Ellen DeGeneres Picks Up Revised Midcentury Bungalow Near Montecito’s Butterfly Beach

Now that Ellen DeGeneres’ long-running talk show will soon be permanently retired, it seems the stand-up veteran and TV host is looking to transition into full-time producing work. Back in March, the Louisiana native inked a multi-year deal with Discovery to create natural history content for the platform and Discovery Plus.

There’s also a transition of sorts happening on the real estate front, too. Back in April, DeGeneres officially cut her last remaining residential tie to Los Angeles — selling her Tudor-style Beverly Hills mansion for $45 million to a still-unidentified buyer. Now the 63-year-old and Portia De Rossi have begun gobbling up properties up north in Montecito, including a $49 million spread acquired from Dennis Miller last year and a $14.3 million ranch they recently bought back from Tinder founder Sean Rad, bringing the total value of homes they’ve owned to more than $450 million.

The couple has also dropped $2.9 million on a decidedly more petite estate, this one a two-bedroom, two-bath bungalow squirreled away just steps from Montecito’s blissful Butterfly Beach and the now-closed Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore. Privately hidden at the very end of a long driveway shared with three other homes — none of them owned by celebrities — the low-slung house offers about 1,700 square feet of living space.

Built in 1954 and described in the listing as a “single level contemporary jewel,” the structure has clearly seen extensive renovations over the years. Now a collection of rich materials and sun-drenched living spaces, the house and its nearly half-acre property have a decidedly Bali-esque vibe, with dozens of palms and other lush subtropical plantings scattered about.

While interior photographs of are somewhat sparse, they do reveal that the glassy home boasts an open-concept living plan centered around a sleek kitchen. There are stainless appliances, a stone-topped center island, and custom cabinets trimmed in exotic wood, plus a vaulted ceiling with whitewashed exposed beams.

Immediately off the kitchen lies a petite guest bedroom; further down a hallway is the master wing, with a bedroom sporting large sliding doors opening to a spacious patio bordered by lush landscaping. The master bath offers a soaking tub and seamless access to a privately walled courtyard.

The property notably does not currently include a swimming pool, though the listing notes there is “plenty of room” for that “or a guesthouse.” However, the place is already equipped with high-tech acoustic fending for noise reduction, a big benefit given the property backs directly up to the local Santa Barbara train tracks, and bustling Highway 101 just beyond that.

Nancy Kogevinas at Berkshire Hathaway held the listing; Riskin Partners Group at Village Properties repped DeGeneres.