Interior designer from Mason helps decorate White House for the holidays
LEADING THE WAY. ALL RIGHT, WELL, THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS HERE, AND THAT MEANS WE GET A GLIMPSE OF THE HOLIDAY DECOR AT THE WHITE HOUSE. AND THIS YEAR, A LOCAL INTERIOR DESIGNER SCORING THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME WHEN SHE WAS SELECTED TO BE ONE OF THE DECORATORS. WLWT NEWS FIVE ANCHOR ASHLEY KIRKLEN CAUGHT UP WITH HER TO HEAR ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE. HI THERE. HI, GUYS. WELL, KATIE FROM MASON TELLS ME THAT THIS WAS A DREAM COME TRUE. OF COURSE, OUT OF ABOUT 12,000 APPLICANTS, SHE WAS ONE OF 145 SELECTED THIS YEAR TO HELP DECORATE THE WHITE HOUSE. AND THERE WERE JUST THREE OTHER PEOPLE FROM OHIO. KATE WAS THE ONE AND ONLY FROM CINCINNATI. DOZENS OF TREES, HUNDREDS OF ORNAMENTS AND WREATHS ALL LINING THE HALLS AND WALLS OF AMERICA’S MOST HISTORIC HOME. YOU JUST HAVE TO SORT OF PINCH YOURSELF, RIGHT? YOU’RE LOOKING AROUND LIKE, OH MY GOSH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE HISTORY OF IT ALL. THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. KATE GUERNSEY FROM MASON BECAME A PART OF THAT HISTORY. I REALLY FOUND MYSELF GRAVITATING TOWARDS ALL THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ARE IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE HISTORY OF IT ALL, AND THE DECOR, THE WALLPAPER, I MEAN, EVERYTHING IS SO INTRICATE AND INTENTIONAL. THE WIFE, MOM OF TWO, AND INTERIOR DESIGNER SAYS SHE’S WATCHED HGTV’S CHRISTMAS AT THE WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL EVERY YEAR. AND THIS YEAR SHE APPLIED TO BE A VOLUNTEER DECORATOR THROUGH THE WHITE HOUSE’S WEBSITE. AND IN OCTOBER, SHE WAS CHOSEN FOR THE JOB. THE FIRST LADY, ACTUALLY, SHE IS SUPER HANDS ON AND INVOLVED IN THE ENTIRE PROCESS AND PUTS TOGETHER SORT OF THE THEME AND HER VISION OF WHAT SHE WANTS FOR THE DECORATIONS THIS YEAR, WHICH WAS HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS IS THE THEME FOR 2025. ONCE THE VOLUNTEERS ARRIVED IN D.C., THEY GOT TO WORK AT A WAREHOUSE WHICH STORES THE DECORATIONS, SORTING, CHECKING LIGHTS AND CRAFTING. FROM THERE, THEY MOVED TO THE WHITE HOUSE, WHERE KATE SAYS THEY SPENT 10 TO 12 HOUR DAYS BRINGING THE THEME TO LIFE. I GOT TO PULL THE RIBBONS AND THE ORNAMENTS AND SOME OF THE DECORATIONS FOR THE OVAL OFFICE AND THE GRAND FOYER, AND JUST SOME OF THESE ROOMS THAT YOU ONLY SEE ON TV. KATE, ALONG WITH 144 OTHER VOLUNTEERS REPRESENTING EACH STATE, DIFFERENT CITIES AND TERRITORIES MADE HOLIDAY MAGIC COME TO LIFE AT 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. THE BROADER STORY OF THIS IS THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE, AND IT NEEDED TO BE PERFECT FOR AMERICA. SHE TOOK GREAT PRIDE IN THAT, AND YESTERDAY THE VOLUNTEERS WERE INVITED BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE, WHERE THE FIRST LADY THREW THEM A RECEPTION WHERE THEY GOT TO TAKE IN ALL OF THE DECORATIONS AS GUESTS. ASHLEY KIRKLEN WLWT NEWS FIVE. ALL RIGHT, ASH, GOOD OLD MASON, OHIO, TO THE WHITE HOUSE. WHAT AN HONOR. CONGRATULATIONS. I THINK T
Interior designer from Mason helps decorate White House for the holidays
Updated: 6:20 PM EST Dec 2, 2025
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An interior designer from Mason, Ohio, was selected from about 12,000 applicants to help decorate the White House for the holiday season, making her dream come true. Kate Ruge was one of 145 decorators chosen this year, and she was the only representative from the Cincinnati area among the three selected from Ohio.Ruge, owner and designer at Kate Ruby Interiors, expressed her excitement about the opportunity. “You just have to sort of pinch yourself, right? You’re looking around like, oh my gosh, you know, this is the history of it all,” she said.This holiday season, Ruge became part of that history. “I really found myself gravitating towards all the little details that are in the White House, and the history of it all and the decor, the wallpaper. I mean, everything is so intricate and intentional,” she said.Ruge, a wife, mom of two, and interior designer, has watched HGTV’s “Christmas at the White House” special every year. This year, she applied to be a volunteer decorator through the White House’s website and was chosen for the job in October. Once the volunteers arrived in D.C., they got to work at a warehouse that stores the decorations, sorting, checking lights, and crafting. From there, they moved to the White House, where Ruge said they spent 10 to 12-hour days bringing the theme to life.”I got to pull the ribbons and the ornaments, and some of the decorations for the Oval Office and the Grand Foyer and just some of these rooms that you only see on TV,” Ruge said.Kate, along with 144 other volunteers representing each state, different cities, and territories, made holiday magic come to life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. On Monday, the volunteers were invited back to the White House, where the First Lady threw them a reception and they got to take in the decorations as guests.
An interior designer from Mason, Ohio, was selected from about 12,000 applicants to help decorate the White House for the holiday season, making her dream come true.
Kate Ruge was one of 145 decorators chosen this year, and she was the only representative from the Cincinnati area among the three selected from Ohio.
Ruge, owner and designer at Kate Ruby Interiors, expressed her excitement about the opportunity.
“You just have to sort of pinch yourself, right? You’re looking around like, oh my gosh, you know, this is the history of it all,” she said.
This holiday season, Ruge became part of that history.
“I really found myself gravitating towards all the little details that are in the White House, and the history of it all and the decor, the wallpaper. I mean, everything is so intricate and intentional,” she said.
Ruge, a wife, mom of two, and interior designer, has watched HGTV’s “Christmas at the White House” special every year. This year, she applied to be a volunteer decorator through the White House’s website and was chosen for the job in October.
Once the volunteers arrived in D.C., they got to work at a warehouse that stores the decorations, sorting, checking lights, and crafting. From there, they moved to the White House, where Ruge said they spent 10 to 12-hour days bringing the theme to life.
“I got to pull the ribbons and the ornaments, and some of the decorations for the Oval Office and the Grand Foyer and just some of these rooms that you only see on TV,” Ruge said.
Kate, along with 144 other volunteers representing each state, different cities, and territories, made holiday magic come to life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
On Monday, the volunteers were invited back to the White House, where the First Lady threw them a reception and they got to take in the decorations as guests.
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