section_path: First tenure as First Lady of the United States (2017–2021)/Life in the White House
section_name: Life in the White House
paragraph_text: Life in the White House
  
  Melania and her son, Barron, moved into the White House on June 11, 2017. Like they had throughout their marriage, Melania and Donald chose to sleep in separate bedrooms. In her first year, Melania gave only eight speeches, compared to 74 by Michelle Obama and 42 by Laura Bush. Instead of frequent public appearances, she communicated her activities through video. Most of Melania's appearances as first lady in 2017 were in Manhattan and Washington, and she typically spoke about women's and children's issues.
  
  After moving to the White House, Melania opted to spend most of her time in the private quarters, running the White House staff from there instead of the first lady's East Wing offices. She oversaw restorations of several rooms in the building, including the bowling alley in the White House basement and the first lady's hairdresser's room. She kept one office, called the "swag room" by aides, in which she kept trinkets she collected while she was first lady. To accommodate Barron's soccer practice, she had a net installed on the White House grounds and had a coach practice with him. Barron remained Melania's top priority when she was first lady, and she worked to keep him free from politics to the point that staffers referred to her as "The Protector". Even after arriving at the White House, Melania spent extensive time away each year, visiting Mar-a-Lago on major holidays and over many weekends.
  
  Melania personally involved herself in decorations and planning within the White House. She was particular about how things were designed and arranged whenever events were planned, but she would take on a calm and relaxed demeanor once the event began. Whenever a foreign dignitary arrived at the White House, Melania had the Blue Room set aside where she ate lunch or drank tea with the dignitary's spouse. When choosing which presidential china set to use, Melania often chose the Clinton administration china with its gold embroidery. She held events less frequently than her predecessors, with a typical week featuring three or fewer events, all under one hour long. Among her most ambitious projects was planning the White House Christmas decorations in 2018. Moving away from traditional designs, she filled the East Collonnade with red cranberry-laden trees set atop a green carpet. The design was widely derided, which Melania ascribed to personal taste.
  
  To protect use of her image and maintain an income, Melania licensed photos from her photoshoots through Getty Images. This allowed her to choose how they were used by reporters, and she received royalties for each use. The Office of Government Ethics reported that she made $100,000 to $1,000,000 in royalties in 2017, though other estimates put it at over $10,000,000.
  
  As one of her official duties, Melania was the honorary chair of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Because of political tension with the arts communities, she was not initially active in the role. She made her first appearances at the Kennedy Center in 2019. Trump unveiled the abstract sculpture Floor Frame by Isamu Noguchi in the White House Rose Garden in November 2020. She described it as "embodying themes of resilience and renewal" in her eponymous memoir.
  
  Melania and her son, Barron, moved into the White House on June 11, 2017. Like they had throughout their marriage, Melania and Donald chose to sleep in separate bedrooms. In her first year, Melania gave only eight speeches, compared to 74 by Michelle Obama and 42 by Laura Bush. Instead of frequent public appearances, she communicated her activities through video. Most of Melania's appearances as first lady in 2017 were in Manhattan and Washington, and she typically spoke about women's and children's issues.
  
  After moving to the White House, Melania opted to spend most of her time in the private quarters, running the White House staff from there instead of the first lady's East Wing offices. She oversaw restorations of several rooms in the building, including the bowling alley in the White House basement and the first lady's hairdresser's room. She kept one office, called the "swag room" by aides, in which she kept trinkets she collected while she was first lady. To accommodate Barron's soccer practice, she had a net installed on the White House grounds and had a coach practice with him. Barron remained Melania's top priority when she was first lady, and she worked to keep him free from politics to the point that staffers referred to her as "The Protector". Even after arriving at the White House, Melania spent extensive time away each year, visiting Mar-a-Lago on major holidays and over many weekends.
  
  Melania personally involved herself in decorations and planning within the White House. She was particular about how things were designed and arranged whenever events were planned, but she would take on a calm and relaxed demeanor once the event began. Whenever a foreign dignitary arrived at the White House, Melania had the Blue Room set aside where she ate lunch or drank tea with the dignitary's spouse. When choosing which presidential china set to use, Melania often chose the Clinton administration china with its gold embroidery. She held events less frequently than her predecessors, with a typical week featuring three or fewer events, all under one hour long. Among her most ambitious projects was planning the White House Christmas decorations in 2018. Moving away from traditional designs, she filled the East Collonnade with red cranberry-laden trees set atop a green carpet. The design was widely derided, which Melania ascribed to personal taste.
  
  To protect use of her image and maintain an income, Melania licensed photos from her photoshoots through Getty Images. This allowed her to choose how they were used by reporters, and she received royalties for each use. The Office of Government Ethics reported that she made $100,000 to $1,000,000 in royalties in 2017, though other estimates put it at over $10,000,000.
  
  As one of her official duties, Melania was the honorary chair of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Because of political tension with the arts communities, she was not initially active in the role. She made her first appearances at the Kennedy Center in 2019. Trump unveiled the abstract sculpture Floor Frame by Isamu Noguchi in the White House Rose Garden in November 2020. She described it as "embodying themes of resilience and renewal" in her eponymous memoir.