Photograph by Carin Baer/Netflix
When the beloved reality TV makeover show Queer Eye got a Netflix reboot based in Georgia, its hosts—the Fab Five—quickly became Atlanta’s darling local celebs. Their prominently featured loft at Cabbagetown’s historic Fulton Cotton Mill was a star in its own right. Executive producer Rob Eric gave us the scoop on their pad.
The loft met criteria for location and looks.
“One of the first things we discussed was to take the show out of New York and head South,” says Eric. Atlanta provided the luxe city life as well as proximity to rural locations for a diverse array of “heroes.” The lofts are centrally located and “had a look and feel that showed we were no longer in New York City.”
Fab Five member Bobby Berk designed the loft.
Bobby arrived ahead of the rest of the cast to set it up. He leaned hard on West Elm, Four Hands, and Art.com, which supplied much of the art for the heroes’ homes as well. The garage door was one of the selling points for scouts, and the subway tile and dark grout mimicked the industrial vibe.
The cast didn’t actually live there.
Forget any dreams about the Fab Five staying up late together in PJs, watching movies, and eating popcorn on that sectional. They each had their own apartments in downtown Atlanta.
But they did spend a lot of time there.
In addition to serving as a set, the loft also doubled as the production office, acting as sort of a home base for cast and crew.
Want more of the fab five? See the Goods section of the December issue of Atlanta magazine for interviews with the Fab Five’s Antoni, Bobby, Jonathan, Karamo, and Tan.
This article appears in our Winter 2018 issue of Atlanta Magazine’s HOME.
