The White House Palm Room and Rose Garden, each pictured after President Trump's 2025 updates. Credit : Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock; Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty

Donald Trump Changes Up the White House Room That Leads to His New ‘Rose Garden Club’

Thomas Smith
5 Min Read

President Donald Trump’s latest White House renovation has been unveiled this week.

On Wednesday, Sept. 24, a visitor to the West Wing shared a photo of the newly updated White House Palm Room, which links the front of the residence to the Rose Garden and West Colonnade at the back.

Previously, the room featured soft lighting, potted plants, and benches lining a gray-tiled floor. The new photo reveals a bright white space with a striking chandelier and gleaming white marble floors.

The first-look image did not show any furniture, leaving it unclear whether Trump plans to replace the benches and plants as well.

Trump shared the photo on his Truth Social account Thursday, captioning it: “New lobby leading to Oval Office — Magnificent marble floor, compliments of President Donald J. Trump!”

The newly updated White House Palm Room, pictured on Sept. 23, 2025. Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The back doors of the Palm Room now open onto the redesigned Rose Garden, recently rebranded by Trump as “The Rose Garden Club at the White House.” The most noticeable change is the paving over of a large portion of the Kennedy-era lawn to create a concrete-like patio.

The updated Rose Garden also features tables with yellow-and-white-striped umbrellas, sourced from the same supplier used at the Trumps’ Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.

A ‘Rose Garden Club’ dinner on Sept. 5, 2025.Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg/Getty 

Trump acknowledged the renovations during the Sept. 5 reopening, which included some of his closest allies. He said, “We have worked very hard to bring it to fruition, and [it’s] not an easy situation, but it’s something that I think we’re all going to enjoy for many, many years to come. It’s a tremendous place.”

The Palm Room — sometimes called the West Garden Room — also connects to the West Colonnade, where Trump installed a photo display called the “Presidential Walk of Fame.” This walkway features portraits of past presidents in election order. Notably, President Joe Biden is absent; in his place is a photo of an autopen, a device historically used by presidents to reproduce their signatures. Trump has frequently criticized Biden’s administration for using the tool to sign executive orders, a claim Biden has denied.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris step into the Palm Room from the Rose Garden in 2023. Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz

Sources told PEOPLE that many of the Trumps’ changes to the White House, including the ongoing construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom atop the East Wing, are intended to evoke the atmosphere of their Florida beach club. One source in Florida said that Donald and Melania “would prefer to be in Palm Beach,” so they are “bringing Mar-a-Lago to Washington.”

“Anytime Melania and Donald can make the White House feel more like Mar-a-Lago, they will,” a Mar-a-Lago club member told PEOPLE. “They love Mar-a-Lago. Not only is it their home, but Donald personally created much of the current decor and takes pride in living there and showing it to other people.”

A 2019 photo of the other side of the Palm Room, showing the doors that lead to the front of the White House. Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

Other recent changes include displays of Trump-themed art and merchandise, as well as gold accents on furniture and decor in the Oval Office. An April report in The Wall Street Journal revealed that the president enlisted his “gold guy,” cabinetmaker John Icart, to add gilded borders to political portraits, ornate carvings for the fireplace mantel, a gold Trump crest in a doorway, and more. Icart has also worked on projects at Mar-a-Lago, with a style that echoes Trump Tower in New York City.

Share This Article
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *