Greening Over the Green Room in the White House

Kelly LaPlante, founder and principle interior designer of Organic Interior Designer, kept two things in mind when envisioning how she would green over, of all places in the White House, the Green Room (not where visitors are received before their audience with President – this isn't the Today Show – but named for its actual color; it has been used as a sitting or game room and now as a parlor for small teas, receptions and meetings). Goal number one: She wanted to be able to point to "anything at all in the room and be able to explain that it is eco," she says. Two, LaPlante wished to do something a little off the beaten path. "I didn't want people to walk into the room and feel overwhelmed by what they're seeing. Instead, as they go through, they'd find subtle surprises and bits of humor that makes them think. People wouldn't expect to see cocktail tables with reclaimed branches wired as a lamp coming out of them [see yellow tables toward the back of illustration] in the White House, which puts nature right in front of them in an unexpected place."

LaPlante researched the Green Room and found that it was originally designed for French Empire décor (think carved wooden garlands, gold gilt and wedding-cake chandeliers). In her makeover scenario, she wanted to keep true to that era while reflecting the sensibility of her dream client: The Obamas. "They're a modern family, a young President with a young wife and children, and the White House should convey who they are. Plus we want our First Family to be healthy," so non-toxic veneers, glues, finishes and textiles like pure wools and linens would be used to keep volatile organic compounds from off-gassing and compounding the asthma of the Obama's oldest daughter, Malia. LaPlante adds: "Living in a sustainable environment is important for family health."

How to pull off the magic trick of making 19th century furniture look modern? It's all in the mix. First she assessed what would stay, or be reused. "Reusing is the greenest thing you can do – it takes absolutely no new resources, and also happens to be the cheapest," she says. "It's a great opportunity to show the country, especially in these times, how reusing is both green and economical."

The green silk wall coverings had just been redone, and were in good condition (and also happened to be in the original color that Jackie Kennedy used) so she wouldn't touch them. LaPlante would keep the rectangular coffee table (note the garlands), two little side tables (against the right wall in the illustration) and a round center table, which she'd modify into a card table by topping it with Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood (meaning the forest from which the wood was harvested was well-managed, toward indefinite productivity, not deforestation). As for having a game table in the White House, LaPlante says: "It evokes what the room should feel like, a parlor where there's entertaining, drinks and games."

The other antiques in the room to her feel stiff. "You don't want the space to feel like a museum. It should feel accessible," she says. However, the high-quality materials that populate her vision are not always accessible to the public; LaPlante would use a lot of trade resources, meaning they're only available to consumers through a designer. In particular, her choice of fabrics are "to the trade," from the silkworm-friendly Lulan Artisans striped drape, "made of silk collected from silkworms that have lived out their complete life cycle," says LaPlante, "and tailored to square off and look modern yet still formal, without lots of tassels and valences;" and the green leafy design of the Q Collection fabric used on LaPlante's own custom-designed window benches and Jak chairs (see below); to the eco-friendly, black mohair velvet by Yoma Textiles used to recover the antique club chairs; and the low-impact dyed eco-friendly wool by Schumacher for the one-armed sofas by the fireplace. She would also create a panel between the drapes with FSC-certified molding and fill it in with to-the-trade handwoven natural wood veneers to "tone down areas where there used to be formal portraits, but the wallpaper has a sheen to it, so it's not like seagrass, which looks 'hippe,'" says LaPlante. Her favorite rugmaker, Tamarian, makes Fair Trade, vegetable-dyed, 100% wool or wool and silk rugs, and the design she chose is "subtle with a nice design. The rug shouldn't be overwhelming, or take away from what else is going on, just something for the eye to settle on." Check out what other design ideas she would put into action if she were to take the White House Library in hand, because after all, a green over like this could "set an example for the country and the whole world: If the White House can go green, why can't you?"