Displaying posts labeled "Church"

From sacred space to modern marvel

Posted on Fri, 5 Jul 2024 by midcenturyjo

“Once a community church, and later, a theatre, The Church, has been renovated into a 3 level contemporary home, while providing a sympathetic adaptation to a historic building. Heritage listed, the brick and sandstone façade is preserved to the public elevations. It’s legacy lives on to frame the progressive lifestyle of our clients.”

Long-term readers will know of our obsession with church conversions and this one is fabulous. Contemporary living within its historic shell. The Church, Woolwich, Sydney by Michiru Higginbotham in association with Arc Architects.

Photography by Katherine Lu.

Church Loft

Posted on Tue, 28 May 2024 by midcenturyjo

Nestled in an urban landscape, the Church Loft by Toronto-based NIVEK REMAS is a distinctive home within a repurposed historic church. It blends historic charm with modern comforts featuring a neutral palette that highlights wooden beams and a matte black four-story staircase. Open-concept living areas foster a spacious, inviting atmosphere while original church details, like ornate light fixtures and a fresco, enhance the loft’s character. The primary suite combines minimalist wood cabinetry with sleek stone finishes creating a serene retreat.

Nestled in inner-city Sydney’s scenic streets, Chapel House blends personal style with architectural heritage. Vibrant colours contrast with gothic archways salvaged from a 19th-century church. FURNISHD rejuvenated the living space with sage tones, anchoring the palette with a bespoke ‘pea chair’ and vintage sideboard. Entertainment spaces blend modern and vintage elements, creating a dynamic, personalized ambience that balances sophistication and playfulness.

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A chapel conversion in Devon

Posted on Wed, 1 May 2024 by KiM

Tucked within the picturesque landscape of west Devon is the Old Chapel. This early 20th century sanctuary has been reinterpreted into a family home that maximises its compelling ecclesiastical interior. The nave is now a spacious open plan living area, revolving around a central wood burning stove, with slender arched windows framing the coastal topography beyond. Reclaimed timber boards line the stripped-back ceiling, intermittently broken by restored rhythmic joists accentuating the drama of the pitched eaves. Levitating above the kitchen is a new plywood room housing an additional bedroom and study space which can be reached from a new stairwell wending its way between a repointed stone gable. Downstairs the crypt has been extended to accommodate generous south-facing bedrooms that overlook a sloping garden and intimate courtyard. Sculpted niches have been recessed into the thick stone walls, housing subtle light fixtures. We love church conversions and this one with a distinctive modern and minimal approach is so soothing. You can almost hear the angels singing. Architect: Tuckey Design Studio; Photos: James Brittain.


A 14th-century monastic guesthouse in Normandy

Posted on Sun, 22 Oct 2023 by KiM

A listed 14th-century monastic guesthouse, with almost 2 hectares of grounds in the Falaise region, on the borders of Normandy. The gothic edifice has been painstakingly restored over a period of thirty years, starting in the early 1970s. At the edge of the park, there are a coach house and a former lodging. On the opposite side, a pedestrian gate leads to a path through a wood with a pond. The estate also includes a barn and its meadow, surrounded by a wall, around 100 m from the main house. The rectangular, two-storey Gothic building is built of dressed and rough-hewn sandstone masonry. The corner buttresses are of limestone. Inside there is a solid oak quarter-turn staircase, slab-paved floor featuring red hexagonal terracotta tiles, wood-panelled ceiling supported by exposed beams, walls of dressed and grouted rubble masonry, ribbed and cross-vaulted ceilings, capitals and central columns of coquina limestone, ogee and stained glass windows, Caen stone fireplace…. This is the type of historic home that is so beautiful it brings me to tears. I can’t imagine being fortunate enough to own something this magical. For sale via Patrice Besse for €840,000.