House hunting in Montecito once again, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi turned up a pair of investments properties. According to Dirt, the pair purchased a 3,118 sq. ft. residence for $8.067 million and change, and spent another $5.4 million, an above-ask figure, for a nearby and somewhat smaller home. They put the latter right back on the market for $5.995 million.
The larger of the houses dates to 1925, and shows a bit of Monterey Colonial inspiration in its exterior details. It contains three bedrooms and three baths; shared living spaces include a marvelously classical two-story living room with a tiled staircase finished with a wrought iron balustrade that continues on the upper floor, exposed ceiling trussing, and a pendant fixture.
The secondary property in the purchase run is a cottage dating to the 1910s. The single-level home’s design is rendered in horseshoe-shape, with a large front deck playing the part of both entryway and primary outdoor living space.
The properties join the duo’s notable residential holdings in Montecito: Rancho San Leandro, a 19th-century property which they have now owned twice, and for which they most recently paid $14.3 million; and the newer curiosity titled Villa Tragara, for which they shelled out $21 million in March of this year. A month after the couple’s recent purchase, they sold a beautiful modern in Beverly Hills for $8.8 million.
