12 Churches That Have Been Turned Into Heavenly Homes
Sought-after design elements like vaulted ceilings, tall windows and doors, and historic charm came built in with these renovated residences.
Once places of worship, these buildings are inherently special, sacred spaces. So when it came to converting them into residences for modern living, their owners approached them with reverence, keeping intact the buildings’ original character while tuning them up for daily life. Read on for some of our favorite updates to historic churches.
Near Amsterdam, a Couple Turn the Top of a Former Chapel Into Their Home and Studio
About 20 miles from Amsterdam, an old monastery stands amid a lively garden in the quiet town of Bennebroek. Franciscan sisters once lived in the imposing brick structure, built in the 19th century, but they departed late in the 20th, and a developer subsequently carved the bulk of the building into 18 apartments.
Photo: Alan Jensen
That’s how Milla Novo and her husband, Nigel Nowotarski, came to live in the top of what was once a chapel. As you step into their apartment, large arched windows hint at its ecclesiastical past, but the couple’s eye-catching textiles and artworks—set against pristine white walls—make the biggest impression.
Photo: Alan Jensen
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Situated outside the village of Burrowbridge in Southwest England, this historic property occupies the site of a 19th-century Baptist chapel.
Courtesy of The Modern House
A stunning example of adaptive reuse, the brick structure features two connected parts: the chapel itself, which is a grade II-listed building, and a large, L-shaped meeting house set behind the former chapel and surrounded by a private garden.
Courtesy of The Modern House
Built in 1915 by San Francisco architect William Crim, this Neoclassical structure originally served as the Second Church of Christ Scientist. Today, it is known as The Light House and features four residential units developed by Siamak Akhaven in partnership with HC Engineering and Modifyer.
Photo by Lunghi Media Group
Measuring over 5,300 square feet, the multilevel home retains much of its original character, including 30-foot cathedral ceilings, exposed brick walls, and stained glass windows. The great room is surrounded by multiple dining and seating areas which can be arranged in a number of formats across the central gathering space.
Photo by Lunghi Media Group
"I need you. I bought a f*cking church!" With this blunt text message to his friend, architect Carlos Garmendia of Garmendia Cordero Arquitectos, Tas Careaga kicked off a three-year design adventure. Here’s the exterior of the 16th-century Basque church near Bilbao, Spain.
Photo by Gregori Civera
Two friends spent three years reviving this 16th-century Basque church near Bilbao, Spain. Abandoned since the late 1970s, the church was in need of serious repair. The roof had caved in and vegetation had thoroughly invaded the structure. Built in the mid-16th century, with some add-ons in the form of an 18th-century bell tower and sacristy, the church had obvious archaeological and historical value.
Photo by Gregori Civera
Built in 1892, St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and School were originally designed by German-American architect Theobald Engelhardt, who is responsible for many turn-of-the-century buildings in Bushwick, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint. St. Mark’s is just one of Engelhardt’s many projects that have gotten a new lease on life.
Courtesy of Nooklyn
The former church and school are now part of a four-building complex. An infill building was constructed to connect the school and church. One of the project’s main focuses was to maintain its original architecture, such as preserving its original facade, archways, brick details, and windows.
Courtesy of Nooklyn
Located in the historic village of Morimondo near Milan, the 4,843-square-foot building offers unconventional living spaces crowned with brick arches and ceiling frescoes.
Courtesy of Italy Sotheby’s International Realty
"Although the interiors have been adapted to a pleasant and functional residence, they have retained the historical charm of the original building. The property is on three levels; the most significant one is the ground floor, from where one can better appreciate the internal heights and the beautiful architectural finishes," writes the listing agent, when the home was up for sale.
Courtesy of Italy Sotheby’s International Realty
In Austin’s coveted Bouldin Creek neighborhood, Rhode Partners has converted a Mission Revival–style church into two-story, loft-style homes that enjoy 15-foot ceilings and historic details.
Photo by Danny Batista
Built in 1939 by Francis Patrick Duffey, the St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church served the community until 1967, when it became home to the Austin Boys and Girls Club. Mid City Development purchased the building in 2014 for $2.75 million and turned it into a four two-bed, two-and-a-half-bath units that sold understandably quickly—a 1,889-square-foot loft fetched $859,000.
Photo by Danny Batista
A renovation divided this Quebecois church into two parts: a 2,500-square-foot home for owners Nicole Petit and Pierre Boivin, and a 1,500-square-foot office, garage, and workshop at the rear.
Photo by D. Boudreau Media Inc.
They sought to maintain the church’s historic character, including defining elements like the bell tower and organ, while still modernizing the interior to make it suitable for a comfortable family home. "[Danièle] immediately saw that the elegant architecture of the building would provide a perfect backdrop to create an environment that would be both minimalist, but also full of history," says Nicole.
Photo by D. Boudreau Media Inc.
The Ruby Street is a contemporary live/work/event space located inside a historic 1905 building that has led many past lives—it served as both a civil rights meeting place and a progressive church founded by a female pastor.
Photo by Alex Zarour
In 2016, singer and designer Lourdes Hernandez and her husband, musician and real estate developer Zach Leigh, discovered the church and picked up on its "good bones and potential." The couple snapped up the nearly 6,000-square-foot space and orchestrated its sparkling metamorphosis.
Photo by Alex Zarour
This church in Greenwich, Connecticut, had been decommissioned almost 30 years ago and renovated in haphazard, do-it-yourself hippie style, the celestial voices of the choir having long been drowned out by the earthly harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the pews supplanted by shag carpet, and the sacrament replaced with the smell of, um, burning rope. Finding a way for the structure’s iconic form to communicate with its contemporary function was a challenge, to say the least.
Photo: Juliana Sohn
For Santiago and Bonnie Suarez, the question was, in carving out space within the space, "how much to let what we were doing show on the outside." In keeping with the architects’ aesthetic principles, the answer was, as little as possible: to let the exterior walls of the church read as they had been written more than 150 years ago.
Photo: Juliana Sohn
When Jennifer and Grant Peck sought to relocate to the city from a much larger property in the country, their needs were simple. They had already been through heavy remodels in the past, and really wanted something that was "ready to go," says Jennifer. However, when Grant stumbled upon the church that would become the Hawthorn Residence online, it immediately piqued their interest. After seeing it in person, they fell in love with the bones and character of the historic structure, and, unexpectedly, a renovation was soon underway.
Photo: Derek Swalwell
The first step of the process was to "undo" previous renovations, which had left the space feeling dark, cluttered, and cramped. "We wanted natural light, and all the amazing church features to be able to shine," says Jennifer. Since the church was an existing heritage building, the structure could not be altered to add additional windows. Instead, they had to find other creative ways to bring in more light. "Making the home light and spacious was the biggest challenge," says the Doherty Design Studio team.
Photo: Derek Swalwell
In Willunga, South Australia, husband-and-wife duo Adam and Sarah Hall tastefully renovated an 1870 church with a reverence for its historic elements.
Photo by Marnie Hawson
Photo: Marnie Hawson
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