An Oval Office fit for Obama

Barack Obama with be the 18th president to occupy the Oval Office since it was built in 1909. The presidential Gunlocke chair was designed for John F Kennedy, who suffered from back pain. The central panel was requested by Franklin D Roosevelt to hide his leg braces, but he died before it was added. Every president since William Howard Taft has commissioned his own bespoke rug; this £40,000 sunbeam design was chosen by Laura Bush Photograph: Ron Edmonds /AP

Stuart Cohen & Julie Hacker Architects: Bookcases have been added to either side of the fireplace to communicate the idea that this is a literate presidency. All the furniture, including the previous president's desk, has been replaced by a large round table, suggesting that the participants in meetings and discussions are equal. The globe of the world can be used as a learning aid for any official unsure of the difference between a continent and a country Photograph: Stuart Cohen & Julie Hacker/PR

Kelly Hoppen: I believe that my chosen colours, such as cream, will bring calm and balance to a room that will be one of the most important in the world Photograph: PR

Nigel Coates: I imagine Obama would go for relaxed, modern curves mixed with a hint of the classic character of the room. I'd paint the walls my favourite warm, shadowy grey from Papers & Paints. The most ghastly features of Bush's incarnation are the sofas, which I'd replace with two Scubist Plump sofas, covered in mocha-coloured velvet and stars-and-stripes pattern. I'd also replace the Waspish table-lamps with my Sloop Venetian chandeliers Photograph: PR

Louise Hellman: 1. Pull-out Iraq map. 2. Kenyan hardwood abacus to regulate the economy. 3. Carbon-zero stove fed on old Bush climate change policies. 4. Cold war buffet. 5. Bulletproof steel desk. 6. Basketball apparatus. 7. Psychiatrist's couch for healthcare dreams analysis. 8. Car seats donated by greatful automobile industry. 9. CND rug to promote nuclear disarmament. 10. Afghan prayer mat for visiting prime ministers Photograph: PR

Seth Stein: The Oval Office is a single-storey structure, and could have a glass roof to promote blue-sky thinking and greater transparency in government. Obama sits in an Eames chair, an iconic American design, while he has retained the federalist-style armchair for his Republican visitors. The rug incorporates the thunderbird, a legendary creature in North-American indigenous culture. For the 'puppy that's coming to the White House', we mustn't forget a basket Photograph: /PR