Birmingham’s Chatham Hellmers’ “handmade home” featured on HGTV (video)

Chatham Hellmers. Photo via Nathan Watson for Bham Now
Chatham Hellmers, whose loft was recently featured on HGTV. Photo via Nathan Watson for Bham Now

If you are familiar with local collector Chatham Hellmers, you know she has a talent for finding knick knacks, collectibles, curios and more. So, it comes as no surprise that her loft in downtown Birmingham was recently featured on HGTV!

Meet Chatham Hellmers

Chatham Hellmers. Photo via Nathan Watson for Bham Now
Chatham Hellmers outside her workplace, Levy’s Fine Jewelry. Photo via Nathan Watson for Bham Now

Since moving to Birmingham in 1998, Chatham Hellmers has been busy. She’s operated three retail outlets throughout the ‘Ham: Jinx in Five Points South, Luxe in Forest Park Village and the beloved Charm on 2nd. Now, she’s working in sales at Levy’s Fine Jewelry.

Hellmer’s talent for finding unique knick knacks is perfectly exemplified in her downtown condo at the Wooster Lofts on 1st Avenue North, where she lives with her husband Walton Creel. Since the couple moved in, they have transformed the open space into an antique museum/living space. Inside, you’ll find everything from seashell collections to antiques found by Hellmers while traveling abroad.

Hellmers’ unique living space caught the eye of HGTV, who recently ran a feature on the couple’s Birmingham loft.

In her feature on HGTV, which premiered on November 23rd, Hellmers describes how she turned her loft into the unique space it is today. At first, she planned to create a “1970s, Scarface-style lounge”—but quickly realized she had too much stuff to pull off the ultra-modern look.

Instead, she began to decorate her space with pieces she’d find while scouring for items for Charm on 2nd. In fact, most of the unique pieces ended up at her personal collection, rather than Charm!

“Someone who had seen our place told the HGTV guy who lives in Knoxville, or Nashville—one of the ‘villes—and he reached out to us about filming here. Apparently, they were looking for places to film in Birmingham. It was amazing and completely out of the blue.”

Chatham Hellmers

Chatham is a true Birmingham original, beloved by many. It’s wonderful that she and her “handmade home” have gone national. Check out HGTV’s must-see video to learn more.

What is your favorite part about Chatham Hellmers’ home? Tag us @bhamnow to let us know!

Nathan Watson
Nathan Watson

Senior Content Producer + Photographer

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