WASHINGTON -Donald Trumponce said real estateruns in his blood. In the late 1970s, he made a splashy entrance into the New York City real estate scene with the glitzy transformation of the crumbling Hotel Commodore into the Grand Hyatt on Fifth Avenue. When he bought Mar-a-Lago, the South Florida estate built for socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, he added a 20,000-square-foot ballroom. In Washington, D.C., he turned the city's historic Old Post Office into a luxury hotel. Now 50 years on, he has a new pet project: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Six months sincehe moved back into the White House, Trump's Oval Office is bathed in a sea of gold and gives a glimpse of his maximalist design approach. Gold-colored appliqués on the fireplace, gilded mirrors and ornate Rococo-style 18thand 19thcentury dessert stands and flower vases from London and France sit on the mantle. The walls are choc-a-block with paintings of former presidents in heavily ornate gold frames. The Cabinet Room has been outfitted with new ceiling medallions and agrandfather clock. "I picked it all myself," he said. "I'm very proud of it." There's even a painting of Trump by an 87-year-old artist who said he was surprised to find out his work was being showcased in the West Wing. Meanwhile, Trump has also ripped up the sod in theRose Gardenin favor of a "gorgeous stone" patio−work paid for by the same nonprofit that funded the Washington Monument's restoration work after a 2011 earthquake−and announced plans to build a ballroom in the White House. He recently erectedtwo 88-foot-tall flagpoleson the south and north lawns of the White House. To be sure, presidents for decades have put their own personal touches on the Oval Office and the White House. President Franklin D. Roosevelt built an indoor swimming pool for physical therapy while coping with polio and President Richard Nixon installed a one-lane bowling alley at the White House's adjacent Old Executive Office Building. The Oval Office often gets new carpet and other furnishings for new presidents. UnderJoe Biden, it sported a decidedly muted and understated look. Swedish ivy that has been in the Oval Office for decades graced the fireplace mantle,busts of famous Civil Rights leaders sat on desksand a few gold-framed portraits of past presidents hung on the walls. But for Trump, the work feels far more personal. "It keeps my real estate juices flowing," he told a reporter in February. One common thread that runs through most of the interior redecoration efforts: a penchant for gold. During a recent meeting in the Cabinet Room,Trump waxed poeticabout "gold-leafing" the trims, the need for decorative ceiling medallions around hanging lights and finding the right frames for the new portraits of presidents that adorn the room's walls. Barbara Res, a former vice president at Trump Organization who oversaw construction, has long been familiar with Trump's fascination with the color gold. While working on projects such as the Trump Tower and Plaza Hotel, he had been adamant about incorporating polished bronze and brass which can give the appearance of gold, she said. Public areas such as atriums, ballrooms and restaurants were awash with polished bronze or brass on door frames, railings, elevators and ceilings. "He used the word 'class' a lot, and it was a high-class thing for him," Res told USA TODAY. "It conveyed an illusion of taste and wealth, and that's why he wanted to gild everything." For his Trump Tower triplex apartment in the early 80s, he hired the famed design veteran Angelo Donghia to do up the place. Taking into consideration Trump's favorite color and after trying to reason with him ("that's the worst thing you can do with Donald," said Res), Donghia introduced subtle gold touches throughout. "It wasn't normal, but it was almost normal," Res said with a laugh. Trump's sensibility for "highly polished metals" went into overdrive after he visited Russia in the late 1980s, touring such places as the Hermitage State Museum and the Winter Palace, Res said. "He came back, and he changed everything," she said. "He hired a guy who was a decorator for the high-roller suites in casinos. They have a lot of gold and mirrors everywhere." After the apartment was done, Res, who then worked in the 58-story Midtown Manhattan building, said Trump brought her up to show her the remodeled place and asked her what she thought of it. "I said 'how can you sleep here?," she said. "He was highly insulted by it." Trump has always had an eye for design details. On his recent presidential visit to Qatar, he admired the white marble in a palace, saying it was "very hard to buy." "As a construction person…this is perfect marble. This is what they call 'perfecto'," he said. Now, as commander-in-chief, Trump has access to the White House Vault. A treasure trove of silver and bronze gilded objects he may have marveled at in palaces and museums around the world is now at his disposal. And he is not wasting his chance to play decorator. During the June Cabinet meeting, he said he had been spending a lot of time there, scooping up pieces he might call perfecto. "The vaults are where we have a lot of great pictures and artwork," he said, before offering insights into his obsession with right-sized and right-looking frames. "I'm a frame person. Sometimes, I like frames more than I like the pictures," he said. During Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to the White House in May, Trump sought to highlight his efforts. "You see the new and improved Oval Office as it becomes more and more beautiful with love," he said. "You know, we handle it with great love and 24 karat gold." Other than gold, the president also favors patriotic touches as design flourishes. A copy of the Declaration of Independence occupies pride of place in the Oval Office, placed behind two blue velvet curtains that hang from a gold-colored rod. There are also some bright and cheerful-looking design elements such as colorful military campaign ribbons on the flags. A painting of Trump flanked by fellow Republican presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan hangs in the corridor close to the Oval Office by artist Dick Bobnick. When USA TODAY tracked down Bobnick, the 87-year-old artist based in Burnsville, Minnesota, said he had no idea his work was gracing the walls of the West Wing. He said he'd sent a photo print to the White House but never heard back. The artist, who is a Trump supporter, said he wanted to portray "three of the strongest, most influential presidents this country has ever had at some of the most tumultuous times." Bobnick, who has never visited Washington D.C., said he was "flattered" the print had made an impression. "I still have the original," he said. Trump also believes the White House grounds are in need for improvement. The installation of theflagpoles on the White House lawnsin June cost about $50,000 each, which Trump said he'd paid for himself. Congress gives every new president an allowance of $100,000 to refurbish the private residence and the Oval Office, for things such as furnishings and curtains. Work is currently inprogress on the Rose Garden, which is located just outside the Oval Office, and where bilateral meetings with world leaders and news conferences are often held. The manicured lawn was ripped up to make way for a stone patio, like the one in Mar-a-Lago. Trump said he reached the decision after watching women in high heels at events struggling on the muddy lawn. President Trump's Rose Garden overhaul is underway.pic.twitter.com/RNvY2FfcNl — Joey Garrison (@joeygarrison)June 10, 2025 The foliage, including the 200 rose bushes planted during a 2020 renovation overseen by First lady Melania Trump, will not be disturbed. "President Trump is a builder at heart, and he wants to help make the White House as exceptional as possible for generations of Americans to come," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told USA TODAY. The Rose Garden project, which is slated for completion in August, is funded by the Trust for the National Mall, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has sponsored more than $75 million in restoration projects with the National Park Service since 2007. Some projects they have led include $22 million for the design and construction of the U.S. Park Police Horse Stables and Education Center on the National Mall in 2023 and a $7.5 million restoration of the Washington Monument after a 2011 earthquake. Julie Moore, a spokesperson for the nonprofit, said it accepts private donations to support the National Park Service's projects at the White House gardens not supported by federal funding. Moore said the project will not use taxpayer dollars but declined to name donors saying they have chosen to remain anonymous. Moore said the funds for the project had already been secured. Trump's next project, if it gets off the ground, promises be a grand one — and one that he has,offered to pay for himself. Trump first floated theidea for a ballroom, like the one in Mar-a-Lago, during his first run for president in 2016. The Obama administrationconfirmed to USA TODAYin 2016 that Trump had offered to spend $100 million on a new White House ballroom, but that the offer was quickly rejected. Back then, Trump derided White House events for foreign dignitaries held in tents, saying that was an inappropriate way to entertain them. State dinners are generally held in the East Room, which at 3,000 square feet is the biggest of the state rooms and the only one that runs the entire width of the executive mansion. It's also where dances, receptions, concerts and news conferences are held. During an executive signing in the East Room in February, Trump recalled his offers to both Obama and Biden. "This was going to be the reception room," he said referring to his idea for a revamped East Room that would have served as the entrance to the ballroom he proposed. He said the East Room felt "too crowded." In June, Trump announced in a Truth Social post that he had "inspected" the site, which according to a White House official, is located on the east side of the White House. Trump also highlighted his construction and real estate credentials in the post, saying no president before him had "any knowledge or experience in doing such things." Leavitt said "discussions about how to execute this plan (for a ballroom) are ongoing." Trump's day job may have changed to more weighty subjects, but passion projects from his former life are still what bring him joy, he recently mused onTruth Social. "These are the 'fun' projects I do while thinking about the World Economy, the United States, China, Russia, and lots of other Countries, places, and events," he wrote. Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY.You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump design picks: Inside his 'perfecto' White House makeover
