Green Room (White House)

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The Green Room is one of three state parlors on the White House’s first floor. It is used for small receptions and teas, and during state dinners guests often have cocktails here before moving to the dining room. The room is traditionally decorated in green and measures about 28 by 22.5 feet. It connects to the Cross Hall, East Room, South Portico, and Blue Room through six doors.

History and design
- The room was built around 1800 and rebuilt in 1816 after the White House was burned in 1814. A later overhaul in 1904, led by the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, gave the Green Room a French Empire style that matched the era’s taste.
- In the 1920s, First Lady Grace Coolidge began a restoration to preserve the room’s historic character. A public disagreement over whether to favor Colonial Revival or Beaux-Arts decor led to a pause, but in 1926 a new committee redecorated the room in Colonial Revival and Federal furniture, replacing some earlier, more ornate details with simpler, period-appropriate pieces.
- The White House was extensively renovated in 1952 under President Harry S. Truman, and the Green Room’s walls were redone in green silk damask after the rebuilding.
- In 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy launched a major refurbishment of the White House, overseeing a design project that emphasized historic American style. The project was guided by a committee including Henry Francis du Pont and the interior designer Stéphane Boudin of Maison Jansen. Kennedy aimed to reflect the room’s Federal-era roots with a mix of authentic pieces and high-quality reproductions. The fabric choices and wall treatments were carefully debated, with Kennedy ultimately choosing a mossy green moiré silk for the walls and green-toned textiles for the furnishings.
- The Kennedy era also brought in notable furniture and works of art, and the room became closely associated with Kennedy’s presidency. The Green Room was a favorite of John F. Kennedy, and after his assassination the family donated Monet’s Morning on the Seine to the White House, which hung in the room. Aaron Shikler’s official portrait of Kennedy would later be placed there as well.
- In the 1960s and 1970s, the administration of Lyndon Johnson established the advisory Committee for the Preservation of the White House to oversee the state rooms’ upkeep as part of a museum-like approach.
- During the Nixon years, White House curator Clement Conger refined the room’s details, updating moldings and drapery to reflect a more accurate Federal and Chippendale-inspired look, and adding pieces by the Scottish-born cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe.
- The Green Room was refurbished again in 2007 by First Lady Laura Bush, with input from the White House staff and the preservation committees. The overall design retained the Nixon-era framework while updating fabrics and colors to a richer green palette, and a new Savonnerie-style rug was installed. The room also received new artwork, including The Builders by Jacob Lawrence.

Notable features and artifacts
- The Green Room has six doors and a classic green-dominated decoration. It serves as a formal space for receptions and small gatherings.
- The room’s furnishings mix Federal-era pieces and carefully selected reproductions, with fabrics and wall coverings reflecting the ongoing balance between historical accuracy and the needs of a living, working residence.
- Works of art and ceremonial objects have entered the room over time, including pieces donated by presidential families, and later acquisitions supported by White House preservation funds.

Governing bodies
- The White House Office of the Curator, the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, the White House Historical Association, and the White House Endowment Trust oversee the Green Room’s care, restoration, and acquisitions.

In sum, the Green Room is a historic, green-hued parlor that has evolved through fires, firesides of history, and careful preservation to remain a refined space for diplomacy and social occasions at the nation’s capital.