After serving as a church in the town of Laggan, New South Wales until 1943, the year it was decommissioned and converted to a sheep-shearing shed for more than 50 years, this 1800's structure struck Australian architect Michael Sandberg as the perfect locale for a secluded weekend vacation home. Insistent on keeping the exterior intact—with just a bit of restoration done to the original granite buttressed walls and arched wooden windows—most of the major changes come by way of modern new interiors that no one would ever expect to find hiding away in a tiny countryside church. "We wanted to insert a very contemporary interior into the original structure to represent the new life it was being given," explains the architect.
Since most of the rooms were in pretty decrepit shape, extensive renovations began with the very basics, like installing reclaimed wood floors and partition walls. Bold, cross-shaped cabinetry in the kitchen—which Sandberg threw in as a "fun nod" to the Church's previous life—adds a striking, modern element, while a former shed addition now serves as the fanciest, and perhaps only, bathroom to ever previously exist as a sheep-shedding hut. In all, the sweet end result ranks high on the church-to-home renovation list. Take a closer look, this way.
· From Bush Church to Snow Country Getaway [Houzz]
· All Churches posts [Curbed National]