This year’s Winter White House is a spacious and open 6,000 square-foot home with disappearing walls of glass that open views to the inner courtyard and pool-spa lagoon with its dramatic nighttime underwater mood lighting. Across the vaulted great room, the wall opens to a covered lanai with outdoor kitchen, a lanai open to the sky and a lush green lawn leading to a path to the beach. Large interior living areas and kitchen are warmed with the generous use of tropical koa wood seen on many walls and in the high vaulted ceilings. A South Seas plantation ambiance prevails throughout the home and grounds, which makes it a perfect environment for the president to reconnect with his roots and enjoy entertaining old friends.
Hawaii real estate agent David Dunham said that the house will go up for sale after the Obamas go back to Washington. The price will be about $7.9 million. Dunham would not comment on what the Obamas are paying to lease the property. (The president pays the rental fee out of his own funds.)