Oprah's Hawaiian adventure began a couple of years ago when her personal trainer turned property manager, Bob Greene, planted the idea that she might buy land on one of the islands. Besotted with the weather, the mountains, and the ocean, Bob had been visiting a certain part of Hawaii for 15 years, looking for "the perfect spot."
He found it in a remote up-country region, where the houses that dot the moss-covered rock hillside face the ocean. Bob then convinced Oprah to look at a nearby property for sale. "He was worried that some developer might swoop up the land and build condos," Oprah says.
Instead, she bought the land—and has no plan to build any condos.
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| The home |
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| Oprah can pull up a chair and watch the clouds roll by from the veranda of the master bedroom. The sheer panels, made from a Pollack Belgian linen, catch the ocean breeze. "She liked [the home's] small scale," Ellie says. "She already has a large home in Santa Barbara—this seems to go back to something real and personal. It's a great house for her and two or three friends." |
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| From her bedroom, Oprah can step directly onto the terrace. The high ceiling creates an open and airy space, and a flower motif, designed by Ellie, was stenciled between the beams to continue the folk-art feel. A custom chair, sofa, and ottoman—which doubles as a table—allow the room to be used as a comfortable sitting room. |
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| The horses on the hills surrounding the ranch provided Oprah and Ellie with a strong theme for the living room. On one of their shopping trips, a late-19th-century American weather vane in the shape of a galloping horse caught Oprah's eye, and Ellie made it the centerpiece of the room. The designer also transformed a reproduction tea canister into a lamp and placed it on a side table near one of the sofas, which were upholstered in a Boussac chenille. The curtains, elaborately embroidered in India, were also made just for this room. |
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| Things that have been in Oprah's life for years have also been put to fresh use, creating a collage of her personal history. A Shaker chest that sat in her Indiana kitchen for 10 years now stands in the front hall; a table from a former pool house fits right into the new dining room. Ellie added the chairs, covering them in a striped cotton that contrasts playfully with the checkerboard design of the wool rug from Beauvais Carpets. "I grew up in a rural folk environment, and I'm still rooted in things that have brought me comfort over the years," Oprah says. |
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| In the kitchen, Ellie had the ceiling stenciled with a pattern inspired by an old quilt. Windsor-style bar stools pull up to the island, above which hangs a triple light fixture from Ann-Morris Antiques. The gas range is from Wolf. The polka-dot dinner plates and bowls are from Vietri. Floral design throughout is by Sheryl Suzuki and Eileen Woods. Even across the Pacific and far from her roots, Oprah has created a place to call home. "I love, love, love my house," she says. "It's a gem, so sweet and exquisite. Such a real, normal house. It feels like a nice blanket." Then she adds, "A lovely and soft cashmere one." |
2.Oprah's Guesthouse
After designing every room in her Santa Barbara home, Oprah was ready to turn the design reigns over to someone she trusted. So she called on her hairdresser and confidant of 20 years Andre Walker and his partner of 10 years David Simmons. Before they could say, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, it was time to shop. "We went to the finest place for furniture that a person can go to—Oprah's storage space," Andre says. "She has an amazing collection of heirloom quality furniture from the farm she used to own in Indiana. It was all just sitting there waiting for us to start reupholstering. We felt like kids at Christmas, and she was Oprah Claus," David says, sounding, well, like a kid at Christmas.
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| "The English take what they've accumulated over the years and pass it down and recycle it and develop rooms that have an instant sense of history and drama," says Andre. "Some of Oprah's things have stayed in the back of my mind for ages. For example, there's this painting of a black dog that I've always adored, so we decided to do a room around it. The piece became the focal point in that little green cocoon of a study." The guesthouse's tented study—with its Biedermeier desk, blue leather Art Deco tray table, lotus-and-peony-patterned rug, and fabric-tented ceiling—is now presided over by a gorgeous, panting Labrador that had once hung at Oprah's farmhouse. Marita Bradley Designs handcrafted all the upholstery and pillows with fabrics by Jane Shelton from Holly Hunt. The custom-dyed Scroll rug is from Atelier Lapchi; the étagère table and desk lamp are from Vaughan. |
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| "We fell for these landscapes by Colorado artist Paul K. Smith, and we grouped them together in the dining room. The colors are so vivid, and they change with the light of the day," Andre says. |
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| "I'm not a blue person, so this room meant stepping outside my comfort zone," Oprah says as we take in the soft periwinkle blues, creams, camels, and rich chocolate browns of her library. "But Andre and David made it work." They discovered the room's prize possession—a giant penny—at an antiques fair in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and based the room's color scheme on its faded patina." The weathered surface of the giant penny sign from Harold E. Cole Antiques was the basis for the library's cream and brown accent colors, echoed in a collection of antique mochaware that Andre and David arranged on the floor-to ceiling shelves. The two George IV leather-covered mahogany library chairs were bought at a Christie's auction. |
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| "And we found Carlos Sanchez, this phenomenal painter who totally understood our vision," David adds. "When we couldn't find the right wallpaper, he came in and created those subtle stripes on the walls." |
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| A bathtub |
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| The sofas, upholstered in Scalamandré fabric, face each other across an ottoman covered in a floral from Bergamo Fabrics. The custom rug is from Atelier Lapchi; the chandelier is from Paul Ferrante Inc. |
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| What inspired the lavender master suite? "You have to use restraint with purples. But we wanted to do something very calming—and we kept thinking about the soothing scent of dried lavender," David explains. "We found a rich Manuel Canovas floral for the drapes, so we needed to balance their intensity with softer hues. That's why we upholstered the walls in a frosty orchid shade. But our favorite piece in the bedroom is the Joseph M. Cintron portrait of a woman. Is she gorgeous or what?" The fabrics for the canopy, bed skirt, and draperies are by Manuel Canovas from Cowtan & Tout. The bed(top left) is dressed with Leontine Linens from Bergdorf Goodman. The carpeting is from the Mitchell Denburg Collection. The painting, Head Up High by Joseph M. Cintron, is from the Richard Norton Gallery. |
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| With its plush chairs, enchanting black marble fireplace, a big, fat coral sofa that begs you to curl up with a delicious book, and taffeta curtains Scarlett O'Hara would have happily worn to the Oscars®. "I guess," he continues, "we thought about who Oprah is—her eye for detail, the way she believes in treating people—and tried to build a house that reflects her taste and attitude." |
3.Oprah's Teahouse
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| Oprah sits on a sofa in her teahouse facing the view—not any view, but the view, the reason she bought her Montecito, California, home and built the teahouse in this spot. Through an arched door framed by wisteria, stairs lead down to a long gravel path bordered on both sides by roses. An elegant copper fountain sits right in the center. Beyond, the path seems to vanish into ocean and islands. Oprah's attention, however, is not on the view but on the very near distance. On grout. Yes, the grout on the stone floor."I chose the color of the grout," she says, "and I chose the particular kind of gravel that was right for the rose garden, and another kind for the pathways. Grout color and gravel size would drive most people nuts. But it's all part of the process for me." |
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| ..Five years ago, when Oprah first envisioned this small building, she planned it as a cutting room for flowers. But as she watched the structure take shape, she thought, "I'm going to want this space for myself." So rather than equip the room with utilitarian countertops and pruning shears, she and her interior designer, Ellie Cullman, filled it with comfortable furnishings—including a green wicker sofa and armchairs. "This is mud from yesterday," Oprah says, pointing at paw marks left on the sofa by her white golden retrievers. "That's what you've got to live with," she adds, proving that she's looking at the long view, too. |
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| The teahouse is where Oprah comes to read, meditate, and enjoy a cup of tea. She could listen to music at the touch of a button but doesn't: "I don't want to affect the mood here." She could transact business here, but doesn't: "No meetings, ever." She may not visit for months at a time, only stopping by when she can really get away. "It's a commitment when I allow myself to come here," Oprah says. But whether she's in Montecito or Chicago or Johannesburg, the existence of the teahouse—just knowing it's there—is essential to her well-being. "It's my dream, having a place like this. Some people ask, 'Why do you need more space?' And I tell them, 'I need it to restore myself.'" Immediately beyond that arched door and the surrounding clusters of purple flowers is her English garden, its varieties of perennials and annuals creating a natural, unplanned feeling. Oprah loves it, she says, "because of its diversity." Below lies the splendor of her rose garden. Planted in parterres that slope down both sides of the central path, it's an acre designed by master rosarian Dan Bifano to ensure that there's always something in bloom. "I had my hands down in the dirt, helping plant these," Oprah says, as she walks through the garden to the orange and butter-yellow roses that contrast so beautifully with a large semicircle of lavender that marks the end of the teahouse garden. |
Knowing Dan Bifano's reputation—he has designed a number of high-profile gardens, including several for Barbra Streisand—Oprah asked to meet him when she moved to Montecito.
After arriving with a bucketful of assorted roses to get a sense of Oprah's reaction to color, style, and texture, Dan created gardens that would complement the colors inside the main house. Then, he spent the next five years—with the help of hybridizer Tom Carruth—bringing an entirely new rose into being.
The Legends Rose, which will be available to the public beginning in December 2008, is one of the largest hybrid teas ever created. Oprah named the rose, which is red with black tips and ruffled petals (like "a Spanish dancer's dress," Bifano says) in honor of the 18 African-American women—the legends—she celebrated with a three-day festival in 2005. She has a photograph of these women hanging in her main house: giants of the arts like Maya Angelou, Tina Turner, and Ruby Dee, side by side with 36 "young'uns" like Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Alicia Keys. "All the young'uns paid tribute to the elders," Oprah says. "I had a ball'
As she continues along a cobblestone road that winds its way through her property, Oprah points out a path—Hallelujah Lane, she calls it—lined with thousands of white hydrangeas. She didn't have a garden when she was a child, she says. "All I had was the hydrangea bush that was in front of my grandmother's porch.
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In Oprah's library at her California home, an African-American doll takes pride of place on the sofa, and two paintings by Harry Roseland (Rent Day and The Writing Lesson) flank the doorway.   |
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| A selection of books on fashion designers and photographers. Oprah's collection has grown to include scores of gorgeous coffee-table books. "There are a lot of fun books in there, which makes it a functioning library for everyday reading," says Oprah's book dealer Kinsey Marable. |
Nate Decorates Oprah's Office:
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| Nate wanted Oprah's main room to feel more like a home than an office. So at one end of the room, he added new sofas for extra seating and created a "mini-screening room" complete with a new flat-screen TV! "I can't believe how big this is!" says Oprah. He refinished Oprah's coffee table in gold leaf and a new limestone top. And with fewer walls and a higher ceiling, Nate could add new windows. Now, natural light plays on the rich fabrics |
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This was Oprah's personal space before Nate Berkus worked his magic. Her main office wasn't conducive for holding creative meetings with her producers; her inner conference room was uninviting and unused. And her closet...well, she had been using an empty office as a walk-in wardrobe!   Nate added floor-to-ceiling custom-made cabinetry to display Oprah's wardrobe. The room is complete with every girls dream—shelves for 192 pairs of shoes! Now Oprah can go shopping in her own closet any time she wants!  After hours of unpacking boxes and putting Oprah's personal mementos back in the space, Nate tells Oprah, "You have the coolest stuff of any one I've ever met!" |
Oprah Makes a Surprise Visit
"One of my favorite hobbies is decorating," says Oprah. "I love looking inside other people's homes!" And when she saw her neighbor Rob Lowe's home featured on the cover of Architectural Digest, she couldn't wait to get inside
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| The View from the Patio The Lowes' backyard has a little something for everyone. When Oprah arrived, Rob was cooking pizza in the outdoor oven. There is also space to relax in the shade next to the hydrangea, take a dip in the pool or play football on their amazing lawn, like their sons do. |
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| Inside the Foyer Oprah took a magnifying glass to the picture of Rob's entryway to get a closer look at the stone tile. Rob says his wife Sheryl gets all the credit for anything beautiful in the house. These tiles are reclaimed stone from an English manor  Oprah's very impressed by the first few rooms of the house, like the piano room complete with chandelier. "Rob, this is so...unexpected." "Go ahead and say it," he says and then whispers, "Grown-up." |
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| The Veranda The tour doesn't stay inside long when Oprah catches a glimpse of the view outside! |
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| The Lowe's New Puppy The view...the company...and the newest member of the Lowe family, a sweet bullmastiff puppy, made this patio Oprah's favorite spot |
7.George Michael Home In England
..Next up, George shows off the library. "It wasn't here when we bought [the house], but I think every house should have a library," he says. "I'd love to tell you that all the books in this library were Shakespeare or Wordsworth, but most of them are just antique books that we bought in bulk. But I think they're just beautiful, so they're kind of furniture rather than cultural input'
The kitchen is modern, but it has some vintage touches like an Aga cooker. "It's an essential ingredient to any British, old-fashioned kitchen—and for people like me and Kenny who indeed are extremely absent-minded," explains George. "The great thing about this is you can stick something in there, like a chicken or whatever, and if you forget that it 's there, you're not gonna burn the house down; you just get a lump of coal for dinner!"
George and Kenny's garden is next to a beautiful 10th century church. Along with a gorgeous garden, their backyard sports a swimming pool and pool house "It's actually lovely to come out here on a summer's evening when it's light, about ten o'clock, and just sit here with all the doors open. It's wonderful," says George.
For George's 40th birthday, Kenny gave him this sundial, which also acts as a compass. It points to the cities where they own other homes.
8.Mindy Grossman Home
It took two seconds for Mindy Grossman to fall in love with the rambling old house and another nine years of gleeful collecting and fearless renovating to make it completely her own. What she's discovered along the way—about honoring the past, embracing the new, and staying true to your vision—could serve as a blueprint for living.
"My husband jokes that this is the only place I can do the movie version of relaxing—which is, you don't sit and relax, you're just in a different environment," says Mindy Grossman. The photograph behind Mindy is by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
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| A PLACE IN THE SUN In the airy sunroom are a Ralph Lauren Home sofa and armchairs upholstered in fabric by John Robshaw Textiles. French garden chairs surround a Moroccan wrought iron and mosaic table, topped by vintage McCoy pottery from Mindy's collection. Above the console at rear, girded by an antique garden fence, is a painted mirror set in antique tin ceiling tiles  The library is still a work in progress (Mindy hasn't settled on a desk or curtains yet), but it's well stocked with thrillers, farm manuals, and classic novels. A sofa upholstered in paisley silk and wool by Christopher Hyland and a Lee Jofa Furniture skirted chair cozy up to a Ralph Lauren Home crocodile and steel table. In the foreground, one of Mindy's favorite pieces: an antique Hunzinger lollipop chair, sized for the petite and "definitely not for my husband—he's not allowed to sit on it."  Mindy and Neil bought a massive portrait of boxer Joe Louis from British artist Sandor Camille—then waited years to find the right wall to hang it on. The painting dominates the great room; the custom-designed coffee table is from Studio JDM, Inc. The fabrics are a study in contrasts: muted shades for the Jim Thompson curtains and Beverly Furniture sofa, vibrant stripes for the twin club chairs.   For fun, not for fanfare, Mindy personalized the dining chairs in her breakfast room with a monogram she worked out with a designer at Monogram Inc.—one of many happy collaborations. The Chelsea armchairs are by Thomas O'Brien for Hickory Chair. The inviting round dining table is by Ebanista  The antique English banquet table in Mindy's dining room (surrounded by chairs originally from a Newport, Rhode Island, "cottage") can easily seat 16. This room is a smorgasbord of color ("I like the mix"), from the shimmering reds of the Persian rug, purchased at auction, to the sunburst tones of the Travers striped silk curtains and the burnished green of two antique Chinese pickle jars. Mindy marvels at the craftsmanship of the handpainted de Gournay wallpaper: "I'd love to go where they make it and just watch them."  The lantern from Jamb, in London, that hangs in the center hall replaced one that was smashed to smithereens in transit. At the foot of the custom-designed staircase, with its idiosyncratically varied spindles and barley-twist newel post, sits a 19th-century English table.  "I'm convinced that there are two kinds of people in life, bath people and shower people," Mindy says. "I'm a shower person. Neil and my daughter are bath people. They're more ethereal, dreamy, you know?" The master bathroom suits them all, with fixtures and a bathtub from Waterworks and a crystal light fixture from ABC Carpet & Home   LA VIE EN ROSE Mindy's teenage daughter, Lizzie, picked out the palace-worthy chair and pillow as well as the rosy linen-velvet wall and curtain fabric, all from Ralph Lauren Home. "There were occasions when I would veto something," Mindy says, "but I figured if she feels a part of the decorating process, she's going to love her room that much more  Neil's friends from Norway often come to stay in the upstairs guest bedroom, "so he calls it the Norwegian room." The Ralph Lauren Home bed, decked in Kashmire bedding and pillows by John Robshaw Textiles, is highlighted by Teresa's Green walls from Farrow & Ball. Side table, John Rosselli Antiques |
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