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23-721: The room is entered from the Center Hall on the north side of the room. Three large windows on the south side of the room face the South Lawn and The Ellipse . The southwest window has a swing-sash door leading to the Truman Balcony . Double doors on the west side of the room, with flags of the United States and of the presidency on either side, lead to the president and first lady's bedrooms, private sitting room and dressing room. On January 1, 1801, and before it

46-722: A sofa , settee , chesterfield , or davenport , is a cushioned item of furniture that can seat multiple people. It is commonly found in the form of a bench with upholstered armrests and is often fitted with springs and tailored cushion and pillows . Although a couch is used primarily for seating , it may be used for sleeping . In homes, couches are normally put in the family room, living room , den, or lounge. They are sometimes also found in non-residential settings such as hotels , lobbies of commercial offices, waiting rooms , and bars . Couches can also vary in size, color, and design. The term couch originally denoted an item of furniture for lying or sleeping on. Couch

69-427: A "sectional", is formed from multiple sections (typically two, three, or four) and usually includes at least two pieces which join at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater. Sectional sofas are used to wrap around walls or other furniture. Other variants include the divan , the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed) and the canapé (an ornamental three-seater). To conserve space, some sofas double as beds in

92-645: Is derived from the Arabic word suffah ("ledge/bench"), cognates with the Aramaic word sippa (" mat "). Nathan Bailey in his Dictionarium Britannicum (1730) defines sofa as a "a sort of alcove much used in Asia ... furnished with rich carpets and cushions." The word settee or setee comes from the Old English word setl , which was used to describe long benches with high backs and arms, but

115-419: Is now generally used to describe small upholstered seating structures. Both "sofa" and "settee" terms came into use in the beginning of the 18th century. Originally the settee defined a smaller sofa, but by the 20th century the distinction was lost. Other terms which can be synonymous with the above definition are divan , davenport , lounge , and canapé . In Canadian English , the word chesterfield

138-702: Is predominantly used in North America , Australia , South Africa , and Ireland , whereas the terms sofa and settee ( U and non-U ) are most commonly used in the United Kingdom and India . The word couch originated in Middle English from the Old French noun couche , which derived from the verb meaning "to lie down". The word sofa comes from the Turkish language and

161-508: Is used to describe any couch or sofa, particularly among older Canadians. According to a 1992 survey conducted in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario , the term is quickly vanishing. The most common types of couches include the two-seater, sometimes referred to as a loveseat, and the sofa. The loveseat is designed for seating two people, while the sofa has more than two cushion seats. A sectional sofa, often just referred to as

184-730: The East Sitting Hall with the West Sitting Hall . It allows access to the elevator vestibule , East and West Bedrooms, the Grand Staircase , Yellow Oval Room , the first family's private living room, and the president's bedroom. In the early 20th century, William Howard Taft decorated the hall with exotic plants and art he had brought with him from his tenure as Governor-General of the Philippines . Later, Woodrow Wilson watched motion pictures here as

207-459: The bronze doré and rock crystal 18th century chandelier in Paris for the room. A suite of American manufactured painted wood Neoclassical settee, six armchairs and four side chairs, were reupholstered in a wool and silk velvet faux tiger print during the administration of George W. Bush and moved to the adjoining Center Hall. Under the direction of Pat Nixon , the room was refurbished (although

230-465: The Center Hall. Nancy Reagan , with her designer Ted Graber , brought back the two upholstered sofas used by Jacqueline Kennedy in the room. Laura Bush , working with her family decorator Ken Blasingame , replaced these sofas with similar ones of a slightly larger scale; returned a number of bouillotte lamps to the room; and added an overmantel mirror. She also re-installed the chandelier from

253-628: The Kennedy era, which Pat Nixon had replaced with an overscale, Empire chandelier, formerly in the Kennedy Blue Room. 38°53′51″N 77°02′12″W  /  38.8976°N 77.0366°W  / 38.8976; -77.0366 Second Floor Center Hall (White House) The Center Hall is a broad central hallway on the second floor of the White House , home of the president of the United States . It runs east to west connecting

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276-641: The South Portico in 1948. Following the Truman reconstruction the room was decorated by B. Altman and Company , New York with reproduction traditional furniture. Later presidents reserved the room as a parlor for formal receptions and used the Treaty Room , just to the east, as a private study instead. The earliest written description of the room dates to the John Adams administration, and describes

299-596: The basic design of the room by painting the walls a soft yellow, joined by a pale yellow oval carpet topped by Oriental rugs. The French interior designer Stéphane Boudin built upon Parish's contributions, replacing the Truman era hotel style furniture with late 18th and early 19th century French antiques. The furnishings today are mostly in the Louis XVI style, assembled during the Kennedy restoration. Two short columns of green marble were designed by Stéphane Boudin to hold antique, electrified candelabras and Boudin also found

322-477: The first White House Christmas tree here. Franklin D. Roosevelt converted the room into his study, and it was in this room on December 7, 1941, that he learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . The Secret Service moved his desk away from the windows as a security precaution. Harry Truman continued to use the room as a study and opened access to a new balcony he added, called the " Truman Balcony ," to

345-544: The form of sofa beds , daybeds , or futons . A furniture set consisting of a sofa with two matching chairs is known as a "chesterfield suite" or "living-room suite". In the UK, the word chesterfield was used to refer to any couch in the 1900s. A chesterfield now describes a deep buttoned sofa, usually made from leather, with arms and back of the same height. The first chesterfield, with its distinctive deep buttoned, quilted (or "tufted" ) leather upholstery and lower seat base,

368-484: The present White House theater was still a cloakroom. Furnishings include an American manufactured painted wood Neoclassical suite including a settee, six armchairs and four side chairs that once belonged to President James Monroe . The suite was reupholstered in a wool and silk velvet faux tiger print during the administration of George W. Bush and moved to the Center Hall from the Yellow Oval Room. Also in

391-476: The project was not complete until just after President Nixon's resignation ). The Yellow Oval Room was redesigned in a more academic style by the Nixons' new curator, Clement Conger , with architect and interior designer Edward Vason Jones . Vason Jones replaced Sister Parish's simple curtains that fit within the window frames with the current grander gold and coral stripe that cover the woodwork, somewhat reducing

414-513: The residence and would often serve after-work drinks to guests and work on his stamp collection. Following the Truman reconstruction the room was once more used for state events and entertaining. During the Kennedy Administration the room was designated as a drawing room and received many of the furnishings now located there as well as its designation as the Yellow Oval Room. The American interior designer Sister Parish established

437-672: The room as a ladies drawing room. The room was papered in yellow with gilded stars, and a suite of crimson furniture. This furniture, likely a mix of Louis XVI and English Hepplewhite styles, was moved from the President's House in Philadelphia. With the building of the West Wing in 1902, and moving of offices out of the residence, this oval room was again used as a parlor. Franklin Roosevelt used it as an office and library in

460-577: The room is a Louis XVI mahogany cylinder desk acquired for the Red Room during the administration of President John F. Kennedy . A pair of bronze French Empire caryatid torchères from Château de Malmaison were originally acquired for the Blue Room by Kennedy decorator Stéphane Boudin . 38°53′51.7″N 77°2′11.7″W  /  38.897694°N 77.036583°W  / 38.897694; -77.036583 Couch A couch , also known as

483-553: The sense of height of the room. A settee and two matching chairs, crafted for President James Monroe in 1805, were donated by a resident of Houston , Texas . A Hereke carpet from Turkey and four bergère enclosed armchairs from France were also added to the room. The total cost of the renovation was $ 400,000 ($ 2,471,255 in 2023 dollars). During the Carter administration, American Impressionist paintings, including those of Mary Cassatt , were acquired and hung in this room and

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506-425: Was commissioned by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773). A couch consists of a frame, springs, padding, and a covering. The frame is usually made of wood, but can also be made of steel, plastic or laminated boards. Sofa padding is made from foam, down, feathers, fabric or a combination thereof. Sofa coverings are usually made out of soft leather, corduroy or linen. Couches commonly have springs under

529-418: Was even complete, John Adams held the first presidential reception in this room, known then only as "the upstairs oval parlor." Dolley Madison first decorated the room in yellow damask in 1809. In 1851, Abigail Fillmore got an allocation from Congress for books to make the room into the first White House Library . The Harrisons continued to use the room as a library and family parlor and, in 1889, put

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