Luxe Living

Reese Witherspoon is letting go of her Tennessee-style Ojai, CA estate for a cool $10 million, reports The Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive interview with listing agent Billy Rose. Pregnant with her third child, Witherspoon is expanding her family, yet unloading a fabulous piece of real estate – one that’s been brilliantly marketed in recent months by the Legally Blonde star.

The home made headlines in March of last year as it was the wedding destination for Witherspoon’s marriage to second husband Jim Toth. If you’ve been keeping up with your Twilight drama, you’ve read rumors that Witherspoon offered the Ojai home to her Water For Elephants co-star Robert Pattinson as an escape from the media during his ex-girlfriend Kristin Stewart’s affair scandal. Pattinson is now left to face Hollywood as he can no longer find future refuge in the Ojai hills. The retreat recently made headlines yet again as Witherspoon stands alongside her home on the cover and in a full length spread of this month’s issue of Elle Décor on newsstands now.

Although we think this marvelous country retreat doesn’t need much media exposure to sell, Witherspoon may be seeking a new buyer in hopes of catching someone’s eye in the same way as it did hers. In 2008, Reese swooped the property from prominent interior designer Kathryn Ireland for $5.8 million after it was featured in House Beautiful. Since then, Witherspoon has renovated the space, clearly adding tremendous value, as she’s selling for about twice as much as she originally paid.

Built in 1923 and hidden away in the Ojai Valley hills, the vacation retreat was originally designed by architect Wallace Neff as a barn, later turned to an actual home in the 1940’s by architect Austen Pierpoint. The Spanish architecture gives the home tons of personality and allows for a true getaway. The rustic, century-old designs comes alive with the stone-lined hallways and wood beamed ceilings. A cool and relaxing ambiance surrounds the space as natural light graces each room and views of the hills can be seen throughout. In the recent issue of Elle Decor, Witherspoon nicknamed the home “Libbey Ranch” and describes it as “meditative and restorative,” like “having a little bit of Tennessee in California.”

With four bedrooms and three and a half bath, the 5,000 square foot main home seems minuscule on the seven-acre property, yet horse stables, three guest cottages, a carriage house and swimming pool take up the remainder of the land - perfect for a large family to relax and escape to a quiet, country vacation.

Billy Rose of The Agency has the listing.

It’s not all sprawling mansions, sky-high penthouses or luxury pied-a-terres for the rich and famous – sometimes they like to spend a little time out on the ranch. Far, far away from the craziness of Hollywood or the hectic hustle and bustle of New York City, celebs crave a little downtime underneath the stars and away from the smog. For your viewing pleasure, we’ve put together a list of 5 stellar celeb-owned ranches:

Whoopi Goldberg’s Marlboro Vermont Colonial Ranch & Farm

On 745 acres, the Whoopi Goldberg-owned Robinson-Winchester Farm was completely renovated and remodeled in 2004 to exceptional standards. No expense was spared in the renovations from the beautiful 1790 colonial home to the multiple out buildings and barns and the 2 bedroom bunkhouse.The property features a tremendous equestrian facility and 15 miles of groomed woodland trails and 67+ acres of open pasture. The private estate also comes with conserved land.

Dennis Quaid Selling Sprawling Emigrant, Montana Estate for $14M

On 418 acres in Emigrant, Montana, Dennis Quaid’s ranch is on the market for $14,000,000. Located in the Paradise Valley of Southwest Montana, this ranch has it all: prime fishing for approximately 2 miles on both sides of Six Mile Creek and two ponds, horseback riding on the ranch and in the National Forest adjoining the ranch. Incredible views abound from a private and beautiful owners’ residence. The property features a 3-bedroom, 4-bathroom main home, as well as 4 guest houses, a ranch manager’s home and horse facilities.

Carole King Lists Robinson Bar Ranch in Stanley, Idaho for $16M

It isn’t often that a property this unique comes up for sale. The deeded property base and improvements provide security and comfort in the midst of a truly wild area managed by the USFS. The ranch is easily accessible by car and within a 20-minute drive to Stanley, Idaho and an hour-and-a-quarter drive to Sun Valley. The listing claims that “when you close the ranch gate behind you, the clock is turned back to another time and the incredible soul of this place will change your life.”

Bill Gates’ Florida Equestrian Rental

While we can’t exactly qualify this property as a down-home ranch, it makes the list for it’s sprawling land and incredible luxury equestrian facilities. Currently on the market for $12,999,000, this Wellington, Florida home is the current winter rental residence of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. According to reports, Gates is ponying up $600,000 a month to rent the property while his daughter is in town competing in the Winter Equestrian Festival, a five-month-long event. While occupying the property, the Gates family will enjoy an ultra-luxry main residence and a state-of-the-art barn.

Sheryl Crow’s Tennessee Ranch

Sheryl Crow has been trying to sell her College Grove, Tennessee ranch since 2010. The home had a recent status change to “off-the-market,” which hopefully means Ms. Crow was able to send the property out to pasture and onto a new owner. Luxe Living recently wrote about how she had been trying to unload the equestrian estate named Cross Creek Farm since early 2010, to no success. She even put the pastoral palace up for auction in November of 2010 with a minimum bid of $1,000,000. The auction was a flop, and the home toiled on the open market for months with a $4,500,000 price tag – a 40% price cut from its original list price. The hard-to-sell property is no eye-sore – it’s actually a beautiful 150-acre estate that includes a full equestrian facility with a 14 stall barn and indoor riding arena.

Dennis Quaid is selling his beloved 418 acre Montana ranch for $14,000,000. The home was once owned by Hollywood legends Warren Oates and Sam Peckinpah, who co-owned the property and eventually sold it to Quaid.  Prior to becoming a getaway for Hollywood elite, this special place has been inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans using it as an entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Located in the Paradise Valley of Southwest Montana, this ranch has it all: prime fishing for approximately 2 miles on both sides of Six Mile Creek and two ponds, horseback riding on the ranch and in the National Forest adjoining the ranch. Incredible views abound from a private and beautiful owners’ residence. The property features a 3-bedroom, 4-bathroom main home, as well as 4 guest houses, a ranch manager’s home and horse facilities. It also featured a domed observatory, which Quaid built as homage to his childhood fascination with the stars. Quaid said, “I was into astronomy as a kid…now I sit and watch the stars.”

Historic gold mines are on the property, which borders the Gallatin National Forest, within one mile of the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Area. The Quaid’s residence is approximately 5300 square feet and was designed by Frank Cikan and published in Architectural Digest.