Most American families would leap for joy at the thought of free room service for four years. But really, how long could you last before that urge of cooking your own meal sets in?

Alas, the majority of the population will never get the chance to test such a theory. However, in this post-Bush, Obama White House era, everything is rightfully under scrutiny. It seems very clear that the newly elected president and the first lady have been endowed with strong nurturing skills. Discipline, respect and transparency are the family trademarks.

More than most, they know that maintaining a daily bonding process will now be more critical than ever. It won’t be easy. No longer can Barack step out for a brisk morning walk with his wife or take the kids out for some ice cream. Spontaneity is not part of the Secret Service vernacular.

Hence, it has often been said that the White House is ‘a bubble of isolation’. Can we replace these words with ‘an inner sanctuary’? After all, Obama is now a work-at-home dad. The family needs their own active space, a place where they can connect on all levels. In essence, a room for all reasons. It is living, dining, cooking, playing, laughing, being – in a single, open family environment.

Traditions like whipping up pancakes on a Sunday morning or telling stories by the fire do not have to hibernate during Obama’s presidency. This room should not have to echo the museum-like qualities of the other White House rooms.

This proposal looks to redesign the existing Yellow Oval Room on the second floor. This new family room will be the nest of the White House. It will ultimately reflect the ideals of the modern American family. The room embraces democratic planning and offers the opportunity for quiet contemplation or social engagement, depending on the time or whim of the day.

The design embodies a sustainable language that echoes the family’s heritage and world-centric perspective on things. The value of this room comes not from its material wealth, but rather its nurturing capability, to which all American homes can aspire.

- Kevin Hackett, San Francisco

See the entire concept presentation here.

A    Ethanol Fire (non-wood buring) By: Eco-Smart Fire;
Above mantel: flat screen TV behind Lincoln portrait
B    Iranian Peace Rug (pressed wool) By: Melina Raissnia
C    Organic Sushi Daybed By: Pie
D    Seating: Ligne Roset Möel upholstered with hemp fabric
E    Doggy bed
F    Nutmeg tree: producing fruit for cooking and reminder of childhood in Indonesia
G    Sculpture by Hawaiian artists: Saturo Abe & Sean Browne
H    Herb garden
I     Kenyan tapestry and instruments from ancestors
J      Social round dining table (can be enlarged to accommodate extended family)
K     Standing furniture with storage for dining accessories
L     Herb garden
M    Tea service and wet bar
N    Wall storage units located close to dishwasher

O    Cork floor - ergonomics, durable, and easy on spine
P     Breakfast/Sandwich zone with tambour & counter
Q    Energy rated refrigerator and freezer
R    Wall oven and microwave
S    Pantry storage
T    Built-in formal dining banquette with privacy wall
U    Recycled glass bar with social seating
V     Wash-up zone: raised dishwasher, sink counter with storage
W    Prep & cook zone: Gaggenau vario steamer, gas rings with backsplash andtelescopic swivel downdraft
X    Central island: main prep counter (lava stone) with EVO flat round cooking plate for family
cooking with ventilation hood
Z    Private reading/media pod encased in felt

The White House.

The name alone conjures up all kinds of imagery and expectations of power, prestige, formality, and history. The last association one might make with this impressive structure is domesticity. But that’s exactly what it is: a family home. The iconic pillared front contains the presidential Residency, but the places where all the hard work happens, such as the Oval Office, are in the wings.

So how does the world’s newest public family want to live? And how can everyday domesticity be achieved against the backdrop of the presidency? I’ve tried to imagine the Obama’s private sphere and invent ways of supporting and shaping their aspirations for a comfortable home life while at the same time providing sanctity from the very building they live in – and all that it is associated with!

My initial analysis of the building and its existing layout raised a serious question about the size and location of the family kitchen installed by President Carter. Stuck in a northern corner measuring 12’ by 12,’ the space wasn’t sufficient to create a ‘sociable family kitchen.’ So we decided to move it! The space is traditionally used as a parlour or reception room. The choice is also a nod (and a wink) to the ‘Oval Office’ – it focuses the two most important jobs in the world – running the country and raising a family!

The history of the building was the starting point for my design. The building is grand and guarded zealously by a curator. I had to respect the fabric of the architecture and furnishings. That’s why I chose to use free-standing furniture, as we do in many of our JG kitchens. It leaves the walls untouched and use of pieces from the White House collection. It also means the Obama family can take the kitchen with them at the end of their time in the Residency.

I started by imagining a helm from which Michelle and Barack can survey and command their family surroundings while performing culinary theatre! This offers long views out of the windows as well as shorter sight lines to sociable areas. From here, all of the cooking zones radiate in a sequential system, each with the necessary countertop space and storage.

The main kitchen elements comprise two curved islands that create a subtly annexed cooking zone – its tapering shape discourages guests from entering the hive of cooking activity but invites them to hover around the perimeter. The food preparation and cooking zone overlooks the couch, dining and homework areas. The dish washing zone faces the wall and creates a soft barrier to the other living quarters. Pieces from the White House collection house dry food, breakfast cereals, crockery and the like.

In order to create a buffer from the main corridor, I have included a high backed banquette with café table. This piece creates a cocoon in which two can have a quiet conversation or where the girls can do their homework. The larger oval table in the bay is for family dinners and important decisions. And once peace has broken out and all is right with the world, the family can migrate to the hearth or crash on the giant L-shaped couch together.

So this sums up how the form and function were derived…our next installment will bring together materials, colours, and textures – in other words, the aesthetics of First Family life.

- Matt Withington

See the entire concept presentation here.

Harry Truman said it was like living in a big white jail. How will the new first family cope with their new home? Will they change the interior of the White House? It may not be the most crucial element on a new president’s agenda, but says historian William Seal, in the FT’s Jan 18th House and Home section, ‘you can be sure it will be one of the most observed and scrutinised things the incoming family will do’.

No decorator has been appointed yet, but as journalist Tony McMullen, goes on to explain, the White House is like a living American museum where there are 40,000 revolving exhibits to choose from its permanent collection, all kept in check by a committee, complete with a curator.

The White House is an unusual genre: it is part office, private home and entertaining and ceremonial venue. It is mixed use par extraordinaire. It possesses elements of a country house hotel or a live-work unit on a grand scale. Somewhere in one’s imagination it might be in between a Roman palace, an 18th century aristocratic home, or even a medieval merchant’s town house.

Regardless, the crucial issue remains the health and happiness of the chief incumbents, as decisions that come from it affect the entire world. Creating a safe and truly comfortable haven for the president and his family is thus vital for our future.

We know that the happiest times of day are around 6 -10 pm, and the place where people spend much of this time is the kitchen. As far as we can tell, the domestic kitchen in the White House is not a sociable place. There is a gap in facilities for the Obama’s family, in terms of chances of intimacy and time together cooking and eating.

For the Johnny Grey Design team, the key question is not the décor, or just creating the perfect kitchen. It’s more fundamental. We think it is necessary not only to create a place for the first family’s well-being, a series of environments that offer sanctuary, as well as offices for staff and spaces for public ceremonies, but also the social heart of the first family’s new home. This is where  a sociable kitchen could truly come into its own and take on a new meaning.

Over the next week, we will be posting vignettes of our imaginary sociable kitchen space for Barack and Michelle and their daughters. We think the new president, as a visionary leader, should use the opportunity to send a public message – both symbolic and practical  – that would be part of his change initiative to make family life happier.

We plan to write an open letter to the president outlining family-friendly proposals as to how design can improve the United States from an eco-based point of view. Watch this space.