Not every memorable room in this renovation needs to be enormous itself. On the rotunda side of the church, Whitney found an unused corner and turned it into a powder room for guests. The project is a neat example of how she works: find an overlooked space, make it practical, and give it character that feels as though it belongs in a building from 1898.
Her surprising purchase for the room was the vanity, which cost $7. But the real work went into the walls. Whitney reused wood paneling removed from the other side of the wall, reinstalling it inside the powder room one plank at a time. She wanted the new space to look as if it could have been part of the original church, not a modern bathroom dropped into an old building.
In her March update, artwork and finishing touches were still to come. The bedroom too is a work in progress. There is more work ahead, too. Whitney plans to renovate the parsonage on the property and turn an empty lot into her dream garden. For now, the church is her home, with Lady Marmalade keeping her company as work continues. A $45,000 gamble has become a work in progress