Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine has been sold to its publisher, Elizabeth Ralls, as a way to keep it under local ownership.
On Nov. 26, Buckhead Crown Media LLC, the company Ralls founded, closed on the deal to purchase the publication from Esteem Media Inc. The amount of the sale was not disclosed.
“Buckhead is where I live and work and I really wanted, putting Buckhead into the name of the company, … to put into the sense of place what Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles is known for,” Ralls said in an interview. “It’s home to ADAC, the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center; the top home dealers and antique dealers. It’s where the Southeastern design community comes to source and shop. I wanted it to be the umbrella to incorporate Buckhead in the title.
“Probably 75% of clients in the magazine are local small business owners, so now it makes us feel like we have as much skin in the game as they do. I’m excited to be at the helm of a publication I have spent so long with I’ve worked hard over those 13 years and it really feels like one of those cases where the hard work really paid off.
Founded in 1983, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles is the city’s only monthly home and garden magazine. It was first owned by Network Communications Inc. before being sold to Esteem in 2014. Esteem CEO Adam Japko was the president of Network’s home design division in 2005 when he took control of the magazine.
“After 20 years of ownership, we are selling the business to ensure that the Atlanta-based team on whom Esteem has relied on all along, led by Elizabeth Ralls, becomes the ultimate stakeholder for the next 20 years,” Japko said in a news release. Ralls is the sole owner of Buckhead Crown Media.
Ralls at the helm
Ralls has spent a total of 13 years at Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, over two stints. She started as its managing editor, left the company to raise a family and returned in 2013 as editor in chief. She was promoted to publisher in 2020 when Gina Christman retired. Ralls said Japko approached her two years ago about buying the magazine.
I’ve assembled a great team from marketing to editorial to sales. I’m really excited about the ways they can help us reach that next generation, which is really important. We want to make sure Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles retains that feel and is something readers want to put into their hands when they get it every month.”
Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles in the community
In addition to publishing 12 issues annually, the magazine hosts several events, including the Home for the Holidays Designer Show House on Tuxedo Road. the Southeastern Designer Showhouse each spring.
Ralls presented a new franchise, Atlanta Tour of Kitchens, to influence the publication’s close ties to the city’s kitchen-and-bath industries; she also raised its live-event audiences by 40%, according to a news release. In the last two years, Ralls has expanded into key second-home territories, with the launch of decorator showhouse franchises in Florida’s 30A in 2023 and Georgia’s Lake Burton in 2024.
In addition to her leadership role at Buckhead Crown Media, Ralls will remain publisher of the magazine and media brand. Until today, she never thought she would own a magazine.“It’s the highlight of my career for sure,” Ralls said. “I never dreamed I would be the owner of this publication, but I’ve put a lot of sweat equity into it. I just want to do the brand justice and equip the team with the same passion and effort that was instilled in me by the previous leaders. My former editor, publisher and owner I have learned a lot from.”
