I don't like it. There's nothing powerful or regal about brown. It's just bland. The design is nice, just not for the Oval Office, IMO.

I agree, it's too monotone. No oomph.

I like it. It's got nice lines, it's eclectic and has a nice mix of periods. I really like the coffee table, it's nice to see something unstuffy and a little bit sexy in the Oval Office. It's not "Presidential" though, I agree. It's more an office where you could kick back and feel comfortable, which is what they were aiming for, I guess. It's not intimidating or grandstanding like the other examples shown. More like a reflection of the person rather than the office.

(I'm a frustrated interior designer and could go on about this for days.)

I wouldn't turn down the position if it meant having to keep that decor.

I am lucky enough to have a large office myself, which I've decorated with, among the notable things, a light brown leather couch, two bright red leather chairs, and a lot of plants, including a huge ficus tree I've had for 15 years. I get a lot of compliments, esp. on the red chairs and plants, but I appreciate the subtle, clean and understated look of using less brilliant colors.

As I recall, Obama's Senate office similarly tended to clean lines and a more low key look.

I love those warm neutral couches in the oval office. Love the hardwood floors. I think it's pretty nice and calming. I love the warm walls. I agree they could add more oomph somehow. Maybe it's purposely monochrome for a reason.

More comments here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/interior-design/president-obamas-redesigned-oval-office-new-york-times-125922

They dislike it, too. They say it's blah. I still like those couches. I laughed when one person commented that the sofas looked like "this week's bargain". Maybe they were. :-)

I think this may be one reason I like this remodel -- I have a serious weakness for velvety brown couches. I fear this may be a preference set in my childhood, the period in time that generated this week's garage sales.

It's a very low-key place, and it looks comfy. If I had to be stuck somewhere for hours trying to hammer out some sort of international agreement thingy, I would be more than happy to do it in there. The rug is nice and classy, and I like the modernity of the coffee table.

Besides, there are sooooo many fusty formal rooms in that damn building. Go to the Treaty Room if you want something all done up.

George HW Bush was all "o hai im in ur grandmas formul livin rum xcept wthowt the plastik"

If it was MY oval office, I think I would do it in shades of sage green, wedgewood blue, and cream, for a calming, tranquil effect.

Mine will be pink and purple and glitter colored!!!!!11!!

I like it. It's calm and comfortable. It looks like the couches will be great for a quick snooze. And it's a big improvement over Bush's office decor.

At first I liked it, but the more I look at it, the less I like it.

Those couches are really bad. I like the color, but the shape isn't right. GWB's couches were an ugly color, but the shape was better.

Obama's desk chair is MUCH nicer than GWB's monstrosity (though perhaps that's an ergonomic thing?).

It looks a bit bland to me. It's neither fish nor fowl in that it seems to be trying for a minimalist, uncluttered look, but it has too much stuff in it for that, but it isn't furnished enough to achieve a more formal look. I don't know what it looked like before, so it may be a big improvement, though. I can't see any of the images in the main link, only the single image in the second one that LoriFLA posted, so I may not be getting a true sense of how it looks.

It does seem to promote a sense of calm and has a very relaxed vibe, which is probably a good thing in an office like that. But, you know, it's Obama's office and if he likes it, who are we to criticise?

I bet those couches don't stay. Can you imagine a meeting like this in those couches? People are going to sink into those big deep cushions.

Hmm. I wish the rug were more cream and the couches more chocolate, but they do look comfortable. The leather chairs are very nice, but the cane-back ones would look nicer picking up the blue. Dig the Hassam, not so much the Rockwell. The lighting is much too harsh in every picture I've seen (hopefully there are dimmers) and the lampshades aren't helping. Overall, though, it's subtle, meaningful, and he looks very right in it.

My Oval Office (man, someone should make a webapp for that) would be pewter and smoky midnight blue with some ivory and pale gold highlights. It would be tempting to install a five-foot-long Chihuly chandelier, and swap out the Rockwell for a moss-and-tiny-succulent wallgarden, and get rid of the phone in favor of a keypad with one black button for normal conversations and one big red one for Serious Business. Also, I would install a cat posthaste.

OMG, there should totally be an oval office cat.

A longhaired tabby Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat would probably look best, but as long as we're president, we might as well get Maru on loan.

I think the couches are a little mushy and unshaped for what is a pretty heavy-duty meeting area. I'd like some definition. And yeah, I think the colors' values are all too similar. But yeah, way better than before, which Madamina totally nailed.

After viewing the additional pictures, I'm with you, bearwife: it's really pretty nice, and the one thing I don't like is the shape of the couches. If they were swapped out for something with a little more defined shape and maayyybe a little darker brown, that would be great. On the whole, it's elegant, warm, and understated. It's serious.

My favoritest picture in the bunch is #6 - Obama and Jim Douglas actually hauling the old GWB couch outta there. I'm sure it was a photo op but still, I bet it was fun to be all "OK...bring in the demo team!"

I can't stand it. It looks like the lobby of a Holiday Inn in Des Moines. Honestly, I never thought I would ever in a million years like anything Bush better than anything Obama but, okay, I liked the Bush oval office better. It was boring but at least classic with clean lines. This one is modernized and blah, no focus, no color, no nothing, just creepy corporate yuck in appropriate baby shit browns.

Oh, Madamina, that link is great! Like going back in time. I liked seeing Roosevelt chillin' back in 1885.

I have to correct myself: Bush Jr's decor wasn't bad, it's Clinton's that was awful.

I also vote for an Oval Office cat. Maybe even two of them.

And yes! A "Design Your Own Oval Office" app would be so freakin' awesome.

I like it, particularly the wallpaper and the leather upholstery on the arm chairs. I like the lines of the couches, but would have chosen a different fabric--something that picks up the colors in the pillows or just doesn't fight so much with the warm tones of the parquet. Although I don't think it fits with a Franklin Roosevelt definition of "presidential", I do think it fits with an Obama definition of "presidential".