White House requests discontinued wallpaper delivered same day. Pa. company thinks it's a prank.
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YORK, Pa. — When the folks at York Wallcoverings in Pennsylvania got a call last Thursday morning that federal government officials wanted the company’s wallpaper for a renovation of the Oval Office, they at first thought it was a prank.
But as they soon learned, this was no prank.
And this would be no ordinary order.
The government did indeed want to buy the company’s wallpaper. They wanted it delivered by 7 p.m. that day.
The new wallpaper was part of an extensive renovation of the White House, which included the replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, among other changes.Â
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President Trump left the White House for his golf club in Bedminister, N.J., for about two weeks, so the renovations could be done.
As for the Oval Office wallpaper, the hitch was that York Wallcoverings stopped making the baroque, floral damask pattern three years ago and had none in stock.
To fill the order, they’d have to mix the inks by hand and match the color. The whole production process usually takes four to six hours.
But you don’t say no when the president wants your wallpaper to hang in the Oval Office.
So, the company, which still had the printing cylinders for the pattern, interrupted other work at its plant in York, Pa., and quickly produced 96 double rolls.
By that afternoon, three executives from the company — Chief Financial Officer Bob Vucenovic, human resources manager Sandy Biss and national sales director Eileen Thomas — were headed to Washington, D.C., to deliver the wallpaper.
“Kudos to our employees for being able to pause what they were doing, get the color right the first time and get it done in four hours,” Vucenovic said. “It’s an amazing feat.”
President Trump, himself, chose the pattern, Vucenovic said.
It’s not York Wallcovering’s first connection to a sitting president.
During the administration of President George W. Bush, the company provided wallpaper hung in a White House bathroom, said PJ Delaye, York Wallcoverings’ president.
 And President Obama affixed some one of the company’s RoomMates wall decals during a visit to a youth home, Delaye said.
York Wallcoverings is considering bringing back the wallpaper pattern that now hangs in the Oval Office, Delaye said.
Its White House appearance could be short-lived, however.
If the White House decides to replace the Oval Office carpeting again, the wallpaper could also be changed, Delaye said.
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York (Pa.) Daily Record reporter Abbey Zelko contributed to this report.