You’ll Never Believe What These 6 Amazing Homes Used to Be

This dreamy bedroom, together with the property’s kitchen, living room, and bathroom, packs its compact quarters with creature comforts you might expect to find at a cozy bed-and-breakfast. Double beds, spare but striking artwork, and convenient contemporary lighting lend flair to sleeping and living spaces. Natural materials, from the wooden paneling and ceiling beams to the neutral-toned bed linens, pay homage to the simple charms of agrarian life in the Europe of yesteryear.

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This little lodging is a mere stone’s throw from the beautiful beaches of Cardigan Bay, where Europe’s largest colony of dolphins makes its home. Inside, the oak-lined residence is as appealing as any other beachside cottage. With panel radiators and a living area equipped with a wood-burning stove, the interior stays warm and inviting all year round, no matter what it’s like outside.

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If the interior of this property recalls a bygone era, that’s because it’s situated inside an ordinary railway carriage from a more genteel age. Voted among the top five “Best Spots to Enjoy the British Seaside” by “Condé Nast Traveler,” the little beach “house” offers plenty of windows, relics of its life on the tracks, from which to view the pristine western coast of Wales.

The lofty ceiling and windows with pointed arches inside this ethereal interior exemplify the exquisite craftsmanship of the Carpenter Gothic style. An open floor plan encourages creative decorating and accommodates a main living area with two bedrooms and one bath as well as a cozy mother-in-law studio complete with one bedroom and one bath.

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If you’re an architecture buff who spotted the ecclesiastical elements of the woodsy interior, you may have guessed correctly that the building once served as a church. Erected in 1867 and rebuilt in 1911, the Zion Primitive Baptist Church in Key West was converted into a detached home over a period of 30 years. While the 2,692-square-foot property no longer houses the church’s devoted congregation, the structure’s steeple and tall double doors attest to its religious roots.

Spare furnishings and fixtures with eye-catching silhouettes confer a modern minimalist look on this four-bedroom home in San Francisco’s affluent neighborhood of Noe Valley. In a surprising design decision, a silver-toned spiral staircase grants residents quick access from the spacious foyer, media room, and wine cellar on the ground floor directly up to the fourth floor, which is graciously appointed with a master bedroom and an outdoor terrace.

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