In the process of researching antique wooden floors in Europe, it was not surprising to find hundred year old oak planks in dining rooms of English castles and corridors of Italian cathedrals. Many of them are documented to have been in place for well over a hundred years; others over two hundred or more. All of them have a history, even if there is no one left who knows their story.
What was rather amazing, however, was discovering a stunning contemporary example of the effect that can be created by combining oak and walnut flooring. It wasn’t the pattern itself that was so interesting, although it is impressive, but rather the location of the floor itself.
In the Oval Office of the White House, out of sight because it is usually covered by the famous oval rugs that are unique to each President, is a spectacular pattern of contrasting quarter-sawn oak and walnut flooring. The design is that of Eric Gugler, the architect who worked with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt to restore and remodel the Oval Office after the West Wing of the White House was damaged in a fire in 1929. Although Gugler was responsible for most of the architectural work back then, his design for the floor was not implemented until many years later.
Neither oak nor walnut was used for the original floor which was completed in the early 1930′s. That floor consisted of a top layer of cork attached to a sub-floor. This was replaced by Lyndon Johnson with linoleum in a wood-grain pattern. As awful as that sounds, during the mid 60′s, it would not have been considered such a bad choice.
Ronald Reagan is credited with being the first to actually make use of Gugler’s sketches, although it’s probably safe to assume that Nancy was the one responsible and not the president. That floor consisted of oak and white pine, which proved too soft of a wood. During the second Bush presidency, the floor that is currently in place was installed.
No one can predict the actions of future administrations. The oak and walnut planks that make up this incredible pattern on the floor of the Oval Office will outlast countless changes of political fortune in our capital city. It can only be hoped that the beauty of this floor will be recognized and that it will be treated as the treasure that it is.
