Oprah Winfrey's Montecito California Tea House - Special Space

Oprah Winfrey's Montecito California Tea House - Special Space

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.

The Montecito California Mansion of Oprah Winfrey - Tea House

The Montecito California Mansion of Oprah Winfrey - Tea House

Tea House Garden - Oprah Winfrey's Montecito California House

Tea House Garden - Oprah Winfrey's Montecito California House

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.

Oprah Winfrey's Montecito California Tea House When it was Newly Built

Oprah Winfrey's Montecito California Tea House When it was Newly Built

Tea House - Oprah Winfrey's Montecito California House

Tea House - Oprah Winfrey's Montecito California House

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."

Hollywood Celebrities Luxury Homes Design Worth Drooling Over

Celebrity homes are the most viewed homes and why not they surely make you stare at the gigantic farmhouses and villas with an open mouth. The Hollywood celebrities really know how to live in style and most of them have houses that are stretches over acres of land. One another common factor in most of their houses is a huge open swimming pools either in the backyard or on their terrace. These castle shaped homes shown below are of the top brands of Hollywood.

The first image shown below is the mansion of the late Michael Jackson. Its a huge place with around 12 luxurious bedrooms.

Michael Jackson House Celebrity Homes

The image shown below is the house of Ben Affleck.
Ben Affleck House Celebrity Homes

Johny Depp House Celebrity Homes

This beautiful house belongs to John Travolta. He surely knows how to live in style.
John Travolta House Celebrity Homes

Nicholas Cage House Celebrity Homes

Sylvester Stallone House Celebrity Homes

The Spellings Home Celebrity Homes