According to reports, the Obamas may have purchased a home in Rancho Mirage. It has no doubt been a long and stressful eight years for Barack and Michelle Obama, so a West Coast house adjacent to extensive golf courses and other relaxing amenities makes sense. Or maybe they just wanted to keep a closer eye when Malia Obama hits Coachella, given what happened at Lollapalooza this year.
Rancho Mirage comes with presidential precedent. It was the post-White House home of Gerald Ford, as well. And, according to the New York Post, the rumored Obama property won’t be too far from the famed Annenberg estate known as Sunnylands that has served as an occasional California getaway for President Obama and seven of his predecessors.
If this is in fact happening, which the First Family has yet to officially confirm, the assumption is that the house will be furnished and decorated by interior designer Michael S. Smith. Smith has his own place in Rancho Mirage that the Obamas have visited and he was their choice to update the White House décor when they moved in. The L.A.-based designer’s partner James Costos was also President Obama’s appointment to serve as U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra, so they’re probably all pretty close friends.
The plan would be that, after the family leaves the White House in January, they will move into a private home in Washington, D.C. that will serve as their primary residence for at least the next couple of years. Their younger daughter, Sasha, intends to finish high school at the D.C. school she has been attending.
After that, who knows? You might just be bumping into the former president on the golf course any day of the week.
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