When the renovated White House was opened in 1818, the women of Washington pronounced the French decor–chairs by Parisian cabinetmaker Bellange–de trop.
Given to spending binges, in the 1860s she quickly exceeded the $20,000 Congress appropriated to refurbish the White House. She ordered velvet wallpaper from Paris and spent $2,500 on a carpet. The public didn’t discover the cost, but the president was furious.
The 20th century arrived with TR, and the White House underwent the first large-scale architectural remodeling and expansion. The State Dining Room sported big-game trophies and a mantel with carved bisons’ heads. The penny-pinching First Lady oversaw the $475,000 redo.
Appalled by the mediocre reproductions, she formed a Fine Arts Committee for the White House and in 1962 conducted a televised tour of her more tastefully appointed White House. More than $1 million in art and antiques were contributed, and the TV tour kept the donations coming.
No public funds were used, but she was reviled for spending $209,508 for red, ivory and gold Lenox china, which debuted in 1982.
