Redecorating the White House: Fancy vs. IKEA

If you haven't already heard, local celebrity designer Michael Smith has been tapped to be Obama's interior decorator. What was wrong with the old furniture, you ask? I'm not sure. Maybe the sheer fact that a sofa was touched by George W. Bush is enough to merit a redesign. 

Domino magazine has a Q&A and photos of Smith's past work, including this picture of Smith's redesign of Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica:

True Obama fetishists will want to head out to Shutters immediately and book a room.

Smith's designs are luxe, light, beachy, classic, and expensive. “There's nothing more tragic than rooms that look as if the furniture all arrived on the same day, in the same truck,” he told Domino. 

And on that exact note, what would happen if IKEA redesigned the Oval Office? This happens:

(image via here)

IKEA set up a faux Oval Office at Union Station in DC as part of their Embrace Change '09 ad campaign. If you go here, to IKEA's website, you can play with a little computer graphic simulation of the Oval and add in some Malm endtables and Bjursta sideboards or a Skiro coffee table or two. (Sacrilege, right?) 

Finally, I would also like to know: What will happen to the previous administration's furniture? Will they be setting Bush's mattress and night tables out on the curb?