Overview

• The Oval Office now features extensive gold trim, gilded moldings and painted cherubs alongside a surge of portraits and trophies, with a spokesperson saying the gold work was paid for by President Trump.
• The Rose Garden lawn has been replaced with stone pavers in a diamond pattern to facilitate events, a project completed earlier this summer.
• A roughly 90,000-square-foot ballroom off the East Wing is scheduled to break ground this month with about $200 million in private pledges, according to recent reports.
• Advisers and insiders describe an almost daily focus on design decisions, and Trump has enlisted Florida cabinetmaker John Icart—reportedly flown in on Air Force One—to execute gilding details.
• The effort extends to a broader D.C. “beautification” push that includes new flagpoles, improved lighting, street repaving, fountain restorations and a potential overhaul of the East Potomac golf course, drawing sharp criticism from preservationists and historians.