The White House

The Most Beautiful Presidential Homes in the World

One’s home is quite possibly the most true reflection of self, and our returning (insert jumping for joy and disorderly jubilation) First Family’s White House is no exception. A testament to their positive influence that’s inspired a nation again, one of the things on their agenda the first go around was planting a garden ala Alice Waters, the local food movement’s Grand Dame who’s been championing universal access to healthy, organic foods since the ’70s. Next up was a forward thinking chef to revamp the White House kitchen and help out with Let’s Move, and a celebrated Hollywood interior designer to make their living spaces chic and comfortable.

In honor of the ever-inspiring Obama’s homestead, we thought we’d take a look at other beautiful presidential dwellings around the world. From our own great nation’s extra large Georgian country house to Pritzker Prize-winner Oscar Niemeyer’s ode to simplicity and modernity in Brazil, click through to virtually visit our picks for the most beautiful presidential pied-à-terres on the planet. Nominate any that you think we’ve missed in the comments below! … Read More

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10 Weird and Wonderful White House Replicas

We all know and love the tradition of the White House Gingerbread House, so in honor of the great George Washington’s birthday, otherwise known as Presidents’ Day, we thought we’d see what other recreations of our favorite symbol of democracy might exist. From Southern mansions (yes, plural) to the Zweifel family’s labor of love to a miniature park in Austria, click through to see where and why so many recreations of our President’s Neoclassical abode have been made. It might have something to do with the fact that the American Institute of Architects ranked the White House second on their survey of “America’s Favorite Architecture“, just behind the Empire State Building. Then again, it might be that people are just plain weird. Be patriotic and let us know in the comments what tops your list of favorite American architecture. … Read More

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Liz Hickok’s Amazing Jell-O Buildings

San Francisco-based installation artist Liz Hickok recreates famous skylines and landmarks using Jell-O as her construction material. “Remade in an unexpected material, seemingly permanent architectural structures are transformed into something precarious and ephemeral,” she explains in a recent interview with Inhabitat. “Their fragility quickly becomes a metaphor for the transitory nature of human artifacts.” Click through to check out her jiggly versions of New York City, San Francisco, and the White House. … Read More

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Pic of the Day: Turkeys and Classic Screen Queens

A turkey interrupts Bogart and Bacall’s wedding day, May 21, 1945.

After perusing Life.com’s Everyone Loves Turkey photo gallery, we noticed that getting your pic snapped with a turkey seems to be the mid-20th century equivalent of flashing the paparazzi your hoo-ha while getting out of a car. Everyone was doing it. What do you think it means? Did they eat the turkeys after the photo shoots? Peep more gobblers after the jump. … Read More

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