Designing Camelot

Designing Camelot is the first book to document the restoration of the White House by Jacqueline Kennedy and her advisors - the most significant and extensive to date. Under the watchful eye of the Fine Arts Committee for the White House, chaired by famed antiquarian Henry Francis du Pont and, unbeknownst to the American public, French interior designer Stephane Boudin and his firm Jansen, the White House became a model for historic houses all over America. Many of the country's governors' mansions were renovated as state First Ladies strove to emulate the efforts of a sophisticated Jacqueline Kennedy. Through rich anecdotes and a stunning collection of four-color and black and white photographs, Designing Camelot illustrates the rich interiors of the White House, while at the same time exploring the restoration as an extension of the Kennedy/Camelot legacy. Individual chapters examine the White House room by room inviting a look at not only familiar public places like the Oval Office and West Wing, but the Kennedys' private quarters as well.