33 Days and Counting: No First Decorator Yet

Malia Obama, 10, once told "Access Hollywood" that she was looking forward to decorating her room at the White House. But what professional designer, if any, will be working with her mom and dad to measure for window treatments and draw floor plans for the private quarters on the second and third floors as well as the Oval Office?

The decorating world has been abuzz with speculation since Barack Obama was elected. Because the move-in day of Jan. 20 is fast approaching, we called a couple of the designers whose names keep turning up.

Chicago designer Nate Berkus, a favorite of Obama insider Oprah Winfrey, has met the Obamas and hosted a fundraiser for the campaign with Michelle Obama. Berkus had this to say in an e-mail: "I haven't submitted a book, but I'd welcome the chance to work with the first family on any project they have in mind. I already have a million ideas and secretly, I'm dying to find out what great furniture the White House storage room has hidden inside!"

New York designer Roderick N. Shade, a founder of the Harlem United Show House, says he has presented the Obamas with a package of ideas for putting together a coalition of designers to help them settle in quickly. "They can't spend any money, but they have to get busy. The world is looking at this man to fix everything. This is not about a big spread in Architectural Digest. It's not that kind of party," says Shade, who is encouraging the interior design industry to pull together to get the Obamas "up and running." He adds, "This man has some work to do, and we have to fix the bedroom so he can get some rest."

No response yet, Shade says, but "hopefully his people will call my people."

Katie McCormick Lelyveld, who is Michelle Obama's spokeswoman, offered this comment in an e-mail: "Nothing to report on the home front."

Jura Koncius