There’s something pretty magical about finding a place that feels like home.
Most people will have a few homes in their lifetime, whether it’s the house where they grew up or the apartment they rented in their 20s.
I think we can all agree that there’s no feeling that tops building your first home as an adult.
We don’t necessarily mean literally building it from the ground up; it’s more about creating a space that's completely and totally your own.
In some cases, that might mean actually building your house board by board, like this tenacious single mom. In other scenarios, it may just mean moving into a new space and renovating and redecorating until it’s all yours.
And for one young couple trying to find their place in the world, going “home” meant purchasing a very unusual property indeed: an abandoned church!
Scroll through the gallery below to learn more about the unusual piece of real estate!
A young couple in Ontario, Canada, made waves on the internet this past week when they posted pictures of their newly purchased home to the image-sharing site Imgur.
The reason their home got so much attention? The young duo just moved into a 130-year-old church!
The building went on the market when church leaders decided they no longer needed the building.
"After searching for a house for months, I saw this by chance and thought, why not?" the couple writes. "Both our dads have been contractors for 30+ years and my fiancé is now a carpenter so we have all hands on deck for this one."
Inside, the church still looks structurally true to its original purpose!
The pews and altar have been removed, but you can see that the blue markings would have been the aisles at one point.
The windows are new, while many of the fixtures are antique, and the whole place is full of character, but in need of updates!
This large space will turn into their main living area, including kitchen, dining room, and living room.
They also plan to remove the flat ceiling and install a loft bedroom tucked under the building's peaked roof!
The second smaller room, which was once used for Sunday school, will be divided.
One half will be a small guest bedroom, and the outer half will be a mudroom — clever use of space!
They're also quick to note that the church is full of happy memories and blessings from the congregation (it was mostly used for weddings and events in recent years) and that there is no spooky graveyard for them to worry about.
While they still have a ways to go before their church conversion is complete, we have plenty of awesome ideas based on other church-to-home renovations.
For example, we think that there are a lot of stylish inspirations to be found in the St. Nicholas Church House, an abandoned church in England converted into a home!
For example, we don't know if we could sleep right out in the nave, but it's certainly a very unique bedroom.
The St. Nicholas living room gives us a sense of how the Ontario church will look once the conversion is complete!
Here, you can see that the living room is cozily situated under a tall ceiling, and carefully outfitted with soft textiles and carpetings to make sure that the space doesn't feel empty.
We imagine that the Ontario space will have a similar sense of space and height, and will be just as chic and comfy.
Our favorite detail by far is the bathroom of the St. Nicholas space.
The family artfully used stained glass from the church to create a relaxing bathtub space that's flooded with light, but still totally concealed from the outside.
We aren't sure if those modern windows at the Ontario church still have stained glass, but it might be worth having some pieces custom-made for this effect alone!
If you adore the idea of giving beautiful churches second acts as loving family homes, make sure to SHARE with friends and family!
