In the third edition of the Presidential Properties, we’re looking at 43rd president George W. Bush’s Texas home; Prairie Chapel Ranch, once called ‘the Western White House’. Scene of numerous meetings with heads of state, the ranch is tastefully decorated and has appeared in Architectural Digest.

In 1999 George W. Bush bought the 1,583-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch, which had previously operated as a hog farm. Located in McLennan County, Texas, a new house, guest house and garage was constructed on the land for Bush and his family just a year before he became the 43rd president of the United States.

During a Boy Scouts jamboree Bush explained that he though it was “so important for a president to spend some time away from Washington, in the heartland of America.” So Bush routinely hosted meetings and entertained foreign dignitaries at the estate including Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Vladimir Putin and Chancellor Angela Merkel, to name a few.

The main house is constructed as a single storey for practical purposes. “We wanted our older parents to feel comfortable here… We also want to grow old here ourselves.” explained Laura Bush to USA Today. The house was designed by David Heyman, the professor of architecture at the University of Texas. Heyman designed the house as environmentally-conscious as possible with features such as geothermal heat pumps and an underground cistern that collects rainwater and wastewater to irrigate the lawns.

Here’s an example of some of the beautiful images of the house taken for Architectural Digest’s feature here:

The estate encompasses many natural features such as canyons and 3-miles-worth of Rainey Creek, as well as man-made features including a tree farm and an 11-acre pond stocked with fish. Bush is known to make extensive use of his ranch, enjoying mountain biking, jogging, fishing and hunting on the land, which has been planted with Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush flowers, landscaped by Michael Williams.

Inside the interiors were overseen by Kenneth Blasingame who also helped decorate their spaces in the White House. Decorative features include handpainted display plates (bateas) in the dining room, Rose Tarlow Melrose House chairs in the reception room upholstered in custom-made Peter Fasano linen, a Arzu Studio Hope Afghan carpet in the study, and plenty of works of art by artists such as John Clem Clarke and Adrian Martinez.

View more pictures of the house and read Architectural Digest’s feature here. You can also see more homes of politicians by using the ‘politics‘ tag.

images: Carol M Highsmith for the Library of Congress