Gwyneth Paltrow has gone way, way beyond her acting roots to extend her goopy influence.
She founded the wellness and lifestyle brand Goop, which has led to Netflix specials and unmentionable candles. But beyond her forays into woo-woo lifestyle choices, the Oscar winner has bought and sold luxury homes on both coasts, from the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, to New York City, the Hamptons, and Malibu.
However, her Montecito, CA, mansion, which she shares with her husband, Bradley Falchuk, represents a first. It’s her maiden attempt at building a home from the ground up.
Once it was finished, she invited Architectural Digest to tour the space. As she told the magazine in an understatement, “It was quite an undertaking.”
The resulting video gives us all a peek at the eye-popping results.
Montecito location
The exclusive enclave just outside Santa Barbara has become a stomping ground for A-list celebrities including Katy Perry, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, as well as Oprah Winfrey. According to AD, Paltrow first fell for the seaside town while she was attending two semesters at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
In 2016, she returned to the California coast to swoop in and buy a teardown with potential on 2.4 acres for just under $5 million.
Should Paltrow ever tire of the elegant estate, she could always follow in the footsteps of other notable neighbors, like Adam Levine and Meg Ryan, and flip the home for a hefty profit. Right now, Montecito’s median listing home price is a whopping $5,795,000, and only 43 homes are currently up for sale.
Spectacular spaces
When Paltrow picked up the property, she recalled to AD, “There were wild animals living there and swarms of bugs, but I fell in love with the land and the views.”
These days, the views inside are also pretty impressive. There’s no doubt that she has her own sense of style, but she tapped plenty of like-minded talents to help design and decorate. She commissioned Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of Roman and Williams, the firm that had designed her Tribeca loft in Manhattan, AD notes.
For the showstopping decor, her friend the designer Brigette Romanek brought in pieces to help create the home’s unique combination of timeless and modern.
Paltrow also admits to being inspired by images on the internet, just like us.
A European-themed entryway features black-and-white tile, plants, and a wood-burning fireplace, one of many throughout the home.
The dining room features a chandelier that her friend Romanek selected. At first Paltrow wasn’t sold on it, calling it “a little futuristic for me,” but she reports she has since decided that it’s “pretty cool and fabulous.”
Calling her kitchen the “heart of the home,” she requested that the range be set in a central position.
“I cook so much and spend so much time facing the wall,” she says of her other kitchens. With this design tweak, she can see her family while she whips up feasts.
As for what she calls the “bonkers in the best way” living room, the space includes a swing, a massive marble bar, and lighting on the ceiling that loops around like a necklace. An enormous U-shaped sectional couch allows everyone to snuggle up.
“We use it all the time,” she says.
Among all these opulent features, the highlight has to be her own personal spa. The space, which is as big as an indoor pool, contains showers, a sauna, steam room, hot tub, and a cold plunge.
“I’m into wellness, so I feel it’s justified, right?” she says.
The extravagant space even amazes Paltrow herself.
“I use it all the time. Whenever I’m in here, I’m like: Pinch me! I can’t believe that this is our house,” she told the magazine.