In early 2020, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s ongoing list of come-and-go Montecito properties was augmented with a unique example: a 1986-built home primarily constructed out of two transplanted 18th-century English barns. A unique provenance, to be sure, and one which gives the resulting residence a palpable sense of the historic and atmospherics you can almost swim in.
The duo listed it within months of acquisition for $6.9 million and, in the late spring of 2020, Ariana Grande dropped by for a peek and decided to take on the investment for $6.8 million. Now Grande has sold the house in turn, according to Dirt. The chanteuse accepted an offer of $9.1 million for the property.
The estate’s residence isn’t the only reason for its extraordinary living style. The house sits on 1.35 acres of canopy-shaded grounds, with stone walking paths traversing gardens and meandering past varied plantings, an ideal setting for a time-defying Tudor escape.
The interior living spaces of the home are remarkable by virtue of materials used and conjured period feel. The original barn timbers combine with diamond-pane windows, fireplaces in plaster, stone and red brick, and brick, slate and plank floors to leave the 21st century behind. The breathtaking room is the great room, a cathedral-like space with walls of plaster in a lattice of half-timbers. The baths, thankfully, modernize.
Grande has sold over 85 million records worldwide. Her six studio releases all topped the Billboard 200 chart save one, which peaked at number two.
