(The White House)

BARGAIN BAROQUE

Shop this look: Buy cheap, faux gold dupes of Oval Office decor

Some of the gold decorations in the Oval Office look... very similar to items we found for sale on a Chinese marketplace.

Jon Keegan

4/15/25 4:05PM

Since President Donald Trump moved back into the White House in January, it has undergone some major decorative changes. The Swedish ivy that perched upon the mantle has been replaced with golden vases from the White House collection. And the room, overall, has just gotten noticeably more shiny and gold.

Looking at photos taken in the Oval Office this week with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, we noticed several decorative medallions applied to the marble fireplace, and the same ones stuck on the wall under portraits in gilded frames.

President Trump with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador — (Photo: The White House)

Sometime after March, ornate gold decorative medallions were added to the cornice around the ceiling. The fact that several copies of the same decoration were showing up in different spots (made of different material) made us wonder where these were sourced and what they were made of.

President Trump meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office — (Photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images)

A quick photo search on Alibaba showed many such “decorative appliqués” available in white and gold. We came across one item that looks very much like the ones all over the Oval Office.

This “High-density Home Decoration Polyurethane Appliques Ornament PU Foam Veneer Accessories” from Guangzhou Homemax Decorative Material Limited on Alibaba is a dead ringer. The decorations are available in many colors: “matte white most, or gold, silver, antique gold or bronze, mixed color, customized color.”

Screenshot of Alibaba — (Screenshot: Sherwood News)

The price? Between $1 and $5 apiece (but the minimum order is 50 items). And that isn’t accounting for the steep 145% tariffs that Trump recently slapped on Chinese imports.

As you can see from this comparison, this looks very close, but it may not be a perfect match. To be fair, it is certainly possible that Chinese manufacturers are copying a high-quality design from higher-end architectural suppliers, which provided the new decor to the White House.

I messaged the owners of Guangzhou Homemax Decorative Material Limited, and a customer service agent named Ruth Fu quickly responded to my question about the item’s availability.

“Hello Sir. Yes we have this model. Do you need gold color, please?”

I followed up to ask if that was indeed their product hanging in the Oval Office, but I did not hear back.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For reference, here is what the Oval Office looked like in November 2024, when President Biden met with the president of Indonesia:

US President Joe Biden meets with President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto in the Oval Office (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Rani Molla

9/2/25

Google soars on court ruling that doesn’t force the search giant to sell Chrome

Google has $26 billion in deals with companies like Samsung and Apple.

Max Knoblauch

8/21/25

Hertz falls, erasing its Amazon bump, as Congress looks into its AI damage scanners

Hertz shares are trading down more than 5% on Thursday.

Max Knoblauch

8/20/25

Airbus faces a 10-day strike from UK workers, mirroring Boeing’s labor strife

Thousands of UK union Airbus workers plan to strike for 10 days in September amid a contract dispute.

The union workers build wings for Airbus’ commercial jets, threatening a production slowdown for the European plane maker.

As Airbus’ labor tension builds, rival Boeing’s has already boiled over: earlier this month, more than 3,000 Boeing workers who build military aircraft started a strike that remains ongoing. The action came less than a year after the company faced a two-month stoppage from a machinist strike.

Airbus, for now, says it doesn’t see the strikes affecting full-year deliveries.

Airbus UK workers to strike for 10 days over pay

Airbus, for now, says it doesn’t see the strikes affecting full-year deliveries.

Rani Molla

8/20/25

Elon Musk’s political party isn’t happening, as Tesla CEO gives up on the “America Party”

In July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced his own political party, the America Party — a move intended to “give you back your freedom.” What it did at the time was invoke the wrath of President Donald Trump and send the stock down.

A month and a half later, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Musk is “pumping the brakes” on his third party.

According to the Journal, “Musk has told allies that he wants to focus his attention on his companies and is reluctant to alienate powerful Republicans by starting a third party that could siphon off GOP voters.” He also wants to maintain ties with Vice President JD Vance, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate for 2028.

What happened?

For one, earlier this month Tesla’s board approved a roughly $30 billion interim pay package that Musk will only realize if he remains at the company for two years.

The stock isn’t moving on the news so far, but investors and analysts typically see Musk’s focus on his public company as a good thing.

Exclusive | Elon Musk Pledged to Start a Political Party. He Is Already Pumping the Brakes.

What happened?

For one, earlier this month Tesla’s board approved a roughly $30 billion interim pay package that Musk will only realize if he remains at the company for two years.

The stock isn’t moving on the news so far, but investors and analysts typically see Musk’s focus on his public company as a good thing.

Nexstar, the US’s largest local TV broadcaster, is looking to get bigger with a $6.2 billion megamerger

TV broadcaster Nexstar plans to merge with smaller rival Tegna, testing the Trump administration’s consolidation appetite.

Max Knoblauch8/19/25