An Old Church Converted To A Modern Family Home

Church converted to modern home on if it's hip it's here

Interior architect, designer and artist Linc Thelan, along with Scrafano Architects, has turned an old Church into a contemporary 5,500 square foot home, maintaining some of the original and historic details.

Church Converted To Modern Home

Church Converted To Modern HomeChurch Converted To Modern Home

The church, whose exterior facade is shown above, was converted to a single-family home for a busy family with three young children; a set of twin boys and a female toddler.

church conversion

With 7 bedrooms and 6 baths, the home still has the original stained glass windows, bell tower, exposed brickwork and ceiling turnbuckles.

church conversion to modern home

The great room has 25 foot ceilings with exposed beams and the church’s original turnbuckles.

church remodel

Despite those historic touches, the home has integrated all the conveniences of modern living and design for both the adults and their children.

church conversion

The fabulous double-sided fireplace with built-in log storage faces both the entertainment area of the Great Room and the Den:
firplace in greatroomfireplace in den

The home has a floating steel staircase with glass rail system.

church conversion stairwell

The Kitchen:
A large island with sink serves as both a counter for casual dining and to separate the kitchen from the entertainment area of the Great Room.
church converted kitchen
church conversion kitchen
kitchen overhead
kitchen looking toward front entry
You can see Linc’s unusual combination of lighting fixtures in the kitchen area:
lighting in kitchen

The Dining Area:
The dining area off of the kitchen has a steel and marble table designed by Linc.
dining
diningroom table made by linc thelenlinc thelen dining table detail

A detail of the dining area shows Linc’s talented eye for combining the old and the new:
dining detail shows linc's eye for combining old and new

The Guest Bath:
In one of the powder rooms, unusual fringed textile covered walls and an art deco light fixture are paired with hexagon tiled flooring, brass hardware and a square black sink.
powder room

Linc also custom designed and fabricated many of the home’s details like the cool climbing wall in the twin boys’ room, the Murphy bed in the nursery and much of the furniture.

The twin Boys’ Room with climbing wall:
the boys room climbing wall in boys room climbing+wall
detail of boys' room

The Boys’ Bathroom:
boys+bath

The Daughter’s room:
adares+roomnursery

The Jack-n-Jill Bathroom off the daughter’s room:
jack n jill bathroom in Church conversion

The Nursery:
nursery

The Master Bedroom:
The Master

The Master Bath:
The double sink master has an open glass shower with slab marble walls and marble tiled flooring.
Master bath in converted church
And a free-standing tub under one of the original stained glass windows.
church conversion tub

The Bell Tower Loft:
The interior of the church’s bell tower was turned into an exposed brick loft with an upper level that has transparent flooring over exposed beams.
FullSizeRender+(2)
Which certainly makes for a nice breakfast spot:
FullSizeRender+(1)

Finishes were selected to create a hip and eclectic vibe pairing interesting wallpapers and light fixtures.

front elevation
east elevation
west elevation
ground floor
1st floor
2nd floor

Architects: Linc Thelen Design, Scrafano Architects
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Area: 5500.0 ft2
Project Year: 2015

Linc Thelen
Chicago, IL 60606

all images and information courtesy of Linc Thelen and Arch Daily

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