Stellar design

Fit for a star

By: Marilee Spanjian

Published On: September 09, 2010

When Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow slipped into town to film Love Don’t Let Me Down, an upcoming movie with Tim McGraw last January, she stayed at The Icon in the Gulch. Word on the street was the two-bedroom/two-bath 22nd floor, nearly 2,000-square foot penthouse was remodeled to her liking in 10 (yes, you read that right) frenetic, sometimes 18-hour workdays. Our Marilee Spanjian met with Ashlyn Hines, co-founder and principal of Bristol Development Group (the creators of The Icon, Velocity and 1700 Midtown) and Jay Duncan, the development manager.

Is Gwyenth still here?

Ashlyn: No, she stayed around 40 days. Part of the time, her two kids came and her husband, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, even hung out.

Is this all the same furniture?

Ashlyn: Everything’s here for the most part except the bunk beds were swapped out for grown-up size furniture.

Is the penthouse for sale and does it come furnished? The art from Tinney Contemporary and the furniture from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams over in Hill Center? The flat screens and audio system from Costco? Even the towels and dishes?

Ashlyn: For $1.2 million, all you’d need is groceries (which the Icon could provide through their onsite concierge service) and your clothes.

Did Gwyneth know somebody at The Icon? The interior designer?

Ashlyn: For several days, her people scouted it out and then her personal assistant—a 20-something male—met with me at around 8 p.m. on a Friday night.

Did he have a laundry list of demands?

Ashlyn: Not at all. The assistant said Gwyneth really wanted to stay there and she’s fine with everything the way it was. I said we’d love to have her only if we can do the place right. So we called a designer we’d worked with on our models. Two days later on a Sunday afternoon, we met up in the penthouse with Gwyneth. We showed her what we had in mind. She loved it.

Who paid for it all?

Ashlyn: We paid for it. We saw it as a win-win situation, an opportunity to remodel a penthouse.

What all was done? And who deserves major kudos?

Ashlyn: Everyone did his or her part. While the designer ran around selecting furnishings and accessories, the next morning, Jay had six demo guys ripping out the master bathroom. The plumber detoured some of the pipes and the electrician pulled wires. Someone else patched drywall and right behind him, another guy cleaned up.

At any given time, how many people were working there?

Jay: Easily, 30. It took a lot of patience, sometimes from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Jay, what else did you do?

Jay: We took down part of a wall to open up the den. We added white subway tile from Mission Stone & Tile up the walls in the kitchen. We swapped out the appliances and put in Viking products from Cenwood Appliances. Hermitage Lighting Gallery supplied all the lighting and the paint came from Sherwin Williams over on 9th Avenue.

Whew! Was that it?

Jay: By day four, we built a platform for a tub we found at Hermitage Lighting. Dale Glass installed the shower glass. We installed the tile on the walls and floors in the master bath. Proctor Granite & Marble installed the granite vanity tops and we reused the sinks and faucets. By the end of the week, painters were up on scaffolding and using a single man lift to reach the 25-foot walls.

What about the cool floor?

Jay: It’s Eco Cork tile by Mohawk that Floorz in Cool Springs (shipped in overnight from Atlanta). We even ordered a longer track from The Sliding Door Company in California for the new frosted glass panels. Seven days later, the designer was moving in furniture and Susan Tinney was hanging art.

Any penthouses still available besides this one?

Ashlyn: On the 22nd floor, there are five units, all with mid-town views that can be combined to create between 2,000-5,000 square feet residences.

Finally, would you do it again? Build out a place this fast?

Ashlyn: (after long pause) If Oprah, Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, George Clooney or Faith and Tim called, we’d do it again. Absolutely.

Did you hear that Jay? It could happen again.

Jay: (I assume with a touch of sarcasm) Let’s hope they don’t show up, not with an eight-day turn-around.