How Many Bedrooms are in the White House? (Full House Tour)
The White House is one of the country’s largest residences, with over 132 rooms. It is 55,000 square feet across all six stories. In this article, we’ll be showing you comprehensive information on how many bedrooms are in the white house.
How Many Bedrooms are in the White House
There are 16 guest rooms in the White House. It also has a whopping 35 bathrooms to ensure that all of its guests have the comfort of their own bathroom.
Unless the First Family has visitors, most of the bedrooms are empty. Guests may include family and friends, as well as foreign dignitaries and ambassadors.
During the Obama administration, President Obama also allowed ordinary citizens to spend a few nights in one of the historic rooms.
Further Information on the Numbers of Bedrooms in the White House
Guests could roam the halls of the White House at a specific time and were given special passes and passwords that allowed them access to specific rooms.
The goal was to increase transparency between the White House and the citizens it serves. The guest bedroom experience, however, ended after the Trump administration took office.
What Bedrooms are in the White House?
Several bedrooms in the White House have historical significance. They give these rooms names based on their history. Here are two of the White House’s most famous bedrooms. They are as follows:
1. The Queen’s Bedroom
As the name implies, this bedroom has seen many Queens during their visits to the White House. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is the most recent Queen to visit and stay in the bedroom.
Apart from her, Queen Sonja of Norway and Queen Sofia of Spain have both stayed in this room. They designed the room in a Federalist style and has a 19th-century New England ambiance.
It certainly matches the type of bedroom one might imagine a Queen would stay in, with pink walls, white carpets, and several portraits on the wall.
2. The Lincoln Bedroom
This bedroom has undergone extensive renovation to return it to the style that President Abraham Lincoln would have recognized.
Using window cornices and mantels is one example of this restoration. Although it is not the same bed Lincoln slept in, it is a replica of the same bed with the same features that were popular.
However, there are some authentic pieces from the Lincoln Administration in the room. Some sofas, chairs, and slipper chairs date back to his presidency.
What Other Rooms Does the White House Have?
Although the White House has several bedrooms, it also has many rooms that most people are unaware of. Here are some of the White House’s lesser-known rooms.
1. The Music Room
Before it became the go-to place for Presidents to listen to music, the Music Room served several functions.
It began as a simple sitting room that connected various points throughout the house. During President Ford’s administration, they converted it into a bedroom for Jackie Ford.
This was the room Jackie stayed in whenever he visited his father in the White House. Prior to Jack, the sitting room was briefly converted into a preschool for John F. Kennedy, Jr.
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Caroline, his sister, attended kindergarten at the Solarium. The room received its final renovation in the 1990s. They elected Bill Clinton as president and had a saxophone hobby.
Hillary, his wife, wanted to give him a place to play with good acoustics for his birthday. The out-of-the-way sitting room was the ideal location. The renovators soundproofed and transformed it into the ideal music room.
Bill Clinton would later play his saxophone in the Music Room, as they dubbed it, and fill it with various pieces of music memorabilia he had amassed.
2. Workout Room
They also renovated this room in various ways. It began in the 1930s as the housekeeper’s suite. They mostly used it as a sitting room for the housekeeper’s own guests.
It would eventually become a sitting room where people could relax. The corner roof was lifted and made wider during the Truman reconstruction of the room.
This made it ideal for its eventual use as a bedroom. Jackie wanted to renovate the bedroom again during her presidency. There was already a red-themed guest bedroom in the White House.
3. The Chocolate Shop
Every house should have a chocolate shop, and the White House is no exception. One problem that the White House frequently faces is feeding its occupants.
With several staff members on hand and guests visiting regularly, the kitchen struggles to cook for as many guests as it does in the small room it operates in.
This problem could be solved by introducing additional smaller kitchens capable of handling a variety of dishes. One such kitchen specialized in desserts.
4. Bowling Alley
There is also a bowling alley in the White House. The alley was a gift from President Truman, who did not enjoy bowling. He accepted the construction, however, because he knew the staff would most likely want to start a league.
Originally, the alley was in the Situation Room. They moved the alley downstairs when the White House decided it needed a mimeograph room. Both President Nixon and his wife enjoyed bowling.
They buried the Bowlin galley beneath one driveway. They also converted it into a one-lane alley.
5. Family Theater
While the White House has a small theater, it was originally a cloakroom.
Prior to the East Wing becoming a part of the White House during FDR’s presidency, the room was an ideal location for staff to take coats, purses, and other belongings from guests as they entered the White House.
The room was large enough to accommodate a large number of coats got by the House throughout the day. However, after the construction of the East Wing, the area was no longer suitable.
Additional Information on the Family Theater
FDR converted it into a movie theater. While some Presidents have used it to practice speeches such as the State of the Union, many more prefer to use it for its intended purpose.
One benefit of the job is that you can order a movie. Some Presidents have even seen movies before they were released in theaters nationwide.
The theater has a little over 40 seats. President Eisenhower furnished the room. He also included four large armchairs in the front for the President and his family.
6. Map Room
Originally, the Map Room was a billiards room where Presidents and their guests could play a few rounds of pool. This was also the room where the President would receive special doctor visits sometimes.
Throughout World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt used this room to track enemy and ally movements. Because the White House lacked a Situation Room, he converted the billiard room into a map room.
He had several maps depicting various stages of the war. Different war zones even separated them. After the war, the staff removed most of the maps.
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7. The China Room
The China Room is one of the oldest rooms in the White House. It functions almost as much as a museum as it does as a room to display one’s china collection.
Prior to 1902, the room was the bedroom of a firefighter hired by President Van Buren. The firefighter was to light and stoke the large furnace that now serves as the Diplomatic Reception Room.
They converted this room into a cloakroom as part of a major renovation in 1902. Woodrow Wilson’s wife would eventually go on to officially transform the room into a museum showcasing the various collections of china.
8. Vermeil Room
The Vermeil Room is another room with a lot of history behind it. They named the room after its golden silver tones and is primarily responsible for displaying various pieces of silverware and furniture.
Previously, it was a gathering place for the First Lady and her female guests. President Hoover would transform the room into a Social Bureau where all their guests could congregate before joining the First Lady or the President.
This is also the room of choice for many First Ladies when having their portraits painted. The gold-green or gold-silver backgrounds of the room can be seen in the backgrounds of their portraits.
9. Solarium
The Solarium on the top floor of the White House is where presidents and their families go to unwind. They have used the White House Museum for Mamie Eisenhower’s bridge parties.
Also, Caroline Kennedy’s kindergarten, Lyndon Johnson’s teenage daughters’ hangout, Rosalynn Carter’s study room, and a space for the Clintons to play board games.
According to the museum, Richard Nixon announced his resignation as president while in the solarium with his family. It’s also the location where Nancy Reagan learned they had shot her husband.
10. Game Room
The Game Room, near the Solarium, is where residents can relax with a game of pool.
Pool tables have been owned by several presidents and have been housed in the modern-day Map Room and Vermeil Room.
According to the White House Museum, the Game Room, which was previously a bedroom, became the designated pool space during the George H. W. Bush administration.
11. Navy Mess
The Navy Mess or White House Mess, a small dining facility run by the US Navy, is located on the ground floor of the West Wing, next to the Situation Room.
The dining room, which seats about 50 people, is not open to the public, but if you’re lucky, you might get an invitation from a senior White House official or Cabinet secretary.
12. Calligraphy Office
The Graphics and Calligraphy Office, on the second floor of the White House’s East Wing, is where a small team of White House calligraphers prepares invitations, place cards, and greetings for formal events.
What Room Does the President Sleep in?
The President’s bedroom is on the second floor, in the southeast corner of the White House. James Hoban, who also designed the White House, designed the room.
The room was first used by Thomas Jefferson, and they later used James Polk as an office. President Franklin Pierce had the room redesigned as a bedroom in 1853.
Theodore Roosevelt was the next President to have the room redesigned in 1902.
He had it done in the style of Louis XVI. William Taft redesigned it as a four-room suite in 1909, with wallpaper featuring a pattern of bluebirds with red roses and white lilies.
Is There a Swimming Pool in the White House?
There is! Since 1933, when it was installed as part of a large-scale renovation, the White House has had a swimming pool. The White House had an indoor pool, which was unusual but it’s not so unusual anymore.
Presidents have used the White House swimming pool for exercise, relaxation, and everything from sunbathing to movie screenings.
The pool was closed for renovations during the Gerald Ford administration in 1975 and then converted into a press room for journalists.
When Ronald Reagan took office, he had the press room converted back into a swimming pool so that he could get away from the stress of work.
How Big is the President’s Residence?
If you ever go to the White House in Washington, DC, you’ll be surprised at how large it is. The White House is quite large and has been expanded several times since its construction.
They constructed the first section of the White House in 1792. The original structure had only eight rooms and two stories, but they later expanded it to include more rooms and three levels.
Today, the President’s residence has 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms, totaling approximately 55,000 square feet of living space.
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There are also 35 bathrooms in the house. The main rooms are on the main floor (but no bedrooms). The President’s family lives on the second floor, which has six bedrooms and four bathrooms. On the third floor is the guest room.
They used six rooms on the state floor for official functions. On the fourth floor, there are three more bedrooms and plenty of storage space.
There are staff offices and storage space on the fifth floor, and there are two more staff offices and storage space on the top floor.
How Many Kitchens are in the White House?
There are Five to be exact. There are two central kitchens (one for regular meals and another for catered meals), and a second-floor kitchen that prepares snacks and appetizers.
This is a kitchen next to the President’s bedroom that is only used by his chef when he is in residence at the White House—and a pastry kitchen.
So, what is the need for so many kitchens in the White House? It has simply become necessary over time as more people have moved into the residence.
Why are There so Many Kitchens?
So, what is the need for so many kitchens in the White House? It has simply become necessary over time as more people have moved into the residence.
Each new President brings an influx of new staff members, such as family members, nurses, doctors, security detail, and so on.
They all require food to be prepared so that they do not go hungry while working or watching TV with their families.
FAQs About How Many Bedrooms are in The White House
1. How Many Rooms Does the White House Have?
There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels in the Residence. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators.
2. What are Some Mind-Blowing Facts About The White House?
Slaves, European migrants, and white laborers built the White House.
3. How Many Kitchens are in The White House?
There are Five to be exact. There are two central kitchens (one for regular meals and another for catered meals), a second-floor kitchen that prepares snacks and appetizers.
4. Which is Bigger, the White House or Buckingham Palace?
If you count every inch, the White House is 55,000 square feet. Buckingham Palace is 829,000 square feet in size. Buckingham Palace now has 774,000 more square feet than the White House.
5. How Big is the White House in Acres?
The White House and its landscaped grounds occupy 18 acres (7.2 hectares).
6. Where in The White House Does The President Live?
The President and the rest of the First Family live on the second and third floors of the main building or residence.
7. Why is The White House White?
The building was first made white with lime-based whitewash in 1798 when its walls were finished, simply to protect the porous stone from freezing.
8. Why is There no Dome on The White House?
Because it’s a residence with a suite of offices attached, not a courthouse or legislative chambers.
9. Does the White House Have an Elevator?
Yes! The White House has 3 elevators
10. What Color Was The White House Originally?
The White House was initially of gray-colored sandstone from a quarry in Aquia, Virginia. The north and south porticos are constructed with red Seneca sandstone from Maryland.
The White House has numerous rooms spread across its six stories. Some of those rooms are bedrooms, while the majority are bathrooms.
There are also secret rooms within the house that serve social, entertaining, or practical functions for the President, their family, and the various staff members who live there.
