3 min readWhen she first laid eyes on the Stacks lofts, a converted 1880s textile mill in Atlanta, HGTV star and designer Alison Victoria immediately knew she had to buy a unit, even if only to flip it. At the time, Victoria was living in her native Chicago filming Windy City Rehab and visiting Atlanta occasionally. By the time the show wrapped, she’d made an offer on a unit in the Stacks, never really intending to live there. But the further along the project got, the more she fell in love with it. “I started getting really into the project and decided I wanted to keep this home for the rest of my life,” Victoria admits. “I have never loved a place as much as this one.”
The two-bedroom, two-bath loft sits on the fourth floor of the landmark complex in Cabbagetown, a neighborhood in downtown Atlanta. Victoria enlisted a local contractor, Alistair Herriot of Hammertime Construction, and her lead designer, Kristy Yarbrough, to help revamp the space, extending the mezzanine level over the ground-floor kitchen to make the primary suite roomier. The sprinkler system was heightened to accommodate tall accent pieces on that level, which was no easy feat. To give the 26-foot ceiling an infinite feel, it was painted (along with the walls and exposed pipes) Pure White by Benjamin Moore.
The loft’s concrete floors had a red-orange stain, so Victoria laid vinyl plank flooring that resembles hardwood. But a few original aspects were deemed worth keeping: patinated wood posts and a spiral staircase, which Victoria revived with a newel post from an old Chicago mansion. In the kitchen, new brass upper cabinets and sconces draw attention to the custom range hood by local artisan Mark Wentz. Antique finds, Victoria’s specialty, are everywhere, including an 18th-century marble mantel that now anchors the main seating area. Upstairs, to enclose the wardrobe and en suite bath, Victoria put aged French doors on a barn track.
Throughout, the designer sourced pieces from Chicago and Atlanta. “I’m kind of in a transition phase right now,” she admits. “What do I want? Where do I want to be? What makes me happy? Chicago will always be home, but it doesn’t have to be the only one.”
SPIRAL STAIRS
The impactful feature anchors the open floor plan.
Victoria spiced up the existing spiral staircase with an old, solid metal newel post topped with a blown-glass finial rolled in 24-karat gold leaf.
SITTING AREA
Pillar candles fill the non-working fireplace, adding ambiance.
“I had never seen a mantel this big,” Victoria says of the antique piece salvaged from Architectural Accents. “It will come with me wherever I go.”
DINING AREA
Overscale details call attention to the home’s high ceilings.
A custom banquette by Americo Fabrication & Design is flanked by built-ins constructed by Ari Smejkal of Hammer Design Group.
KITCHEN
A minimal black and white palette is chic and timeless.
“I wanted a hood unlike anything you’ve ever seen, one that’s artistic and also functions properly,” Victoria says of the custom cover by Mark Wentz of Americo Fabrication & Design.
COFFEE STATION
A hinged cabinet door keeps gear out of sight until you need it.
“It’s like having your own barista with the push of one button,” says Victoria of her coffee machine, which is tucked into an appliance garage in the kitchen to keep the space looking streamlined.
PRIMARY BEDROOM
A graphic headboard brings pattern to the space.
Gold and olive green give the bedroom an elegant yet calming atmosphere.
CLOSET
Antique doors make for a one-of-a-kind entrance.
A 360-degree rotating closet system by Closet Works features a hidden full-length mirror and ample storage for shoes. Sourced from The Corbel, the French doors that close off the space are from the 1800s.
PRIMARY BATHROOM
Antique details give the room patina.
“I wanted a real accent wall that wasn’t all paint,” Victoria says of the Phillip Jeffries grasscloth wallcovering hand-painted with 24-karat gold. A solid bronze doorframe from an old elevator elegantly frames it.
