Michael Smith News>Town And Country

With T&C's blessing, the Chartounis hired Michael S. Smith, a designer who "gives classicism a modern edge," as Dina puts it, for clients including Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Evelynn and Lynn de Rothschild and Rupert and Wendi Murdoch. They'd known Smith for almost a decade and admired the work he'd done in the guest rooms at Shutters, the Santa Monica, California, beach hotel. Though based in LA, the designer is taking on more project in New York these days, including sizeable jobs for clients old and new; he is a regular guest at the Lowell. "Staying at the Lowell is like staying in a town house," Smith says. "There are fireplaces in almost every room, and the service is impeccable."Smith understood the shortcomings of the penthouse and could forecast its potential charm. Inspired by the hotel's Manhattan personality -- more Nora Charles than Nora Ephron -- he started building a story for the suite the way he would have for any client, keeping in mind that the results would have to play well in front of a large audience, provide the succor essential in a grand hotel space and stand up to hard use. "Hotel rooms need to be more flexible and durable than residential rooms," says the designer. "You have to think about providing more storage. You have to think about protecting the walls from scratches and marking, which you do by putting furniture in front of them. Bedroom closets need to be big enough to hold safes. Bedside tables should absolutely not have little drawers in them - people just leave things there and forget about them when they check out."