In December, The Stacks at Fulton Cotton Mill announced a Design a Loft Contest.  For this competition The Stacks partnered with SCAD’s Atlanta campus to get interior design students involved. 

 From January 4 through January 29, The Stacks opened up Unit E126 to aspiring designers to submit design presentations for the loft’s living room, and local students from the Atlanta campus of Savannah College of Art and Design exceeded expectations with their professional-quality entries.  SCAD student Christine Hudson is the first place winner, and as a result, her design has been implemented as a model unit at The Stacks that is now on display for the public and available for purchase. 

The lofts at The Stacks offer aspiring designers a wonderful palette to create a livable design to showcase to the public. Hudson and other competitors were required to adhere to a budget of $5,000 or less (including design fee, furniture, merchandise, paint, lighting and installation) and had to accommodate the profile of a 33-year-old clothing boutique owner who is currently renting in Inman Park but is looking to purchase a new home with her boyfriend who works for the Georgia Preservation Society.  The design presentation requirements included two presentation boards per entry: one for the floor plan and furniture layout and one for illustrations of merchandising and color samples.  Entrants also had to provide itemized costs as well as a design concept statement.

 Hudson’s design concept for the loft living room utilizes a blue, brown and grey color scheme, and features a mixture of modern furniture and antique pieces.  Her chosen furnishings contain clean lines, while the reclaimed wood and artwork convey a message of conservation.  Decorative touches such as a dress form and a floral patterned chair appeal to the prospective female buyer, while the black barstools and simplistic drawing table maintain a masculine component for her boyfriend.

 Not only did this design competition enrich local students’ educational experiences, it also shows prospective loft dwellers what The Stacks has to offer. The Stacks property was originally the Fulton Bag & Cotton Mill which was built in 1881 and was one of Georgia’s most successful late 19^th century textile mills.  Originally, the Mill was created to manufacture bags out of cotton bales for use in grain distribution, but when WWI began, the Mill also began to develop and manufacture tents for our troops overseas. Today, The Stacks remain a significant part of Atlanta’s industrial history and are one-of-a-kind homes that serve as the city’s only real New York style lofts with 26-foot ceilings, huge windows, cement floors and so many different floor plans.

The Stacks at Fulton Cotton Mill is located at 170 Boulevard Ave, SE;404-588-2728. For more information, visit www.stackslofts.com