Breathing New Life into Our Beautiful Chapel
When we first got the keys to our stunning old Wesleyan chapel in January 2025, it had been sitting empty for over a year. The building was cold, tired, and suffering from quite a bit of surface mould. But beneath the dust and damp, we saw its potential—a space that could be transformed into a vibrant creative hub for our community.
Step One: Heat and a Deep Clean
Our first priority was to get the heating back on and give every room a thorough deep clean. Armed with cleaning supplies and determination, we tackled each space, clearing out months of neglect.
The Store Room Surprise
The first room we tackled was the upstairs storeroom. It wasn’t just dusty—thanks to blocked gutters, we found actual plants growing in the corners! Once we cleared the gutters and gave the room a fresh coat of paint, we moved all our equipment in, making it our first functional space.
Creating Our Purple Office
Next up was the office. Cleaning the mould from the top of the walls and ceiling was an interesting challenge, given that the room is about four meters tall! With some elbow grease (and probably a few wobbly moments on ladders), we got the walls prepped and painted—purple, of course. With that done, we set up our office space and finally had a proper base of operations.
The Blue Loo-goon & The Ochre Oasis
Then came the toilets, now proudly named the Blue Loo-goon and the Ochre Oasis—and if you’ve seen them, you’ll understand why! Cleaning, painting, and fixing them up gave us another big milestone in making the space functional for visitors.
The Big One: The Main Hall
The biggest job by far was the main hall. Like the office, the first challenge was tackling the mould on the ceiling and the top of the walls—except this time, we were dealing with a 5.9-meter-high ceiling! Thanks to the loan of a scaffold tower, we managed to get the mould removed safely.
Then came the sanding. The hall has stunning wood panelling all around, but prepping it for painting was no small task. Many pieces of sandpaper, hours of heat-gun work, and four sacrificed sanders later, the woodwork was finally ready.
The Great Floor Debate
Our original plan for the floor was to remove the old carpet and lay lino. But when we pulled up the carpet, we uncovered a beautiful wooden floor underneath. That sparked a new idea—why not sand and varnish it instead?
Simple, right?
Not quite. The old carpet glue was a nightmare. We tried scraping, chemical melting, and even sandblasting, but nothing worked efficiently. As a last-ditch attempt, we brought out the angle grinders with sanding discs—and as fate would have it, they were purple (see the picture!). They worked like a charm, though it took many hours of grinding. It set us back a couple of weeks, but we’re so glad we persevered.
Once the sanding was complete, the entire building was coated in a thick layer of dust, so a BIG cleanup was in order. After that, we painted the walls and ceiling a beautiful ivory, while the woodwork got a lovely green finish. Finally, we varnished the floor—and just like that, the main hall was done!
A Huge Thanks to Our Volunteers
While we were working inside, two amazing volunteers took on the front and side gardens, railings, and gates. They cleared out overgrown weeds, removed rubbish, and transformed the space into a beautiful garden full of flowering plants—including, of course, some purple and yellow! They also rubbed down and repainted all the iron railings, bringing them back to life.
What’s Next?
There’s still plenty more to do, but we’re thrilled to say that we’ve reached the point where we can finally start welcoming people through the doors.
A massive thank you to everyone who helped with sanding, stripping, painting, cleaning, and gardening—you’ve all played a huge role in this transformation. We can’t wait to share this space with the community and see it filled with creativity, laughter, and life.
Stay tuned for updates as we continue our journey!