Which specific Oval Office objects are part of the White House historical collection and which were added during the 2025 redecorating?

1. The institutional baseline: what counts as part of the White House historical collection

The White House historically supplies furniture, rugs, portraits and objects from its collections for use in the Oval Office, with the White House Historical Association and the curator’s office coordinating these loans and acquisitions—meaning many pieces in the room are drawn from an institutional pool rather than personal property of the president ^{[5] [6]}. The Resolute Desk, long established as a customary Oval Office fixture selected by many presidents, is treated as part of that institutional rotation and was reported as the desk choice again in 2025, consistent with prior practice ^{[1] [5]}. Likewise, portraits and certain gilded decorative objects often come from the White House collection or are on loan from institutions such as the U.S. Naval Academy or the Smithsonian; reporting notes that several of the gold décor pieces in 2025 were sourced from the White House collection ^{[7] [3]}. The historical practice of presidents selecting from these holdings—rugs, drapery, paintings—is well documented and is the baseline against which changes are judged ^{[6] [5]}.

2. Specific items identified as part of the permanent or institutional collection

Reporting explicitly identifies the Resolute Desk as a historically safe choice returned to the Oval Office and places many gold decorative pieces within the White House’s collection inventory ^{[1] [3]}. Journalism and the White House Historical Association materials also establish that presidents routinely borrow or select portraits from the collection or from institutional loans—including examples such as paintings previously on loan from the U.S. Naval Academy—so portraits installed in 2025 may have originated in those repositories ^{[7] [5]}. The broader point in the sources is that furniture, rugs and many framed works are ordinarily treated as part of the White House’s stewardship rather than personal property of an incoming president ^[5].

3. The 2025 redecorating: discrete additions and relocations clearly reported

Multiple outlets catalog specific 2025 changes: the reinstallation of an Andrew Jackson portrait and a Reagan-era rug; the return or addition of flags representing each military service; extensive gold embellishments across the mantle, fireplace panels and moldings; a collection of gilded statuettes displayed on the mantle; and a conspicuous red button on the Resolute Desk that reportedly summons a Diet Coke ^{[2] [1] [8] [7]}. CNN and Architectural Record supplied vivid descriptions of gold trim and a mantle crowded with gilded objects, while local reporting and photos noted newly hung portraits of past presidents and a darkly draped, wall‑mounted copy of the Declaration of Independence ^{[1] [8] [4]}.

4. Items outside the White House collection or of ambiguous provenance

Several outlets report that while many of the gold pieces were drawn from the White House collection, some statuettes and decorative objects were imported from President Trump’s Mar‑a‑Lago estate—an important distinction because it indicates a mix of institutional property and items moved in from private holdings ^[3]. The Swedish ivy tradition—historically a living plant propagated across administrations—was reported removed in 2025 and replaced on the mantel by gold objects, a substitution flagged by reporting but without archive-level provenance for each new object ^{[9] [1]}. Sources differ on precise ownership of certain portraits and small objects; where they do not specify provenance, the record is inconclusive ^{[7] [3]}.

5. What the sources do not settle and how to read the record

The assembled reporting establishes clear lists of items added or rehung in 2025 and clarifies that many decorative objects are normally drawn from the White House collection, but it does not provide an item-by-item inventory proving the provenance of every gilt statuette or framed print; where outlets state objects came from Mar‑a‑Lago, that is reported as such, and where provenance is unstated those items remain publicly unverified in the sources ^{[3] [1] [5]}. In short: the Resolute Desk and many portraits and gilded furnishings are part of the institutional pool, while the Jackson portrait, Reagan rug, branch flags, gold trim and some statuettes and novelty accoutrements were notable additions or reinstatements during the 2025 redecorating effort—some drawn from the White House collection and some reported as privately sourced ^{[2] [1] [3]}.