The Queens' Sitting Room is a small
sitting room
In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room ( Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment ...
located in the northeast corner of the second floor of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. It was used as part of the president's offices until 1902 when the West Wing was built. The room became a sitting room for guests in the
Queens' Bedroom
The Queens' Bedroom is on the second floor of the White House, part of a guest suite of rooms that includes the Queens' Sitting Room..
Furnishings
The room has been furnished in 1868 Federal style since the Truman reconstruction. The bed ...
(then called the Rose Bedroom or Pink Bedroom) in 1902. As a part of the
Kennedy White House restoration the room was redecorated by
Stéphane Boudin
Stéphane Boudin (28 October 1888 – 18 October 1967) was a French interior designer and a president of Maison Jansen, the influential Paris-based interior decorating firm.
Boudin is best known for being asked by U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kenn ...
of the firm
Maison Jansen
Maison Jansen (; en, House of Jansen) was a Paris-based interior decoration office founded in 1880 by Dutch-born Jean-Henri Jansen. Jansen is considered the first truly global design firm, serving clients in Europe, Latin America, North America a ...
. The walls are covered with a heavy cotton
Toile de Jouy
Toile (French for "canvas") is a textile fabric comparable to fine batiste with a cloth weave. Natural silk or chemical fiber filaments are usually used as materials. The word ''toile'' can refer to the fabric itself or to a test garment sewn ...
fabric. Black lacquered furniture of the early and mid-19th century provides contrast with the white painted wainscot and trim of the room.
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 when ...
enjoyed this room's privacy and used it as a retreat when she had work that required more concentration than she could find at her desk in her bedroom.
References
* Abbott, James A. ''A Frenchman in Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane Boudin.'' Boscobel Restoration Inc.: 1995. .
* Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. ''Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration.'' Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. .
* Monkman, Betty C. ''The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families.'' Abbeville Press: 2000. .
* ''The White House: An Historic Guide.'' White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. .
External links
White House Museum: The Queens' Sitting Room
{{coord, 38, 53, 52, N, 77, 2, 10.4, W, type:landmark_region:US_dim:12, display=title
Rooms in the White House