Radiant Red Room Square Crystal Bracelet

The Red Room traditionally has served as a parlor or sitting room; recent presidents have had small dinner parties here. During John Tyler's administration, this room became the "Washington Parlor," when the large Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, now in the East Room, was displayed here at that time. Yellow dominated the color scheme until 1845, when President James K. Polk and First Lady Sarah Polk furnished the room with rocking chairs, ottomans, armchairs, and lounges in various colors of red and green. Soon the "Washington Parlor" became the "Red Room."

The present appearance of the Red Room was inspired by the 1971 redecoration that preserved the American Empire style selected in 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration. The elegance of the Red Room furniture derives from a combination of richly carved and finished woods with decorative hardware made of gilded bronze in characteristic designs such as dolphins, acanthus leaves, lion's heads, and sphinxes. All the fabrics now in the Red Room were woven in the United States from French Empire designs. The walls are covered by a red twill satin fabric with a gold scroll design in the border. The furniture, like the American Empire sofa, is upholstered in a silk of the same shade of red.

Wipe clean with soft cloth.