A reimagining of a brick-built chapel set in an idyllic rural location, transformed into a joyful home for both living and entertaining.

This project was a result of close collaboration with our clients. Thomas Fire Architects were involved from the moment the building was acquired. Together, we carefully developed internal layouts and a refined material palette, obtained planning permission and building regulations approval, and successfully completed the project in 2025.

Our client wanted the home to feel open without becoming a singular, cavernous space. Inside, bespoke joinery and mirrored surfaces subtly frame views and reflect light, while original architectural features are celebrated. The upper floor houses a generous drawing room beneath the exposed vaulted ceiling, preserving the grandeur of the chapel’s original architecture.

A gentle stream runs just meters from the western elevation, providing the perfect setting for a terrace that captures the warmth of the evening light, enhancing the building’s connection to nature.

Entry is through the original chapel doors, opening to a space featuring a large dining table and grand piano. A curved stair leads to the drawing room above, where the central ceiling bays remain open to maintain height and drama, while surrounding bays have been lowered to house services—softening the volume and creating a more intimate atmosphere.

The result of this unified design approach is evident in the harmony of surfaces, forms, and colours. A Carrara marble oval table with soft edges feels both lived-in and timeless, while the architecture bends around it with a curved burgundy wall.

The chapel’s layout allowed for two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen on the lower level, with living and entertaining spaces above—an inverted arrangement. The upper living spaces benefit from the chapel’s vaulted ceiling and high-level windows, as does the open-plan kitchen. 

The bedrooms and bathrooms on the lower level have a calm, enclosed, catacomb-like quality, offering opportunities for architectural moments and encounters. This atmosphere is further enhanced in the primary ensuite, which is lit from above and features a tiled cross, thoughtfully referencing the building’s past.