Inside the White House: Get a Glimpse of the Living Quarters of the First Family

— -- The White House is one of the most easily recognized structures in the world, but the living quarters of its famous family are mostly out of view.

Now, as the first family prepares to depart, Architectural Digest is offering an exclusive glimpse into areas that have been home to the Obamas for the past eight years.

“There’s a real fascination with how would people with so much stature and power live in their private time,” Amy Astley, the magazine’s editor in chief, told ABC News.

The magazine’s December issue features the images of the areas that are mostly out of the public eye — including the Treaty Room, the rooftop solarium located over the South Portico and the Yellow Oval Room, which has been used as a formal living room and also as a private sitting room.

There are even photos of the first family’s private sitting room, dining room and even of the first couple’s master suite, featuring an antique canopy bed with curtains.

Ever since Jackie Kennedy’s 1962 television tour lifted the veil on the White House, people have been eager to see the private quarters at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and find out how each family has made those quarters their own.

“I think the Obama family has made their biggest mark on their personal quarters through artwork,” Astley said, adding that their choice of decor has “a slightly more modern, contemporary — maybe a slightly edgier feel.”

Working with designer Michael Smith, Michelle Obama displays works of contemporary artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Alma Thomas — the first African-American female artist to be featured in the White House.

“We know Mrs. Obama has gone to great efforts with her own wardrobe and the statement that makes,” Astley said. “I think the artwork is a piece of that, is a continuation of making a statement of inclusiveness.”

In some cases, the Obamas kept things the same, such as a mirror, mantle and sideboard from George W. Bush’s administration.

Before she moved into the White House, Michelle Obama’s priority was getting things ready for her daughters, Sasha and Malia, and her mother, Marian Robinson. When it came to the rest of the house, she and her designer leaned heavily on history to inform them — including reading the letters of previous first ladies, according to Architectural Digest.

Smith, the designer, told Architectural Digest he even spoke at length with Nancy Reagan and with Jackie Kennedy’s sister, Lee Radziwill.

The December issue of Architectural Digest will hit newsstands nationwide Nov. 8.