Why is the Oval Office so gold? Donald Trump’s extravagant White House makeover

US President's lavish redesign is resoundingly grand

From left: Joe Biden’s pared-down Oval Office in November 2024 and Donald Trump’s gilded and the same trophy-lined space during Trump's meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy this month. Photo: EPAShow less

When US President Donald Trump returned into the Oval Office in January, the room bore a different look from his final days there in early 2021. For his second term, the White House’s most recognisable room has been remade in a style unmistakably his own, this time leaning even heavier on a gold palette.

Gold trim now runs along the crown moulding, the curtains shine brighter, and even the presidential seal on the ceiling has been repainted in metallic tones.

It has become tradition for incoming presidents to redecorate, and they are even allocated a $100,000 budget to do so. Where former US president Joe Biden’s pared-back decor once stood, Trump has added gilded cherubs, gleaming trophies and ornate frames, creating a room that feels less like the White House and more like Versailles.

The walls, which used to hang only a few portraits, have been turned into what Trump calls a “gallery wall,” with nearly 20 paintings of presidents and statesmen he admires. It’s a sharp departure from Biden’s six, and even more dramatic compared to former US president Barack Obama’s minimalist approach.

Trump has also reintroduced a bust of Winston Churchill, kept Martin Luther King Jr and added Benjamin Franklin to a line-up that already included George Washington and Andrew Jackson.

The furniture follows the same trend. Simple wooden tables have been replaced by marble consoles, darker-framed art now hangs on the walls and the president's desk briefly gave way to a smaller stand-in while it was sent for refurbishment.

The dark blue rug made for Bill Clinton, with the presidential seal at its centre, has been removed. In its place, Trump has brought back a lighter rug from Ronald Reagan’s era, the same one he used during his first term. Its design still features the seal, framed by a sunburst pattern and olive branches meant to symbolise peace.

Donald Trump has brought back a Ronald Reagan-era rug, which he also used during his first term as US President, seen here in 2017. AFP

Elsewhere, gold figurines sit on the mantel, ornate mirrors shine on the doors and tiny cherubs (brought in from Mar-a-Lago) peek out from above the doorways.

Trump has revived some of his first term flourishes, including military branch flags and a prominent display of challenge coins. The “Diet Coke button” is back on the Oval Office desk, a feature which was notably missing during the Biden administration.

President Richard Nixon with Prince Charles in 1970 in the Oval Office of the White House. Photo: White House

Trump’s redesign features more flags, statues and memorabilia than his recent predecessors. Subtler historic details have been replaced with glittering artefacts.

The changes aren’t stopping with the Oval Office. The White House also confirmed that construction will begin in autumn on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot state ballroom in the East Wing, signalling that Trump’s taste for grandeur is set to continue.