Before and After: A classic beauty with a modern twist
An 18-month, $3-million renovation transformed an outdated penthouse into a hideaway that’s both lush and kid-friendly.
As the chief executive of lingerie company Naked Princess, Jordana Woodland is surrounded by luxurious loungewear, lacy bras and gold-flaked body powder when she’s at work.
At home, however, her living quarters were hardly fit for royalty.
In 2011, Woodland purchased one of two penthouse units inside the Remington, a luxury condo building in Westwood, for $10 million. Despite the high price tag, the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom condo was filled with outdated orange-tinged oak floors, awkward angles and drab interiors.
An 18-month, $3-million collaboration between Woodland and LM Pagano, her longtime interior designer, transformed it into a hideaway that’s both lush and kid-friendly.
“Jordana is a devastatingly gorgeous and glamorous girl, yet her taste is elegantly simple,” Pagano said. “I wanted her home to reflect all of this, and still be a place you would feel comfortable flopping down anywhere, which is totally in keeping with her personality.”
In reimagining the space, Pagano drew from a mix of European, Hollywood Regency and Art Deco styles, but incorporated a clean and modern twist. Swarovski crystal chandeliers, velvets and shagreen adorn the unit.
“She loves her shagreen,” Pagano said of the rough, granulated surface material, which can be found inset on bureaus, cabinets and tabletops, adding texture throughout the condo.
Pagano also retained the unit’s original herringbone pattern on the floors, but bleached it three times and stained it to incorporate shades of pale grays and taupes.
Plush Italian velvet and leather sofas, natural and faux fur pillows, and thick carpets throughout the home soften the look, making it inviting for Woodland and her three children.
With Woodland’s entrepreneurial lifestyle in mind, Pagano also added secret pullouts in many table pieces. That enabled the busy mother to pull out a small desk from various furnishings and start working wherever.
Pagano also smoothed out the penthouse’s awkward angles. She added a grand sweep to the last few steps of the formerly narrow, sharply angled staircase, then replaced its spindle balustrade with a hammered wrought-iron geometric design, backed with shatterproof glass.
Gone, too, is the sharply angled interior balcony and narrow landing that interrupted the dramatic look of the high ceilings, replaced by a softly curving design and a wider landing that the two turned into a seating area.
In the kitchen, the stove was moved from the island to a side wall. Brown mahogany was nixed in favor of cool gray cabinetry with lead crystal and nickel handles. The outdated brown mosaic backsplash and beige-brown granite countertop were replaced with a veined calacatta gold marble.
But Pagano’s piece de resistance was saved for the master bedroom, where a specially hand-painted de Gournay wallcovering depicting plum blossoms creates a canopy over Woodland’s bed.
“We planned where every branch would be placed. I did not want it to look like thunderbolts were radiating from the headboard,” said Pagano, whose clients have included Johnny Depp and Nicolas Cage.
The designer’s eye for detail also extends to Woodland’s freestanding vanity, which covers almost all of the east wall.
“I love the idea of a woman having her own space, separate from her husband’s,” Woodland said.
It’s carved with a hand-applied antiqued paint finish with mirrored insets. When the armoires on either end of the vanity are opened, their teal blue interiors match the tones of the room’s wallpaper.
After years splitting her time between the Westwood condo and her Montana property, Woodland is now selling the penthouse for $20 million.
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