Will the Obamas turn the White House green?

"Every administration redecorates the White House back to the fringe-choked past," he said. "It's as if modern art had never been invented. It's as if photography had never been invented."

Drucker hopes the Obamas embrace the future in their design, especially in the symbolic Lincoln Bedroom.

"The Lincoln Memorial is the most moving, inspiring building in the world to me because it captures the spirit of Abraham Lincoln," he said. "And then you go into the Lincoln Bedroom and it looks like Miss Kitty's Saloon."

Instead of heavy draperies and gilded mirrors, Drucker suggested a more modern tribute to Lincoln's spirit, like a quote of Lincoln's painted by a modern artist.

The room was recently refurbished by the Bushes, who replaced historically inappropriate furnishings with items more closely associated with Lincoln's era.

The Bushes have also overseen ecofriendly changes, including using compact fluorescent lights, energy-efficient cooling units, solar heating and low-flow faucets and toilets. The outside of the White House is illuminated by energy-efficient lighting.

"The update is quite an improvement from the gas lights that President Lincoln used when he lived in the White House," Laura Bush said Tuesday in Hodgenville, Ky.

Congress provides $100,000 every four years to redecorate White House rooms used for the first family's private residence. Supplemental funds may be provided by the White House Endowment, a financial arm of the White House Historical Association, by private funds from donors, or by the first family themselves.

The Obamas can also choose from among nearly 500 paintings, sculptures and drawings in the White House collection, Downs said. And there are plenty of more modern works, including a painting by Henry Tanner, the first black painter in the White House collection, and an oil by Georgia O'Keeffe, the first woman.

The Obamas could also embrace the digital age, as Barack Obama did to great effect in his campaign.

"I see the library as more of an Internet cafe-lounge with state-of-the-art computer, television and surround-sound capabilities," said Lisa LaPorta of "Designed to Sell" on HGTV, who suggested the room as a place for presidential online chats.

Still, keeping change to a minimum and maintaining much of the current look of the White House wouldn't just respect history — it would respect the environment.

"Although change is vital to growth, care must be taken to repurpose and reuse as many items as possible," said designer Mark Woodman of the Color Marketing Group, who suggested reupholstering the East Room in a gold-and-aqua scheme.

Based purely on the Obamas' fashion sense, designers are optimistic. When Drucker thinks of the president-elect he sees a suit with an open collar. He'd like to see that reflected in the White House.

"Somebody needs to open the collar of the White House," Drucker said. "It's always been a suit, some might even say a powdered wig. Somebody needs to open the collar up."

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