Gayle King Selling the Big House

SELLER: Gayle King
LOCATION: Richmond Hill Road, Greenwich, CT
PRICE: $7,450,000
SIZE: 10,433 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 7 full and 3 half bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Elegant and luxurious, the magnificent colonial presides over four private back country acres. The graceful floor plan commences with a dramatic 18' reception hall and flows to the step-down living room with fireplace, a solarium, and library with fireplace...Upstairs, the second floor features four spacious en suite bedrooms with walk-in closets. The remarkable master suite offers a large bedroom with fireplace, generous bath, enormous dressing room, and 22x14 sitting room...Separate au-pair/staff accommodations and a 3-car garage.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Back in mid-January all the real estate gossips went plum berserk over the rumors and reports that television titan Oprah Winfrey forked over nearly $7,500,000 for a glassy penthouse in Midtown Manhattan for her bestie ladee friend Gayle King. Since it appeared that Miz King was moving to Manhattan, all the real estate freaks like Your Mama wondered if she would soon be selling her gigantic Greenwich, CT manse. Well guess what children? Thanks to a tipster we'll call The Pied Piper, Your Mama has learned that Miz King's back country behemoth is indeed listed for sale with an asking price of $7,450,000.

Property records show the Richmond Hill Road residence was purchased in August of 2000 for $3,600,000. The owner of record is a trust which happens to be the very same trust in which property records show several of Miz Winfrey's many properties are held. Hmm. Make of that what you will children, but it looks to Your Mama's untrained and gin soaked eye that Miz Winfrey may in fact be the real owner of this house. What kind of rent do we think Miz King is asked to pay?

Listing information shows that the stone fronted colonial style house measures in at an expensive to heat and cool 10,433 square feet and includes 6 bedrooms, 7 full and 3 half bathrooms. Your Mama hopes that Miss Oprah also springs for a full time gurl to keep all ten of them terlits sparkling clean at all times because you know there's hell to pay if Oprah shows up to find pubic hair on the powder room terlit.

Anyhoo, listing information also tells us that the four floor crib sits on four acres and includes such dee-luxe amenities as four fireplaces, a 3-car garage, staff accommodations, a media room/home thee-ay-ter, and a third floor family room with window alcoves, bar and bathroom. In addition to the four en-suite bedrooms, the master suite includes a commodious sitting room, big bathroom and a dressing room fitted and kitted for a billionaire's bestie.

Out back is a free form swimming pool with an attached spa where we imagine Miz King and Miz Winfrey enjoy relaxing in the evenings with an expensive bottle of Chardonnay when the talk show queen blows into town on her private plane. We don't know why, but we picture Miz Winfrey wearing a shower cap so that she doesn't get her do wet while settin' in the spa.

As for the day-core, well, it's clearly not the handiwork of Oprah's favorite nice gay decorator Nate Berkus and it should be no surprise to the children that it's far to fussy and formal for our personal taste. Undoubtedly the carpets cost more than Your Mama's big BMW but to our untrained eye they still look like remnants from the recent redo at The Plaza. And the drapery! Pleeze. Let's not even talk about all that crazy swagged fabric adorning the windows. Your Mama knows deep in our snarky soul that a mountain of money was spent on all that Scalamandré and Brunschwig & Fils fabric, but dear Jeezis in heaven why do rich people have to swag their curtains like that?

As far as Your Mama knows gurl friend Gayle only occupies the place in Greenwich and now the 57th Street penthouse, but mega money Oprah has properties all over the damn country including (but not limited to) a fancy Fisher Island condo in Miami, a 39th floor condo in Atlanta (in the same building as Miss Elton John), a farm in Merrillville, Indiana, another condo in Nashville (and it appears a small house in Franklin, TN too). Then there's another damn condo in unlikely Milwaukee and who could forget the $40,000,000 manse in Montecito, CA (plus another one nearby), her Hawaiian outpost in Hana or cushy condo she is rumored to have purchased in Chicago in late 2006.

Although Your Mama would feel like we were living up in rich grandma's house, we imagine Miz King's krib will appeal to some newbie hedge hog or some other banker type with a pretty wife and a couple of young kiddies who is looking to move up in the real estate game.