In 2009, when Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi bought their compound at the foothills of L.A.'s Santa Monica mountains, the place—at one time a Hollywood estate, in other years a monastery, a rehab center, and a horse facility—seemed a perfect fit for both: de Rossi could spend time with her horses while DeGeneres had eight cabins (plus a few horse barns) to revamp with imported brick and antique furniture. "I can only change the furniture so much and I get bored," Ellen, something of a design and antiques obsessive, tells Elle Decor this month. "Then I need a new structure to work on." As seen in the photos above, there's hardly any part of the estate left untouched by the couple: the horse barn has a French chair from the early 1900s, and another outbuilding boasts a 17th-century Swedish farm table and circa-1930 armchairs. "I have to explain to Ellen that I need to fit a horse in there," De Rossi said.
Overall, the rustic interiors of the compound have a much older, more homespun feel than the interiors of the modern palace DeGeneres sold to Ryan Seacrest last May. Here the comedian and talkshow host strived for "a feeling of country and yet a relaxed sophistication." For another converted space, called the "Romantic Barn" DeGeneres introduced an antique Persian rug and a huge 19th-century portrait to hang on the original redwood walls. In the kitchen area of one cabin: an old bluestone table and 19th-century American Windsor chairs. Cabin 8? A 19th-century chaise, a lamp from 1940, Jean Prouvé chairs, and a fireplace with antique Belgian brick. Check it out, above.
· Riding High: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi's Santa Monica Ranch [Elle Decor]
· All Ellen Degeneres posts [Curbed National]
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