Decorating tips from the White House

If you’re working on the perfect décor scheme for your apartment, take a few tips from the White House, where frequent new residents (every 4 years, just about) and very different types of taste (red state vs. blue state) mean that decorating is always in vogue.

As we celebrate Presidents’ Day this month, it’s worth a moment to pay homage to Mary Todd Lincoln, the first First Lady to get reamed by the media for going way over budget on her décor scheme.

Mary was allotted $20,000 to get the White House in order for her and Abe – she spent $26,700 and he was mad as heck. He even chewed her out for being extravagant when the government couldn’t afford blankets for its troops. Ouch. That’s definitely worse than the boyfriend looking at my credit card statement and line item second-guessing all of my Macy’s purchases.

In her defense, Mary was handed a White House that was kind of like your new apartment – it had some good bones, but was missing a lot the essentials, including enough place settings to serve dinner to prestigious political guests. What’s a girl to do when there’s no Crate and Barrel to order from?

Here’s a few things to be learned from the decorating trials of the Presidents’ wives.

-Even when moving into a furnished apartment, you should bring your own stuff to make it your own. The White House has a lot of furniture that stays in place no matter who is living in the President’s quarters, but every administration puts its own style in place.

-Dishes are important. Every administration has its own china pattern that reflects the personal style and taste of the current president. You won’t be able to custom-order your own design, but make sure the dishware and table settings used in your home reflects you and your personality – and that it all matches, too. See some of the presidential china patterns online.

-Don’t overspend.  If there’s any useful lesson from MTL’s experience, it’s that public scrutiny of your decorating decisions can be deadly. Impress your guests with your smart understated choices, rather than blowing out your budget and being excoriated for extravagance.