The Ultimate Repurposing

DWELLING

A 19th-century church has become the epitome of modern living in Upper Bucks.

Location: 390 Marienstein Road, Upper Black Eddy
Price: $675,000

There are so many ways that converting a church to pretty much anything other than a church can go wrong. But when it goes right, as it has with this 2,100-square foot home that’s tucked away on an acre-and-a-half in the woods of Upper Bucks County, it’s a marvel of innovation and preservation. Like the thoroughly modern, wide-open living space set against the arched, stained glass windows and ceiling mural. Or the 13-foot-tall built-ins that nearly reach the ceiling in that space. The best sides of the 143-year-old de-sanctified Catholic church coexist with the relatively new (the renovation was conducted during 2003 and 2004), three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home that now fills its mold, which is all the more impressive considering how little either one sacrificed in order to make the relationship work. —Scott Edwards