The Family Dining Room as decorated by Kaki Hockersmith during the administration of William Jefferson Clinton.

Floor plan of the White House State Floor showing location of the Family Dining Room.

The Family Dining Room during the administration of John F. Kennedy. The room remains little changed since redecoration by Sister Parish for the Kennedys.

The Family Dining Room is located on the State Floor of the White House, home of the president of the United States. The room is used for smaller, more private meals than those served in the State Dining Room. Today the president uses the Family Dining Room less for family and more for working lunches and small dinners. Family dinners are more often served on the second floor in the President's Dining Room. Order: 42nd President Term of Office: January 20, 1993–January 20, 2001 Preceded by: George H. W. Bush Succeeded by: George W. Bush Date of birth: August 19, 1946 Place of birth: Hope, Arkansas Date of death: Place of death: First Lady: Hillary Rodham Clinton Political party: Democratic Vice... JFK redirects here. ... Sister Parish (born Dorothy May Kinnicutt, 1910-1994) was an American interior decorator. ... For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ... The State Dining Room as refurbished during the administration of William Jefferson Clinton. ...

Soon after construction of the White House a need was seen for a separate private dining room. Thomas Jefferson used the present Green Room as his private dining room. New floor plans made for reconstruction of the White House following its burning by the British in 1814 indicate a State Dining Room in the southwest corner, and a private dining room in the northwest of the State Floor. In the latter half of the nineteenth century a pantry was added in the northwest corner reducing the size of the private dining room, and use of the term "Family Dining Room" began to replace the name "Private Dining Room." The Green Room, looking southeast. ...

McKim's neoclassical redesign

Renovations by architect Charles Follen McKim during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt architecturally transformed the Family Dining Room. Using White House architect James Hoban's groin vaulted ground floor hall ceilings as a model, McKim installed a similar groin vault ceiling. The surface was articulated with a low relief plaster Greek key and five-pinted star decoration, and an eagle within a laurel wreath on the east wall above the mantel. McKim commissioned the Boston furniture manufacturer A.H. Davenport to build a somewhat overscaled Federal style sideboard and china cabinet, and dining table. Reproduction Chippendale style sidechairs replaced the series of Victorian chairs used in the nineteenth century. Charles Follen McKim, portrait by Frances Benjamin Johnston. ... Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, Jr. ... James Hoban James Hoban (1762-1831) was born in Desart, near Callan County Kilkenny, Ireland. ... In Greek mythology Apollo is represented wearing a laurel-wreath on his head, and in ancient Greece wreaths were awarded to victors, both in athletic competitions, including the ancient Olympics and poetic meets under his care, as well as worn by several emperors. ...

The Truman reconstruction

A photograph of the ceiling area taken while the room was being dismantled previous to the Truman reconstruction, shows the simple c. 1818 moulding and several pieces of Victorian era wall paper. Plaster decoration and wood trim was removed from the room with the intention of reinstalling it after the reconstruction. Like much of the salvaged wood and plaster from the house, it was pronounced unusable. McKim's groin vaulted ceiling and plaster decoration was copied, along with the Greek key, stars and large eagle ornament. Most of McKim's Colonial Revival furniture was returned to the room.

Kennedy restoration and later administrations

During the Kennedy restoration the room was designed largely by Sister Parish who asked preservation architect Robert Raley, a consulting architect to Henry Francis DuPont's Winterthur Museum, to assess the room. Raley considered the room to be very strong and in keeping with the White House's time of construction. He made two proposals which were followed: the removal of moulding that organized the walls into a series upper and lower panels; and the lowering of the window height by extending a cornice across the north wall of the room. These changes had the dual effect of unifying the room and giving the vaulted ceiling more presence. Sister Parish (born Dorothy May Kinnicutt, 1910-1994) was an American interior decorator. ... Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969), was an American horticulturist and a member of the prominent Du Pont family. ... Winterthur, an American country estate in Winterthur, Delaware, (north of Wilmington, USA) is the former home of Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969), an avid antiques collector and horticulturist. ...

Parish had the walls painted a soft yellow, and coral satin drapery installed within the frame of the windows. French interior designer Stéphane Boudin had recommended a similar treatment by her in the Yellow Oval Room. A series of mantels and chandeliers were tried, finally resulting in permanent installation of a late Louis XVI green marble mantelpiece with a carved eagle and festoons in white marble. this mantel was acquired for the Yellow Oval Room but proved too small for the scale of that room. Baseboard trim was faux painted to match the green marble of the mantel. A Federal period dining and side chairs have been used since. Stéphane Boudin, 1888–1967, French interior designer and president of Maison Jansen (House of Jansen) the Paris based international interior decorating office. ...

Today the room today appears little changed since the Kennedy restoration. Yellow silk drapery based on an English Regency pattern have been installed, and cover the window frames. A silver mirror plateau, made in New York by John W. Forbes, c. 1820 sits on the table.

References and further reading

• Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
• Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.
• McKellar, Kenneth, Douglas W. Orr, Edward Martin, et al. Report of the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion. Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion, Government Printing Office: 1952.
• Monkman, Betty C. The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families. Abbeville Press: 2000. ISBN 0-7892-0624-2.
• Seale, William. The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 0-912308-28-1.
• Seale, William, The White House: The History of an American Idea. White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. ISBN 0-912308-85-0.
• The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.