Share

This house used to be a church and other unconventional spaces turned into homes

accreditation
This house used to be a dilapidated church
This house used to be a dilapidated church

A good before and after is always fun to look at, but you know what’s really great? Seeing something being repurposed into something completely different and being in awe of how one thing can be turned into something else. 

These homes are a celebration of just that.

This dilapidated church was turned into a trendy looking loft

An American real estate agent named Hugh Molten didn’t plan to turn this old church into such a great space (he was going to keep it mostly as is) but then decided to go all out and now it looks great. 

See more images from Apartment Therapy here.

READ MORE: Muhammad Ali’s Michigan estate is up for sale – here’s what it looks like

This bus was turned into a home on wheels

Instagram user threeringcreations, who also goes by Matty T, bought this old bus with half a windscreen missing after a conversation with his brother and started gutting the bus and slowly turning it into a place to live instead. The account chronicles the journey of making this a home on wheels, and while Matty isn’t done yet, he looks like he’s doing a pretty great job. 

READ MORE: The world’s first 3D printed housing project is soon to be underway – see how they’re made

These containers were turned into a double storey house

Storstac containers in Canada took eight shipping containers and placed them on top of a poured concrete foundation and installed the entire home in just 8 hours.


This tiny, expanding home, was inspired by by steamer trunks, caravans and vintage train cars 

It took creative couple Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder two years to build by hand and from scratch. When they travel they collapse the loft and fold in their office wings to make it more compact. So you can fold it in or fold it out!

Look at more pictures on Apartment Therapy

These past few months have been sOoOoOo busy (if you haven’t noticed from my barely-there sporadic postings). Between pre-production on two films, photo shoots for NH Magazine and other shoots and short films (not to mention business admin duty), it’s been a whirlwind. This is not counting traveling, family time, fun time or even tiny house time! After moving a few weeks ago, we’re focusing on getting our tiny house in “ship shape” (lol) for our trip this fall. We’ll replace the axels and add more road running lights to the outside, as well as getting beefy new rims and tires. The inside, we’re just now getting around to building out. Everyone thinks we’re finished because in 2016, we rushed (as usual) to meet a production deadline, and as usual, the quality of the tiny house suffered. So this time, we’re taking our time! We’ve been collecting various cool pieces of junk and furniture to deconstruct and repurpose in the interior. You guys thought the tiny house was cool before - these funky interior contraptions we have up our sleeve will totally blow your minds, then! (and better yet, most of the materials were found in our usual dumper diver style) Lots of you have asked how we go about turning trash to treasure, so Brandon and I have been diligently filming every last detail for a fun little series we’re putting together for you on our site. It’s our own little handmade show that’ll take you behind the scenes of our tiny house lifestyle and give you the low-down on how we make this stuff, so you can potentially turn trash into treasure, too! Until those videos are ready, you can check us out on July 8th on the @travelchannel “Extreme RV’s” (lol, the producers talked us into doing the show, I hope they edited out all our bad jokes) and if you don’t have a TV, you can come see us talk live at the Tiny Living Festival in Brattleboro, VT on June 23rd! ...which brings me to a question: not gonna lie, Brandon and I are a little bored of explaining the tiny house story again. We wanna be inspired and talk about something new! Any topics you think we haven’t gotten in-depth enough for you, leave ‘em below and we’ll do our best to touch on them at our presentation!

A post shared by Chloe Barcelou (@chloebarcelou) on


Hi everyone! The last few weeks have been so busy, it’s been hard for me to post! To catch up: Saturday’s Festival was a great success and Brandon and I (bravely) spoke to a full crowd of people about our tiny house, which felt like a huge privilege. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us! Besides that, we’ve been splitting our time between outfitting the interior of the tiny house (and filming, hello new series for IGTV) work shoots, magazine shoots and fun shoots, plus prepping for a few films at the moment and trying like heck to meet all the deadlines and still maintain our sanity!?? I wish I could delve more into the specifics of our projects, but they often have to stay a secret until it’s time to publish or release ?? ...I can say, however, last week I had the most special experience while shooting at Brook Astor’s old campground in Maine (which is about as incredible as you can imagine), with @robkarosisphoto. Late one night after shooting, I sat alone on the private beach and watched the moon set over the water and horizon, which is an awe-inspiring event I had never witnessed before and I had no idea would be so spiritual and life changing to experience - it was a total epiphany moment of clarity and gratitude.... Admittedly, not every project is great and it’s hard to run a business and stretch yourself in so many different directions, especially financially... but sometimes little moments of pure magic slip in, to remind you that all is well in the universe. ? What have I missed over here on IG?! ???

A post shared by Chloe Barcelou (@chloebarcelou) on

READ MORE: Video: Would you pay R260 million for a piece of furniture?

The house of salvaged windows

Nick Olson and Lilah Horowitz spent roughly $500 (just over R6 800) and two months to use discarded windows to make themselves a new home. 

Read more about the home on Inhabitat

Sign up to W24’s newsletters so you don't miss out on any of our hot stories and giveaways.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE