By Megan Stacy – Special to the Express-News
Take a tour of Ann and Philip Allega’s downtown loft and it won’t take long to figure out what this couple is all about. There’s the row of cowboy hats on the headboard in the master bedroom — a decidedly Texan touch for a bed neatly made up with throw pillows upholstered in the Union Jack flag. The Allegas are travelers, food lovers and cultural explorers who most recently called London home.
Last year they moved to San Antonio — Ann Allega’s hometown — wanting an urban lifestyle in a part of the city they had learned to love on previous visits.
The home they bought is part of the Judson Candy Factory Lofts redevelopment project on South Flores Street. Their home is not in the old factory but in a property next door, which dates to the 1890s and housed an Italian grocery store owned by the Granieri family.
The 2,000-square-foot loft nods to the building’s history. One long wall was left untouched, exposing original 18-inch-thick red brick masonry. Caliche walls in the loft’s basement also were undisturbed.
But the rest is thoroughly modern, with sleek finishes of glass, wood and cement.
“Even though the building is 100-some years old, the place is new,” Ann Allega says.
The Allegas purchased the loft sight-unseen while abroad but wanted to move into a home ready for living. They hired Julie Risman of The Inside Story Design and began what Risman calls a “digital design relationship.”
“They wanted something easy, fun and modern,” she says. By the time the Allegas moved in, 80 percent of the home design was complete, all conducted via e-mail and phone calls. Risman calls the design “an homage to where they’ve been and where they come from.” For example, the living room is anchored by a contemporary burnt orange leather couch, which reminds the couple of their connection to the University of Texas at Austin, where they met.
A black leather lounge chair reclines in one corner beneath a picture of Philip’s favorite London bridge and of a poster advertising the New Orleans Jazz Festival. The staircase to the basement level is lined with framed Fiesta posters, each from a year representing a milestone: Philip’s first Fiesta, the year they fell in love with the Southtown area, the year they moved to San Antonio.
The couple’s 4-year-old son, Austin, has a bedroom in the basement. The room is whimsically decorated with furniture painted with images from The Adventures of Tintin, a cartoon series wildly popular in Europe. Having experienced different ways of living on their travels, the Allegas are happy to have landed in an urban space with a vibrant social community.
Ann Allega says there are 20 to 30 places to visit within a 10-minute walk from their home. Following in the British tradition, they’ve adopted nearby Beethoven’s beer garden as their “local,” or neighborhood pub.
They often cycle to restaurants and stores and have been impressed by the amount of activities available for children.
“We think urban living is something everyone should try,” Philip Allega says.