While most features of the main lobby remain original, new additions include area carpets and carpet borders, and previously unused skylights, which were uncovered during renovations.
Carpets: The area rugs found in the Main Lobby are excellent examples of the pride that craftsmen once took in their product. They were manufactured by a company that was in business at the time the State House was originally completed. They were woven, as the original carpets would have been, on old style looms.
All of the area carpets are bordered with a stylistic palmetto leaf design. The palmetto leaf represents the palmetto tree, the state tree of South Carolina. The palmetto is also represented on the state flag of South Carolina and the South Carolina state seal.
Skylights: The skylights above the main lobby were discovered during the renovations and have been left open for aesthetic purposes as well as for providing natural light in the lobby.
