The Family Dining Room

Gallery

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First families took their private meals in the Family Dining Room adjacent to the State Dining Room. The room’s décor changed frequently, and it was photographed for the first time in 1889 and in 1891 after electricity was installed.
Library of Congress
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The Family Dining Room, prior to 1902.
White House Collection
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The Family Dining Room during the Theodore Roosevelt administration shown with the Colonial Revival furnishings made for the room in 1902.
White House Collection/White House Historical Association
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The Family Dining Room after the Truman Renovation, 1952.
Library of Congress
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The Family Dining Room on the State Floor in furnished with American pieces of the Federal period. Over the sideboard is a portrait of President John Tyler by George P. A. Healy.
White House Historical Association
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The Family Dining Room, Kennedy Administration, 1963.
The White House Historical Association
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The Family Dining Room, Nixon Administration, 1971.
The White House Historical Association
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The Family Dining Room, Reagan Administration, 1987.
The White House Historical Association
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The Federal period furnishings in the Family Dining Room in 1999 included a rare American silver plateau made in New York City by John W. Forbes.
The White House Historical Association
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This 2010 color photograph by Peter Vitale depicts the Family Dining Room as it appeared during the early years of the administration of President Barack Obama. Hanging on the wall are Théobald Chartran's portrait of Edith Roosevelt and William Merritt Chase's late 19th-early 20th century painting, Lettuce and Tomatoes.
White House Historical Association
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The Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment.
The White House Historical Association
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The carpet from the Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment.
The White House Historical Association
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The Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment.
The White House Historical Association
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The Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment.
The White House Historical Association
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The Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment; Rauchenberg's Early Bloomer [Anagram (A Pun)], 1998.
The White House Historical Association

About this Gallery

The Family Dining Room on the State Floor of the White House today is used primarily for smaller formal dinners and working lunches. First families have traditionally dined in the Family Dining Room since about 1825 when President John Quincy Adams and First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams began to take their meals there. Designated the “small dining room” or “private dining room,” presidents and their families historically took all of their meals here before 1962. With the support of the White House Historical Association, the Family Dining Room was refurbished in 2015 to showcase modern art and design.