How would you redecorate the White House?
“I would want to invite as many cultures as possible to bring their culture into the White House. The government has done so much to harm the people and their land, so I would make sure there was a place for them to be heard and seen. That’s what I would want the White House to represent. Then maybe, at Halloween, I’d turn it into a haunted house.”
Jo Maywhort, 22, UCSC legal studies student
“We’re going to keep it the same structurally, just paint it black. It’s the 2000s—maybe make it the Black House. I’d make it matte black. It would be pretty hot, but that’s OK—we’re going to put solar panels on top.”
Liam Jones, 25, security manager
“I’m thinking of a movie I saw about the queen’s corgis so many years ago. The inside of her house was all regal, with fancy chairs, so maybe I’d decorate it like that. It’s supposed to be something people can come and see and say, ‘Oh, this is so cool!’”
Annika Lundmark, 19, UC Irvine materials engineering student
“I like the original look, but I think it should be slightly frugal. We shouldn’t make it extravagant unless we have money to take care of all of our people. If we had the money and had our ducks in order, then I would say we could create the vibe of a European castle, with beautiful, welcoming gardens and nice fountains.”
Erica Lundmark, 56, engineer
“I would dedicate a room in the White House to portraits of great American poets—a rogues’ gallery of poets—or to portraits of poems, themed around what the poems are about. I’d also create a gallery based on a series of 1940s postage stamps depicting engraved portraits of noteworthy Americans.”
Dennis Holt, 83, poet/musician, Street Talk regular
“I feel like I’m going for a log-cabin look. If you could turn the White House into a giant log cabin, like Lincoln Logs, I think that would be pretty funny. The interior would match the look, with jugs of moonshine, pictures hung with bare nails, a dirt floor and a big stone fireplace—or just a fire burning in the middle.”
Henry Moore, 27, UCSC bioengineering student
