By Mail Foreign Service

After18 months as President, Barack Obama has finally put his own stamp on The Oval Office.

And if the results are anything to go by, he is hoping for a golden era in the White House.

Americans got their first look at the revamp last night when the President addressed the nation about the end of the combat mission in Iraq.

How it used to look: The old-fashioned coffee table has gone, as have two paintings. The Oval Office rug featuring spokes has also been replaced as has the Churchill bust on the right

In the redecorated Oval Office, two plump mustard corduroy sofas take pride of place, facing a boxy, modern coffee table covered with marble-looking tiles.

The pale wallpaper of the Bush era has been replaced with a two-tone stripe of beige and gold.

Putting your own seal on it: Mr Obama has gone for a more understated President seal

Old times: President George W. Bush speaks to school children. The old presidential seal, designed by former first lady Laura Bush, featured radiating spokes

Staying resolute: The famous old desk, carved from the timbers of a British warship, will remain in the office

Revamped: The new-look Oval Office also features modern lamps and office-style chairs for visitors

And the distinctive sunburst rug designed by Laura Bush is gone. In its place is a rather more muted rug, which is ringed with five quotations – four from former presidents and one from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Mr Bush’s old pale cream and gold couches have been dispatched to the White House storeroom. Modern ceramic-based blue lamps and office-style chairs finish off the redesign.

New addition: This bust of Martin Luther King has been added to the Oval Office, but there's no place for Winston Churchill

Treasured moments: The family photos displayed at the Oval Office

 

Open house: Photographers document the new carpeting, wallpaper and sofas for posterity

The bronze bust of Winston Churchill that adorned the room during George Bush’s tenure is long gone, replaced by one of Martin Luther King.

Fresh attitude: President Barack Obama walks to Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington on his way to visit troops at Fort Bliss, Texas

It is not clear whether the President or his fashion-conscious wife Michelle was the driving force behind the makeover.

But some fixtures have survived the redesign.

Portraits of Lincoln and Washington remain, as does the Oval Office grandfather clock. The President’s historic Resolute desk, carved from the timbers of a British warship, also keeps its place by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

A gift to President Rutherford Hayes, the desk was installed in the Oval Office by John F. Kennedy and has been used by Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George Bush.

White House officials would not say how much the revamp cost, except to point out it was ‘in line with’ what Mr Bush and Bill Clinton spent putting their mark on the office. Taxpayers are not picking up the bill. The overhaul was paid for by the White House Historical Association.

The quotations inscribed into the rug were all chosen by President Obama and include Franklin D. Roosevelt’s declaration: ‘The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself’.