Family of 7 convert church built in 1903 into their little slice of heaven

By Fiona Jackson via SWNS

A family-of-seven have converted a 1903 church into their home – and use the pews as seats at the dining room table and font as the kitchen sink

Parents Matt and Kristen Gray, 38 and 39, were looking to move somewhere so their kids wouldn’t have to cross busy roads to get to school when they heard that the local church was moving site.

And, after a few years of waiting for the building to become available, they finally purchased it for $50,000 in December 2020 - and spent five months turning it into a family home.

After painting the exterior completely black, they built four bedrooms, three full bathrooms and three half-bathrooms.

They also created two offices, a workout room, lobby, craft room, game room, two laundry rooms and two TV rooms.

Kristen said: "The best thing about living in a church is absolutely everything about it - the location, the space.

"The slide is a huge one...the kids laugh every time they go down!

"We’ve never had a house where all seven of us can cook in the kitchen together but here we can and we love that so much."

Matt added: “We have always loved historic restoration and reuse. We love the cozy, Scandinavian feel of black.”

In 2016, the family wanted to move away from their property in Troy, Ohio, Usa and closer to their children’s school in Pleasant Hill, so they wouldn’t have to cross as many busy roads to get there.

Matt said: “We heard through the rumor mill that the church had land south of town and was looking to build a new facility.

"My wonderfully creative, yet slightly too creative wife, Kristen came up with this idea that was crazy at the time, yet the idea grew legs.”

Within just two weeks they approached the church with the idea of purchasing the building, and over a few weeks of discussions, their offer was sadly rejected as it wasn't the right time.

In their excitement, Matt and Kristen had already accepted an offer their family home, so moved into a fixer-upper they bought at auction.

“We thought about it every day since we first walked through it,” said Kristen.

Four years and two house flips later, Pleasant Hill Church of God reached out to the Grays once more and said they begun construction on their new facility and were ready to sell.

Matt said: “I think they really appreciated the idea and the fact that the building would now house a new purpose and would not be torn down to create a parking lot as previously proposed.

“In a way that only God himself could orchestrate, the timing and financial positioning of all of the above happened in a fully coordinated and perfectly timed way.”

Using the money they had made through increasing the equity on their previous two homes, they closed on the church for $50,000 in November 2020, and a month later it held its final service.

Decorating started as soon as Matt and Kristen had got the green light from the village community.

“I fell in love and began to decorate each room,” said designer and home school teacher Kristen.

They gave it a new metal roof and upgraded the plumbing and electrics, before painting the exterior black.

Matt said: “The black theme is complimented and softened with copper accents, gas flame lanterns, natural limestone and tactfully designed landscaping.”

They also wanted to involve their five children, between the ages of eight and 15, to design their bedrooms and other spaces like a craft room, game room, TV room and reading nooks.

They also created a home-schooling area, as their two sons and three daughters are now taught by Kristen.

The parents also added in a huge master bedroom with a soaking bath, walk-in shower, office spaces, gym area and laundry facilities.

As well as these modern features, Matt and Kristen were also able to keep a few of the original items from the church to use in their design.

The pews now act as seating in the dining and home-schooling rooms, and the font used for baptisms has been repurposed as their kitchen sink.

Commercial contractor Matt said: "To think of all the lives that were transformed in this steel tub gives you goosebumps.

“Now it is living a bit less glamorous life as our kitchen sink, regardless we are excited that it could be salvaged and used.

“We also have a wooden cross that was ‘left behind’- either that or someone hid it!

"The Vacation Bible School Ice Cream Social Display Board now hangs in the kids' loft area."

A church attendance board, which once displayed numbers in the hundreds, is now in the bell tower with a count of seven.

They all lived inside the church while renovations took place, and for the first month, they didn’t have a working shower or bath.

Dad Matt said: “We would have to schedule showers at area family and friends’ houses.

“Meanwhile, you better have hit the restroom before going to bed, as if you woke up in the middle of the night needing to pee you would have to travel across a dark and spooky 100-year-old church to find the nearest restroom!

“It was humble beginnings, but we had a blast.”

They also had a run-in with a bat colony who had taken residence before the Grays had, and had to install a trap door system to get them removed.

“One of them surprised us in the middle of the night looking like an F16 Fighter Jet cruising through our bedroom on a kamikaze mission – I've never been so scared in my life!” said Matt.

After five months the conversion was complete, but the family still like the building to be used by the community for bible study and as a food bank.

Matt said: “This small town has a huge heart full of amazing people, we simply try to hold up our end of that bargain and do things the right way.

“We love having a place that is fun, safe and conveniently located.

“We can spread out and have our separate spaces, yet are close to each other. It truly feels like home.”