The Bizarre Things You'll Find In Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago Home
Former President Donald J. Trump is known for his extravagance and his eccentricities carry over to his homes. Many of the over-the-top elements in his Mar-a-Lago home, especially how much gold there is everywhere, are quite bizarre. His manor-esque estate at Mar-a-Lago, with its tennis courts, golf course, and spa, befit the businessman turned president. In addition to its Mediterranean aesthetic, Trump's beloved Mar-a-Lago sticks out like a sore thumb among other buildings in the area. The mansion's quirky appearance lends itself to the equally excessive interiors, which look more like a palace than the home of a former president.
Trump had transformed Mar-a-Lago into a private club but there is a private area of the mansion where he and his family live when they are in Palm Beach. Several celebrities are members of Trump's exclusive private club, and famed folks like Kanye "Ye" West have even visited Trump there. During his presidency, Trump spent a lot of time at Mar-a-Lago. And even though it was up for legal debate for decades, Palm Beach finally okayed him to live at the mansion full-time after his presidency ended in 2021. Fitted with a ton of gold leaf and extravagancies, it should come as no surprise that Trump's Mar-a-Lago home is bizarre.
Ruined 16th-century decor
When former President Donald J. Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago, he also bought former owner Marjorie Merriweather Post's collection of furniture and antiques. Among those antiques were a series of Flemish tapestries, which Post protected from sunlight with heavy drapes. However, when Trump bought the mansion, daylight was no longer banished from the living room. Because the drapes were no longer hidden in shadow, their designs faded.
Because the mansion is a National Landmark as denoted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, there are a lot of things Trump cannot change about the property. Some of the decor, which includes Post's antiques, are among the things that cannot be changed. Those aforementioned Flemish tapestries are in the mansion's living room along with the other original furniture and art, which are displayed exactly as Post had them when she lived there.
Per William Wright, who wrote "Heiress: The Rich Life of Marjorie Merriweather Post," when she lived in the mansion, Post enjoyed seeing how her gilded living room stunned her visitors (via the Palm Beach Post.) Considering that the living room is still impressing visitors almost a century after the mansion was originally built, we'd say that's pretty incredible.
A collection of rare first-edition books
The enormous library at Mar-a-Lago has been used for publicity stunts like when then-President Donald J. Trump and first lady Melania Trump called kids on Christmas Eve in 2017. But the library, much of which remains unchanged because the mansion is a historic building, is very much an artifact to be looked upon but perhaps not utilized. Per Trump's former butler, Anthony Senecal, the library isn't really used.
Mar-a-Lago's library even houses a vast collection of first-edition books, Senecal told The New York Times. Maintaining a collection of rare books is a bizarre endeavor for a former President who famously does not read. In fact, "Fire and Fury" author Michael Wolff wrote of how little Trump read. "Trump didn't read. He didn't really even skim," Wolff wrote in his book. "If it was print, it might as well not exist. Some believed that for all practical purposes, he was no more than semiliterate." Perhaps the collection of books falls under the purview of historic maintenance, like the home itself.
Millions of dolllars in gold leaf
Anyone familiar with Donald J. Trump's 5th Avenue penthouse in New York City understands the former president's penchant for gold. So, suitably, his home at Mar-a-Lago would also be in a similar metallic profile. In fact, Mar-a-Lago is practically dipped in gold.
When Trump renovated Mar-a-Lago in the '90s, he spent $7 million on gold leaf to detail the new ballroom. Although the massive ballroom addition was not part of the original design of the mansion, its shimmering gold detailing certainly helped it fit in with the rest of the building. While this amount of gold might seem out of place to some, it actually suits what former owner Marjorie Merriweather Post envisioned for the mansion.
After all, the living room, one of the building's original rooms, is practically gold-plated. The ceiling is painted in gold, as are the walls, doorway ornaments, and even columns in the room. With the exception of the carpet, the living room is almost floor-to-ceiling gold-encrusted. The Midas Touch vibes are pretty bizarre to the average homeowner, though it seems to be right on par for Trump.