that was matched to the toile wallpaper behind the bed, and a perfect blend with the carpet.  I wanted to change the color to give us a fresh look, and really wanted to do a lighter color.  What I realized…..as I lived in an empty house for the past two months…..it wasn’t the lightness of the color I disliked.  It was the fact that the color was so blah.  Just beige…..it wasn’t dramatic or exciting, and it really didn’t add anything to the room.  I am not opposed to light wall colors, and we have lots of them in our house, but in the master bedroom, the color just seemed to be flat.  Our solution……GLOSSY NAVY BLUE!  Can’t wait to see this going up tomorrow.  The painters are stealthy, and don’t make a huge mess, and are quite while they are here, so it is sort of difficult sometimes to tell exactly where they have been…unless they are making a major change in wall color, which they have done today.

Another shot of the new bookcase and tv cabinet

 Home Choice continues to disappoint on the window front.  Andy, the guy who has done such an amazing job installing the windows and putting up the window trim is M.I.A.  He was here Wednesday of last week for part of the day, and it is now Tuesday and he is no where to be found and will not return Seth’s (our job foreman) phone calls.  Sounds really professional, right?  In an effort to get our job complete, Seth and Schmid and Rhodes have enlisted the help of John McGilvray to complete the window trim in the house.  There isn’t a lot left to do….just a little bit of molding on the upstairs windows, and about half of the new dining room window.  Seems like Home Choice would want to be finished with this job…..but that doesn’t seem to be the way they operate.   John is anticipating completion tomorrow! 

Another view of the office.....with the new V-Groove fireplace. Mantle should be installed this week!

This week, our goals are to complete painting in the office, finish electrical work and get all recessed lighting installed, get electronics installed in the office, get new counter top in the basement bathroom, get wallpaper installed in the basement bathroom and office, get trim work complete in kitchen and den, and hopefully get painting complete in the upstairs bedrooms.

New bookcase and tv cabinet in process of installation....and a COMPLETELY installed ceiling!

LOTS of progress over the past week.  The mess seems to have grown today….but that is part of the progress.  Great strides have been made in the former office space.  The random width V-groove ceiling is completely installed, and the painting is well under way.  We have crown molding now in the office space, and the backboards for the fireplace are installed.  For the backboards of the fireplace, we used 8″ wide V-groove and installed it horizontally.  I think this is going to be a great effect once the mantle is in place.  Still to do is to paint the existing brick gloss black.  John McGilvray of McGilvray Woodworks is responsible for building the beautiful cabinet as well as installing our wood ceilings and mantle.  He has also done a fantastic job on the custom baseboard and crown in the office.

Paul McKee with Audio Video By Design has done an amazing job of getting all the wiring installed for house sound and the new tv….and my favorite new toy, CAMERAS!  We will now be able to see what is going on all over our house from anywhere in the world that we have i-phone service! 

All of the windows are installed, and window trim is nearing completion.  Andy from Home Choice, and all the guys from Schmid and Rhodes are really doing a great job and making sure we are happy with every single detail.  I have been a little disappointed in the window ordering process from Home Choice.  Schmid and Rhodes is taking care of all the errors with the window order so that I do not have to deal with the vendor…..and I am most appreciative of that, but the owner of Home Choice did not listen to our requests, and several mistakes were made that will ultimately cost him money.  There were no divided lights on the functional doors in the office, so those have to be replaced.  Over the front door, the window panes are a different size than the ones on the rest of the front of the house, so those two panels have to be replaced.  Our new dining room window was to be fully stationary, and the panels open…..this isn’t a big deal….just there was no need to have these functional, and now we have to take an extra measure to secure them.  Our screens are fantastic phantom screens that slide from the side, and completely disappear into the window frame when open…..but that was a pricey detail.  We had selected specific places where we thought it would make sense to use them, but we have ended up with them on almost every window….again, an expense we weren’t counting on.  None of these things really make that much of a difference, and the quality of the product is amazing….but a little communication from Home Choice would have been appreciated.  Still….even as I write….no call from the owner apologizing for the mistakes.  My words of advice here…..go over your window order multiple times to look for errors.  Our order appeared to be written correctly, but there were changes made to what we approved that we were never informed about.

Above is our new mantle back board made from horizontal V-Groove paneling…..partially concealed behind a mountain of bookcase parts!

My FAVORITE thing in the renovation thus far is the new dining room window.  Schmid and Rhodes did an AMAZING job of removing brick from the outside of the house to be able to enlarge this window.  I always felt that the dining room window shortened the view of the outside.  We have put a lot of effort over the past few years into making the backyard really special, and it was simply disconnected from the main floor of the house.  The new TALLER window really has made a huge difference, and just pulls you toward it so the backyard becomes a real feature of the main floor. 

Our new dining room window.....partially hidden behind our kitchen appliances!

After living with no floor in the kitchen and den for a month now, the antique heart pine flooring started going down today….and it looks GREAT!  This is what we should have done when we moved in 8 years ago.  I think it is “aging” our house beautifully.  This will be the perfect touch to make us feel like we have always lived here….and that the floors are original. 

The beautiful antique heart pine flooring going down in the den!

The large cabinet in the office should be complete by Monday, and next week, we should be complete with painting in the office.  Counter tops get installed in the office bathroom on Wednesday, and Bill Armstrong….our wallpaper installer, will start hanging the fabric on the walls in the bathroom on Thursday, and work until finished on the grass cloth wallpaper for the office.  Painting should start on the walls in the upstairs bedrooms next week.  We have a move in date set at this point…..TWO WEEKS!  Keep your fingers crossed that we make it.  There are a lot of loose ends to tie up before then, and a whole lot of cleaning….but I think we can do it, if we continue to see progress like was made this week!

Nothing like a refrigerator in the foyer to say "Welcome Home"!

Honing the counter top

It has been about 10 days since my last update.  We have been working at a couple of out of town markets, and honestly, the progress has been really slow. 

One good thing happening was that the kitchen island marble did get honed, and it looks amazing.  When we originally put the marble top on the island, I let the installer talk me out of honing the stone.  I knew it would perform better….but he didn’t want to do it because it wouldn’t have as much depth to the color….and I was tired of the building process and didn’t want to argue.  Lesson learned….we should have honed it.  It was highly susceptible to any sort of acidic substance, leaving un-polished rings everywhere.  Well, the honing did the trick, and the surface looks lovingly aged, and all the rings are gone.  It should have been like that 8 years ago when we moved in.

We got the duct work fixed so that it did not have to drop below ceiling level!

The new living room window is fantastic....and so much more classic than the "picture" window that was previously there.

Wood flooring for the kitchen and den are acclimating to the house, and will be installed next week

My favorite thing so far.....the new kitchen window. Elongated by one pane, it now opens up the view to the lawn and really adds a great amount of additional light.

At this point, almost all of the windows are in…..but nothing is trimmed.  Painters are starting to work on windows, and again, nothing is complete.  The ceiling has been removed in the basement, so we are ready for the new tongue and groove ceiling…..I hope.  The laundry room got this same treatment, and it is installed. 

The basement.....it keeps getting worse!

Over the weekend, only about half of the ceiling was out.  Today, it got progressively work.  Evidently, that is what happens when you try to straighten out 44 years of unevenness.  It will be level when we are done, and hopefully the effort will be worth it. 

We do have the final mantle design complete for the basement, and hopefully that will be installed within a week. 

A lot of electrical work has happened.  The recessed lights are totally installed in the basement…..other than the ones that had to be removed due to the ceiling being torn out.  We added spot lights over the beds in the two upstairs guest rooms.  There were no overhead lights in there, and this way, there will be at least one light that can come on and be effective with a flip of the switch inside the door.  We also added a couple of portrait lights in the den to help even out the light in that room.  It is probably the darkest room in our house, and this will be a greatly welcome addition.

Parquet.....gone

Lots of great progress today!  The first “layer” of parquet was pulled up in the den.  Evidently, the way this product was produced, there was a thin layer of wood over a plywood base……and this thick layer of black tar that joined the two together.  It went down in one piece, but it comes up in two!  Tonight, we have the black tar layer exposed, and tomorrow that should be gone.

We also discovered that part of the soffit in the basement can be removed without totally redoing all the duct work, so we will be able to get draperies in that room now and really add a great deal of softness to the space. 

Four windows were pulled out and replaced…..at least positioned in place and secured.  There is lots of trim work that has to be done at this point, but at least the new windows are in two of the bedrooms. 

Paint on the door details continues to move slowly, but the result is fantastic, and we are really pleased with the look. 

Marble fireplace covered for protection

January might not be the best month to change out windows

First stages for window removal.....take off the trim

Foyer chest all wrapped up for safe keeping

 Another great day today!  Schmid and Rhodes is doing a really great job, and they are being so careful with our house……even in its current state.  Every day when I come home, my desk is uncovered, and the floor swept. 

The floor came completely up in the den today, we got a real head start on wiring for house sound and for security cameras on the outside of the house, and the old tv cabinet in the office got removed.  The rain definitely slowed the window installation process, but they did a lot of prep work in taking off trim on the windows so more will be ready to change out tomorrow.

Down to the subfloor in the den

We will be able to move this duct up to get a flat ceiling in the new media room

TV cabinet.....gone

One of the new windows....notice there is no "crank" All you have to do is raise the lever and push the window open

Push out handle.....ready to open

Easy to open!

The start of wiring......

Finish samples for the new tv cabinet/bookcase. The body will be the antique black with wood stained trim, and the back will be the antique white v-groove

My former office.....now a giant chunk of square footage we don't need

So after 7 years, our home, Casa Real was ready for a little facelift.  Thanks to a horrible hail storm in April of 2011, we ended up with a long list of things that needed to be done.  The major projects were to replace all the windows and exterior doors, as well as the slate roof.  Our contractors, Schmid and Rhodes in Knoxville, TN, asked us if we would clear out some of our “stuff” to make the process a little easier for them…..and we thought that was a fantastic idea in order to provide the most protection for our artwork and antiques.  It also opened the door for the list of things that needed to be done. 

The Den….all empty

 The list grew, as most projects do, and now includes the following:

*Reconfigure the former office and create a media room, office, and entertainment area that services the pool

*Create a new storage and display piece for the new media room that will house part of our collection of antique accessories as well as new components for television and sound

*Create an updated mantle and overmantle for the new media room

*Eliminate the horrid track lighting in the office, and in so doing, create a sensible lighting plan, and install a new wooden ceiling

*Replace the marble floor in the kitchen….which continues to crack despite our efforts to correct it….with antique heart pine, and while in the process, replace the parquet floor in the den with the same flooring; thus unifying the entire main floor.

*Replace interior door hardware with lever handles appropriate to the style of the house, and add detail to the door painting

*Fresh paint colors for the green guest room, master bedroom, and laundry room

There are probably other things that will pop up along the way, but this is the bulk of the list.  My goal is to document the project as it goes along, and provide before, during, and after photos of the work. 

Our goal is to give our home a fresh look.  As a designer, it is easy for me to look at a client’s home in a fresh light.  Since I am so attached to this place, and spend so much time here…..it is really hard to do that with my own home.  The repair work forced us to remove the majority of our “stuff” and it is giving us an opportunity to “re-think” exactly how we want spaces to function, and to really look at how things can be put together differently.  We are adding some new pieces into the mix as we go along, mainly with the goal of creating more storage space for a growing collection of antique accessories. 

Foyer into dining room

One of the first things we did was to remove all of the artwork and accessory pieces.  We packed many of them, but there were two bathrooms that were getting no work at all other than fresh paint on the doors and trim….plus the new door hardware.  A few weeks before we started on the major project, we had those areas completed, so we could start packing them with “stuff”.  Next, the movers came and packed up what was left and we carefully moved everything to a climate contolled storage facility.  Then, up came the rugs which have gone out for cleaning and any needed repairs, and finally, Prestige Cleaners came to get all the draperies to get them back into tip top shape and to store them for us until we are ready for installation.  The process took time, but it was a well organized plan, and we worked on it a little bit each day for about a week, it became a manageable task that way, and it did get completed.

The above photo is of the upstairs hall bath filled with paintings and lamps.  It is best to store paintings vertically, and when you can, put them back to back and front to front.  This really helps minimize frame damage from hooks and wires rubbing on the finished part of another piece. 

Today was the first full day of work, and most of what happened was protection for the surfaces we were not changing.  The upholstered walls in the dining room were covered, floors were covered, and the few pieces of furniture we were able to leave in the house were covered with foam board to protect them.  This will be an exciting process, at least for Bobby and me, and I hope that you enjoy reading about our newest adventure.

The Foyer

The living room

That's me with the incredible Jim Marvin from Nashville. We worked together on several projects this year in the White House. Here we are in the Green Room.

Again this year, I was notified by an email from Jeremy Bernard, the Social Secretary at The White House notifying me that I was again selected to be among the volunteers to decorate the house for Christmas.  My method for applying was the same as last year.  I wrote a letter to the Chief Floral Designer, Laura Dowling, and also to the Social Secretary.  I sent my letters in February, and did not hear anything until the first week in October.  Once I got to Washington, I discovered that the selection process was essentially the same as it had been before.  A few veteran designers were retained to keep some amount of familiarity with the process.  This time, there were about 160 total volunteers, most of which had not done it before, instead of the 100 who were there the previous year.  Some of the volunteers were selected on the basis of their skill, ability, and talent; while others were selected because of their want to do the work.  It was again an honor to work with all these volunteers to make the People’s House beautiful for this country. 

Many of the details of these days were similar if not identical to the previous year, so I am not including as many specifics about timing, descriptions of the warehouse, and even the preparations because it is so much the same.  If you want to just see pictures of the finished product, please just scroll on through.

My mom, Patricia Richesin, and I in The Blue Room at the Volunteer Recption

The first day of work was Black Friday.  I worked at The White House warehouse somewhere on the outskirts of DC.  There were sample “baskets” of ornaments for each room sitting in front of huge stacks of boxes marked with the same names as the basket.  A basket and box stack (or box row) for almost every room in the house.  From the West Wing, to the historic State Floor, to the Private Residence, every part of the house would be decked for the Holidays. 

The theme for this years decorations was “Shine, Give, Share” and was all about celebrating and finding ways to lift up those around us; to take time to reflect on the opportunities we have; and to shine, give, and share throughout the season.  Each of us has the power to make a difference in our world through service to one another while at the same time brightening our future.  The hope of the President and First Lady was that “the sparkling brilliance of the People’s House, and all it represents, remain with us throughout the year, and may it remind us to reflect the light and joy of this season each day in our service to each other.”  My personal hope is that I was able to “shine” at The White House and use my gift and talent to bring joy to others.  Over 80,000 people will see the house during the Holiday season. 

We unpacked ornaments, counted them, and sorted them into like containers for each room.  We removed any broken ones, repaired ones with missing tops, and added wire to ones with none.  Last year, about 75% of the decorations were recycled from previous years.  This year, I would say that outside of the greenery itself….which would all be fresh…..95% of the things that were used were recycled from previous years.  I have done holiday decorating professionally for many years.  It is really hard to re-use items in a different way, even in a small scale project, because what you have is designed to fit a certain way.  Ribbon is especially hard to re-use in a different way.  Somehow, the folks at Agency EA who organized the event had all that figured out.  Agency EA is the group who organized the entire production of decorating the house.  From coordinating volunteers, to deciding what goes where in the house, they were the team who supervised, planned, and ultimately were responsible for the magic that would happen.  I didn’t see all the personal ornaments this year that were sent in that I saw last year…..but they were there.  Many people were unpacking those, I just was working in a different place.  I can tell you that if it was sent in, it was used somewhere in the house.  They even read ALL of the letters of request for the volunteers!  Once counted and sorted, all of the boxes were re-sealed and labeled with a different color label….pink meant it was complete and ready to be put on a truck…..then inspected by the Secret Service, and put on a truck to be delivered to the house. 

Detail of the magnolia and fruit cluster garland for the State Dining Room

One of the things we started at the warehouse on Friday was figuring out the look for the State Dining Room.  I worked with Jim Marvin on this.  Jim has been a White House volunteer for 15 years, and consulted and designed many of the decorations for years before that.  A large percentage of the decorations used in the house were originally designed by him.  We decided to use magnolia garland as a garland on the two large trees flanking the fireplace and Lincoln portrait in the room.  We would create clusters of fruit made from tiny individual glass beaded apples, pears, and plums; incorporate fresh seeded eucalyptus into them; and tiny green velvet leaves.  This was a labor intensive process, and one that would ultimately start on Friday at the warehouse, and still be going until mid-day on Tuesday in the State Dining Room.  There were literally hundreds of these clusters made and used on these lavish garlands.  We also decided to use gold glass pinecones, and beautiful pink glass spiral ornaments to decorate the trees.  We added in gold shiny balls, and other decorations in brown and copper tones to add some depth.  The overall effect would be stunning once complete.  The items for the State Dining Room were not totally grouped together in the warehouse, so we made sure we got them all in one place before we finished for the day. 

On Saturday, I was assigned to work at the White House instead of the warehouse.  I reported early, and was escorted into the First Lady’s office suite by Ximena Gonzales, the asisstant to the Social Secretary.  We had a sneak tour of the First Lady’s office, which looked more like a comfortable living room than an office.  There was a large mahogany dining table and 10 chairs on one side of the room, and a sofa with a pair of “spool” chairs from Hickory Chair Company on the other side.  I was tickled to see the spool chairs, since it is one of my favorite frames.  We have one of them at home, and even have one in the shop right now.  The look was very tailored and neutral.  There are a lot of people who work in The White House….it truly functions as an office, a museum, and a home….so most of the offices are very small.  Even people who hold really important positions have relatively small offices. 

After this sneak peek, we had to unload one of the delivery trucks that had arrived with the decorations for the West Wing.  The President was getting ready to leave the house with his family, and there were at least 10 vehicles in the driveway on the South Lawn.  We had only a few minutes to completely unload the truck because it had to be off the property before the President could leave.  We staged items on the terrace of the Rose Garden, and would ultimately carry them through the Palm Room, down the collonade to the West Wing. 

I worked on the mantle in the Roosevelt Room, directly across the hall from the Oval Office, with Jordan Calgaro…..one of my veteran friends from last year.  Sherri and Cate, new friends from this year, worked on the tree in the Oval Office.  We used thick noble fir garland and draped it across the mantle letting it drape onto the floor on the ends.  We wrapped the garland with wide gold satin ribbon, and a brown and gold woven ribbon with wired edges.  This ribbon would ultimately be used in many rooms of the house.  We did large clusters of natural pinecones painted gold in the corners and center of the garland, and then added some glass pine cones, and glittery copper balls in.  We tucked in some gold leaves…..the same ones we used last year in the State Dining Room and East Room.  After lunch, we worked on the garland in the Cabinet Room.  We used the same thick noble fir garland, and laid it straight across the mantle and let it drape onto the floor.  This look is apparently a White House standard, and is something I always try to do in my own work.  The extra length on the floor really adds a lush look.  The ribbons for the Cabinet Room were a gold satin ribbon, mixed with an orange and green stripe with gold sequins.  We tied large bows for the corners of the mantle, and let the tails cascade into bishop’s sleeves down the sides.  Everywhere the ribbon tucked up, we put a cluster of gold pinecones, satin orange balls, and bronze glass acorns.  We then did a similar cluster in the center of the mantle and at the corners.  Add in a few gold leaves for sparkle, and it was really beautiful. 

The top of the tree in the Oval Office was out of Sherri and Cate’s reach, so I finished off the top for them.  Security was super tight.  There was a guard inside the colonnade doors, and to get into the Oval Office itself, you had to show your identification….where it was recorded in ink in a book.  No white out or deletions that way!  Once recorded, you could move freely about the office, but only for the time period you were allotted. 

The Oval Office was a beautiful space.  Very neutral, with beige shadow stripe walls, and sofas upholstered in a rich brown velvet fabric.  There was a modern cocktail table with a simple wooden dough bowl on it filled with honey crisp apples.  There was definitely a lack of decoration, but it still looked Presidential.  The draperies were in a wool crepe shadow stripe fabric in a deep red tone, and by the fireplace were a pair of tan leather chairs.  A beautiful antique table on each side of the fireplace held a bronze bust of Lincoln on one, and of Martin Luther King on the other.  The rug was noticebly not plush, but was a beautiful neutral texture, having the eagle symbol in the center also in neutral tones.  The border was deep blue with inscriptions that were meaningful and inspirational to The President.  Of course, there was the legendary desk.  It was a little smaller than I had imagined, but the detail carvings on it were amazing.  The ceiling in the office was slightly domed, creating perfect acoustics.  You could literally hear a pin drop. 

I also got a peek at the Vice President’s office.  No Rose Garden view here, and considerably smaller; it was painted a navy blue, and was accented with reds and golds. 

Finished trees and garland in the State Dining Room

Beautiful sconce decorations in the State Dining Room, created by Jim Marvin, and using laurel and bay leaf swags, pink spiral glass ornaments, and clusters of beaded fruit

Fountain and our little house

 Summer is always a favorite season at Casa Real.  We love this garden.  After the hail storm here in Knoxville in April, it was crippled.  Mother nature has been a fast healer, and finally, in summer’s final days, it has become beautiful once again.  Enjoy these photos of our little paradise in Summer’s final days.

Espalier apple tree with germander near the deck

Quite possibly the most ridiculous thing we have ever purchased at an antique show.....but it does remind us of our favorite place.

The stone patio

Impatiens in the shade garden

Madonna beside the pool

The side lawn

Shade garden steps

Encore azaleas

Fountain and geraniums in the front garden

The entry

Every garden needs some Royalty!

The magnolia garden path with the croquet lawn in the background

At the curb

Bird bath and path to the storage area

In the magnolia garden

anemones near the driveway

Blue Room Christmas tree with decorations made by SCAD

Wednesday evening, after having worked on the decorations for the past five days, all of the volunteers were invited to a reception at the White House.  This would be the first of many holiday parties at the house this season.  Mrs. Obama estimated that over 100,000 people would get to enjoy the decorations we had created. 

Relaxing on a priceless antique in the Grand Foyer

The party started at 4:00, but we were told to gather near the entrance starting at 3:30.  There was a large line at the entrance.  About 500 people were invited to the party.  In addition to the Christmas decorating volunteers, there are many others who volunteer at the White House through the year, and all those people were invited.  Our id’s were checked four times, and we had to go through an airport-like security screening process to get inside.  Ultimately, we entered through the East visitor’s entrance just as we had done every day before.  The difference was this time we were guests and were allowed to actually sit on the furniture!

Party scene in the Grand Foyer

The party was spectacular to say the least.  The house just glittered.  Everything in the White House is perfectly cleaned and maintained, so in its Christmas finery, it really shined.  I stopped to ask one of the housekeepers one day what was the secret to the deep shine on the marble floors, and the answer was clear.  “We polish them every day.”  With the amount of traffic through the house, this made sense.  The movie theater was used as the coat check for the party.  The first family can watch first run movies in the theater, and one day while working in the house, we saw Warner Brothers delivering current movies.  The theater is a beautiful space luxuriously appointed in red velvet, and located along the East Colonnade. 

Party scene in the East Room

Floral centerpieces in the East Room

The stage for the party was set in the Visitor’s Foyer where the male chorus from Princeton was singing.  There were about 20 of them and the downstairs hall was filled with their voices.  After that, I bumped into Santa who was welcoming people at the foot of the stairs going up to the main floor.  I walked through all the rooms we had decorated on the lower level first.  People were really enjoying themselves.  There was a table set up in the Lower Cross Hall with wine, sparkling water, or champagne.  The cocktail napkins were beautiful and had the Presidential seal embossed in gold.  Upstairs in the main floor, the magic unfolded.  As soon as you entered the Grand Foyer, you could hear the Marine Corps band playing swing style Christmas music in the East Room.  It was such a festive atmosphere. 

Reception tables in the East Room

The foyer was magical with the giant urns filled with the Aspen branches we had decorated days before.  The icy branches we wove into them just sparkled.  There was another drink station set up in the Cross Hall with wine and water, and another one with coffee and hot chocolate.  There were a few tall round bistro type tables set up in the grand foyer draped in red tablecloths.  The flower arrangements in the Grand Foyer were small bouquets of red roses and coffee berries.  Amazingly fresh was the only way to describe them.

Recycled magazine Christmas trees in the Green Room

Once you moved into the East Room, the scene was so festive.  To the right was a station serving the richest eggnog you have ever tasted.  Four round tables in the center of the room had beef tenderloin; pork tenderloin; a giant punch bowl filled with oysters on the half shell, shrimp, and crab claws; tiny roasted potatoes; white asparagus; fresh vegetables; and smoked salmon.  There were homemade breads to put things on and amazingly delicious sauces.  No surprise that everything you tasted was cooked to perfection…just as all the meals we had eaten there before were prepared.  There was a table set up serving roast turkey…..the most perfectly browned bird ever.  There was also a ham carving station here as well and there were dressing balls and cranberry sauce as well.  For desssert, there were homemade Christmas cookies, apple pie, chocolate cakes, coconut cakes, and so many other things I can’t recall them all.  There was also a full bar, and another station for wine and water.  After you get all that delicious food in your mind, filter in the marine corps band, the four towering Christmas trees and wreaths on gorgeous mirrors, the beautiful golden silk draperies at the windows, and three enormous crystal chandeliers overhead and you have the makings of a magical event.  There were countless butlers.  These people made certain that no dish on the table was empty, and made certain that you had what you needed.  Whenever a glass would be set down, it would magically disappear.  Nothing ever ran out on the food tables.  There was a constant flow of fresh goodies from the kitchen.  The entire East Room scene was repeated again in the State Dining room….with the exception of the band.

Entrance to the Lower Visitor's Foyer

In the Red, Blue, and Green rooms you could sit on all of the furniture.  At 5:00 Mrs. Obama descended the Grand Staircase and addressed the crowd.  She was so appreciative of the effort of all the volunteers.  She talked about how so many of the states were represented.  She talked about how proud we should be because of all the people who will enjoy the house during the holidays.  She was certainly clear that this was not her house…..that it was the People’s house….and that EVERY American should be proud of it.  After being in the house and seeing how many people it takes to run it…..butlers, cooks, housekeepers, janitors, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, Secret Service, photographers, and then on top of the the First Lady’s and President’s staff….it is very clear that it is not a private house.  Mrs. Obama spoke for about eight minutes and then shook hands with many people in the audience.  It was a great experience to see that these people are in fact real people. 

We were at the party from about 4:00 to 6:00.  About 5:50, the State Dining Room doors were closed, and they used the door closing to start ushering people out of the house.  Eventually only the East Room was open, and it was closed by 6:15.  The crowd slowly started to elave, and I would estimate that by 6:45 everyone was gone.  It is a good thing because at 7:00 there was another holiday party at the house!

East Visitor's Entrance

The entire experience was eye opening for me.  The operation of the house is incredible.  It is an entertaining machine.  Everything is so beautifully maintained and cared for.  Everything works like clockwork, and because so many of the staff have been there for so many years, it runs very smoothly.  Everyone knows what to do and when to do it….and they do it with a sense of urgency and pride that is absent from lost of areas in our country’s work force.  If every American could have this experience, they would change the way they think about the President’s life (maybe not the politics) and they would change the way they work.