A heavenly hideaway living room. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
Bartlett Presbyterian Church was built in 1899 and closed in the 1970s.
Jennifer Tucker helped restore the dilapidated building as a vacation rental with a loft.
Tucker retained many original features, including windows and hardwood floors.
Bartlett Presbyterian Church had been abandoned and falling into disrepair for decades when Jennifer Tucker discovered it.
“There were creatures living under the building, and there were so many fleas that I could barely walk,” Tucker, 49, told Business Insider. “That was terrible.”
The Victorian-style church is located in Bartlett, a small Texas city of about 1,600 residents. The Victorian church's steeple survived, but the paint was peeling, the windows were broken, and the building was leaning slightly to the left.
Still, Tucker was fascinated.
“It spoke to me. It really kept me up at night,” Tucker said of the church. “It was still beautiful in a slightly weathered old lady way.”
Mr. Tucker runs the real estate brokerage company Amazing Realty and is passionate about historic preservation. She converted an old church (now called Heaven's Hideaway) into a one-bedroom vacation rental with a loft and some original features, with new amenities available for $136 a night. I made it.
Read on to learn how Tucker turned a 125-year-old church into a guest-favorite Airbnb.
Bartlett Presbyterian Church was founded in 1899 and had a congregation until the 1970s.
A plate outside Heavenly Hideaway. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
The history of Bartlett Presbyterian Church is displayed on a plaque nailed to the outside of the building. The first congregation, called the Central Texas Presbyterian Church of the Nazarene, was founded in June 1875 and reorganized at its present location in 1897. This church as we know it was built in 1899 and became a Texas Historic Landmark in 1970. The church was quickly closed. rear.
“There are people in Bartlett who went there in the '60s and '70s and remember when it was still a functioning church,” Tucker said.
The church is embedded with nostalgic artifacts that reveal its past.
Photo showing one of the quilting circle notebooks found in the Heavenly Hideout. Courtesy of Jennifer Tucker.
The church served as more than a place of worship. It was a communal space where women from Bartlett's past met every Wednesday for quilting circles and strategized how best to help their neighbors.
Tucker told BI that the women voted to elect the secretary, who was responsible for recording all their good deeds in a notebook. The notebook is now on display in the rental room for guests to view.
“In the quilting circle, we talked about who in the community got sick, how many cards we wrote, who we cooked for that week, who we visited in the hospital,” Tucker said. . “They never left anyone forgotten at the hospital and always had time to collect an extra 50 cents to make sure there was food in the pantry.”
Mr. Tucker purchased the church in October 2020 and completed renovations in May 2021.
Renovation work took seven months. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
After purchasing the church in October 2020, Tucker and a staff of preservationists renovated the 1,400-square-foot space. The process took seven months and cost approximately $200,000.
“We didn't want people to forget the fact that they were in church, but we still wanted them to feel comfortable,” Tucker said.
Heavenly Hideaway retains many of the church's original features, including hardwood floors.
A heavenly hideaway living room. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
Heavenly Hideaway's living room is a cozy space decorated with gray decor and wood accents. Tucker told BI that the hardwood floors are original to the church, despite the water damage.
Fortunately, Tucker and her team found a workaround.
“We used the wood from the bathroom to replace rotten wood elsewhere throughout the building,” Tucker said. “All the hardwood you see is original.”
She also pointed out the hand-carved columns with German-style decorations.
The gourmet kitchen was once the sanctuary of the church.
A heavenly hideaway kitchen. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
Heavenly Hideaway has an open floor concept that connects the living room and kitchen, where the sanctuary once was. Modern amenities include a refrigerator, freezer and cooking essentials.
Guests of the church can also view the church's original large peaked windows. Guests often ask if the windows were once stained glass, but Tucker said that's unlikely.
“The settlers who built that building were so poor that they couldn't have afforded stained glass,” Tucker said.
Preservation of the windows took nine months and the crew's utmost care, she said.
There is also a dining room on the first floor, which was originally the choir loft.
Heavenly hideaway dining. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
A few steps from the living room is a dining space with a long wooden table and blue chairs.
Although the table is a new addition, the dining room space was a choir loft used by the early congregation.
The main bedroom is downstairs and has a queen size mattress.
A heavenly hideaway bedroom. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
The first floor features the main bedroom with plush gray carpet and large windows. Mr. Tucker said the home's paint color, seen in the bedrooms and door trim, is reminiscent of the church's original blue wallpaper.
She explained that she stumbled across the original wallpaper during the restoration process.
“The colors are also very intentional,” says Tucker.
The solid wood floor in the bathroom was replaced with tile.
A bathroom in a heavenly hideaway. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
One bathroom in Heavenly Hideaway has a bathtub with an old faucet surrounded by tiles on almost all sides. Tucker said her team added tile to the bathrooms after removing hardwood to restore the rest of the church.
The second bathroom has matching blue tiles and a shower.
Second bedroom in a heavenly retreat. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
On the first floor of the church there is a second bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. Finished with gold accents for a pop of color.
A winding staircase leads to the second floor loft.
Stairs to the heavenly hideout. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio.
Mr. Tucker said the staircase was one of the only modern additions incorporated into the home.
There is a loft on the second floor where guests can relax and spend time together.
A heavenly hideaway loft. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
Although not considered a formal bedroom, guests can put their feet up in the upstairs loft. In addition to soft carpeting, this space has two queen-sized beds and a partial window.
Heavenly Hideaway is a top-rated vacation spot and a guest favorite.
Heavenly Hideaway in Bartlett, Texas. Eric Fossum/Fossum Studio
Mr. Tucker said travelers have shown strong interest in Heavenly Hideaway, whether it's for a vacation stay or for engagement photos. On Airbnb, this listing earned the title of “Guest Favorite” and received 4.84 stars.
One reviewer said: “We've been spending Christmas with our family for the past few years and this was exactly what we needed.” “Bartlett is our hometown. Even though we don't have a home there anymore, this AirBnB feels like home. Thank you Jennifer for hosting us.”
Another added: “It's a beautiful and enchanting church. Seeing the church come to life made my heart happy. It's a wonderful space and has everything you need.”
