When he first saw his new office, with the peeling paint, chipped plaster, water stains and crumbling rug, Gov. Parris N. Glendening thought it was a "disgrace."
"If a citizen walked in here," Mr. Glendening said, "they would be embarrassed that this was the way we were taking care of a state historic treasure."
So this summer, workers have been scraping, painting, wallpapering, cleaning, repairing and redecorating his office suite and public Reception Room in the historic Maryland State House.
The Annapolis office will be getting new, Chippendale-style furniture. "Simple, traditional pieces in good taste," said the governor's interior designer, Cathy Belkov.
All told, the work is costing taxpayers $52,800, which the governor's aides contend is reasonable considering the damage.
Although eight years of use by the previous occupant took its toll, no one is accusing the workaholic former Gov. William Donald Schaefer of trashing the place.
The culprits were mostly leakage from a slate roof, patchwork repairs and the problems of a building erected in the 1770s.
In the governor's private office, the wood floor was worn, the walls had large cracks, paint was peeling and the antique jTC Persian rug had a gaping hole. The draperies and marble fireplace were just plain dirty.
The Reception Room had similar problems, which came to light last winter when Mr. Glendening decided to include a portrait of Spiro T. Agnew in the gallery of former governors who line the walls.
"When we moved the portraits around to make room for Governor Agnew, that's when the wall fading became apparent," said Deputy Chief of Staff Michele T. Rozner, who oversaw the project.
Enter Ms. Belkov, a senior designer at Interior Concepts in Annapolis.
"With a light hand, we said, what can we do in a modest fashion to make this office more cheerful and suitable to the governor of Maryland?" said Ms. Belkov, who waived her consultation fee.
State workers sealed cracks and scraped paint from the walls and the 14-foot ceiling. After soliciting bids, the state had the wood floors sanded and refinished ($1,950), the antique fireplace refurbished ($4,680), and the bluish-gray walls covered with a beige patterned wallpaper ($9,675 including installation).
Something also had to be done with the 13-foot-by-21-foot rug, made in the Herez District of northwest Persia in 1890. Water seepage and dry rot had destroyed the weave in part of the rug hidden by a plastic mat beneath the governor's desk, said Gerald P. Walls, an assistant secretary at the Maryland Department of General Services.
The rug, valued at $50,000 intact, was sent to Turkey to be rewoven. Because insurance covered the repair, taxpayers only had to cover the $1,000 deductible, he said.
To save money, Ms. Rozner said she decided not to replace the long blue draperies. Instead, they were cleaned and refurbished with beige and brown accent fabric and trim ($6,544). Other draperies in the governor's outer office and the Reception Room got a mere cleaning ($1,300) plus new blinds ($7,800).
The bathroom was freshened up with a small beige carpet, a little paint and a $10 fake wood-grain toilet seat. The seat is made of hard plastic and replaces a cushioned one.
The new furniture, which has not arrived yet, includes a wing chair, tray table, writing table, center table, two end tables, two sofas and five arm chairs from Interior Concepts ($16,117). The upholstered pieces have tones of navy blue and claret, a purplish red, Ms. Belkov said.
"We reduced the prices," she said. "I know there are the sensitivities of spending taxpayer moneys."
The furniture will go in the governor's inner office and outer office, the latter functioning as a waiting room and secretarial space.
The Reception Room will not get new furniture, just a coat of gray-blue paint to cover its previous yellow hue.
The governor's suite hasn't been renovated since a $75,000 project by Mr. Schaefer in 1987.
Mr. Glendening's renovations seem reasonable, some state legislators said. "I don't think he's an extravagant person. It's not his style," said Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, a Baltimore Democrat.
Del. Robert L. Flanagan, a Howard County Republican, disagreed.
"We are in a decade that demands austerity, and I think the governor needs to be very careful in expenditures of this type. Certainly some things, like repairing water damage, I would support. On the other hand, buying new sofas and other new furnishings are an extravagance," he said.
While the governor has been telling state agencies to make a bigger effort to award contracts to Maryland companies, his wallpaper installation contract went to a Virginia outfit. The designer recommended G & G Wallcovering of Woodbridge, Va., so the state allowed the firm to submit a bid, which was lowest, said Ms. Rozner and Mr. Walls.
When told a Virginia company was involved, Mr. Glendening said, "What? I'm not aware of that."
The other six contracts did go to Maryland businesses, and state workers are doing the painting.
