Barack Obama and his family prepares for the landmark transition at the White House, the presidential private quarters is set for a Hollywood-style makeover.
As US president-elect Barack Obama and his family prepares for the landmark transition at the White House, the presidential private quarters is set for a Hollywood-style makeover.
Michelle Obama, the wife of the president-elect, has hired Los Angeles-based designer, Michael Smith, to give the executive mansion a Hollywood-style makeover.
Smith has been involved in designing the homes of to Hollywood stars, including Dustin Hoffman, Michelle Pfeiffer, director Steven Spielberg, model Cindy Crawford and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
"Michael shares my vision for creating a family-friendly feel to our new home and incorporating some new perspectives from some of America's greatest artists and
designers,' Mrs Obama said in a statement.
The designer loves using antiques in a way that feels modern and airy.
"I think what he manages to do is to create historically based rooms that make sense for how people live today," said Deborah Needleman, editor-in-chief of interior design magazine Domino.
Smith will meet with the Obamas in coming weeks and focus first on the bedrooms for the president-elect's daughters, Sasha and Malia, the report said. In a statement released by the transition team, Smith said he was happy to help the Obamas "bring their own energy and style" to the private quarters.
"The family's casual style, their interest in bringing 20th century American artists to the forefront and utilising affordable brands and products will serve as our guiding principles as we make the residence feel like their home," he was quoted as saying by the British Mail online.
Meanwhile, the president-elect and his family is in the final stages of moving into Blair House, the historic US presidential guest house.
The Obamas, who spent the last 10 days in a posh hotel just steps away from the White House as their daughters moved into new schools, could not check into Blair House until all of president George W Bush's scheduled guests had left.
As the preparation for the mega inaugurating of the president-elect's goes ahead with full steam, the historic event on January 20 is expected to cost a whopping USD 150
million, making it the most expensive in the American history.
Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, U2's Bono, Sheryl Crow and Shakira are among a host of stars who are expected to perform at a free-for-public celebration here for the inauguration.
The inauguration expenses are likely to be to the tune of over USD 150 million, overshadowing the USD 42.3 million spent on George Bush's inauguration in 2005 and USD 33 million on Bill Clinton's in 1993.
Further, most of the funding would be to deal with around 1.5 to two million people expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the US first African American
president, a report in the Guardian said.
The unprecedented surge in spending is partly because of Obama's decision to make the event as accessible to the public as possible.
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