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.

Oprah called Ellie, her Hawaiian decorator, after seeing a photograph of Ellie’s Connecticut home on the cover of a magazine; she was attracted to its informal American country style. When the phone rang and Ellie heard Oprah on the other end of the line, Ellie says, “I jumped out of the

Ellie and Oprah traveled to Hawaii a couple of months after the fact. “I saw a little yard, a kitchen that required work, a main room that didn’t confront the view and had a low roof, and no association among inside and outside,” Ellie says. “The first arrangement was to make a speedy showing on the house then, at that point, contemplate building a definitive Hawaii property.”

Which began as a little remodel before long transformed into a significant venture. Structural originator Jeff Wooley, of John B. Murray Designer, rejiggered the peculiar floor intend to make less-precise rooms and afterward, with the assistance of T.M.C. General Contracting Inc. what’s more, a group of specialists, stripped the house to its essential construction, moved the flight of stairs, raised the roof of the main room, introduced French entryways all through, and wrapped the entire with a superbly wide veranda — an extraordinary spot to sit and absorb the general view.

The liberal wraparound patio looks as though it’s been important for the house until the end of time. The outside furniture from Weatherend matches the railing’s straightforward lines.

Photo by Michel Arnaud, styling by Carlos Mota

Sorting out some way to outfit the rooms was difficult. From the beginning, Ellie and her group investigated Hawaiian textures and collectibles, feeling that the rooms ought to mirror the area. Yet, that wasn’t the very thing that Oprah had as a top priority. “They accompanied pineapple knick-knacks and enormous blossom things. They had everything except a hula skirt,” she reviews. “I said, ‘Hold up! If I have any desire to see Hawaii, I’ll simply leave.'”

The inside decorator returned to her planning phase, and by the following time they generally met, Oprah realized Ellie was doing great — particularly when Ellie, a previous people craftsmanship keeper, proposed they go out to shop for the sort of uncommon collectibles that are essential for the American legacy.

The ponies on the slopes encompassing the farm gave Oprah and Ellie a solid subject for the lounge room. On one of their shopping trips, a late-nineteenth century American climate vane looking like a running pony grabbed Oprah’s attention, and Ellie made it the focal point of the room. The fashioner likewise changed a multiplication tea canister into a light and put it on a side table close to one of the couches, which were upholstered in a Boussac chenille. The draperies, extravagantly weaved in India, were likewise made only for this room.

Photo by Michel Arnaud, styling by Carlos Mota

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.

Photo by Michel Arnaud, styling by Carlos Mota

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.”

Photo by Michel Arnaud, styling by Carlos Mota

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.

Photo by Michel Arnaud, styling by Carlos Mota

A strong connection to her past drew Oprah to The Waterboy, a 1946 masterpiece by the famous American painter Thomas Hart Benton. It’s one of her most recent purchases and one of the most dramatic. “He’s like someone I knew growing up,” she says of the painting’s plaid-shirted, straw-hatted young man. “I bought him because I loved him.” Now in the dining room, his presence powerful and alive, The Waterboy is like a welcome old friend.On the 18th-century English dresser, which still retains its original blue paint, a cluster of multicolored French Jaspé pottery pitchers stands between two brass candlesticks housed in 19th-century glass hurricanes.Art © T.H. Benton and R.P. Benton Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by Vaga, New York, NY.

Photo by Michel Arnaud, styling by Carlos Mota

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.”