Creating Stunning Church Conversions

One of the latest renovation trends is for property owners to turn the stunning architecture of churches into family homes and generous apartments. These buildings are often set in large amounts of land and have the space and room dimensions to make perfect residential properties. However, converting a church is not without its issues, so you need to make sure you choose wisely and understand exactly what you're doing.

The Beauty of Churches

Churches are amazing spaces, and redundant buildings can lend themselves superbly to property renovation. They come equipped with high vaulted ceilings and spacious rooms that appeal to buyers who are looking for somewhere different to live. There is even the ability to include additional levels through a mezzanine floor, which could also feature a wrought iron balcony. The buildings have many of their original architectural features, such as stone walls, arched windows and timber roofs.

Renovating a Church

Taking on a church renovation is not for everyone, and you certainly need to do your homework first. Initially, you should check whether the property you're looking at is a listed building, as this is often the case with churches. If it is, this might affect the type of work that you can carry out, as you will need to obtain listed-building consent before you can do any work. It may be necessary for even small-scale work to get prior approval. You may be limited in the external changes that you can make to the building, such as fitting new doors and windows.

In the first instance, you should speak to the local planning office to ascertain the status of the building and understand the process you'll have to go through. You may also have to gain approval for any work through the church authority.

Designing a Church Renovation

Once you have the initial planning approval to convert the church into a residential building, you can focus more on the design element. These can be exciting opportunities for conversations, allowing you to create a unique home for yourself and your family. However, you need to ensure that you stick with any limitations that have been placed on you by the planning office.

Design restrictions often mean that you have to keep the building's original character. However, as this is part of the beauty of a church, it's unlikely that you would want to alter the look of the building too much.

If the space is only spread across a ground floor, you may feel that it could benefit from an upper level. It's not always possible to put in a traditional second floor, but a mezzanine level can help you get around this issue. This will create an open-plan living arrangement, but the use of a wrought iron balcony would help to give more of a sense of privacy.

Church renovations can provide the opportunity to live somewhere far more unusual than a traditional family home. By using the right design elements, you can keep within the restrictions and still end up with a perfectly usable and creative space.