The Oval Office is located in the West Wing of the White House. It has three large south facing windows behind the President’s desk and a fireplace at the north end of the room. The Oval Office has four doors. One opens to the Rose Garden, another to a private study and dining room, the third out to the main corridor of the West Wing and the fourth opens to the office of the President’s secretary.

The President did not start using the Oval Office until 1909. The office was formally in a rectangle room in the West Wing from 1902 to 1909 and before that in the President’s main residence.

The desk in the Oval Office is called the Resolute Desk (no modern office furniture here). The desk was built from the timber of the British frigate HMS Resolute and was a gift of British Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

Each President has redesigned the room to their liking. President Clinton used vibrant colors of gold, cream, sapphire blue and crimson. President Reagan’s tones were more neutral. President Bush had the floors redone with a beautiful oak and walnut pattern.

It will be interesting to see how the Oval Office changes in 2009!