Divine design: how to collect ecclesiastical antiques
Salvaged items from deconsecrated churches – from elaborate candle holders to chapel chairs – can make impressive centrepieces in your home. Here's how to buy them and style them...
Take a pew: make a feature of a quiet corner of your home, such as a hallway or even in the kitchen, with a bench and selection of ceremonial candle holders. Incorporate hand-embroidered kneelers as extra seating options for children.
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In a garden room or boot room, embrace a sense of flourishing new life with plenty of fresh greenery entwined around candle holders and perhaps a font. A decorative stonework panel grounds the look.
19th-century wooden font, £950, Lorfords. Wreath, £40, Lily Violet May. Gothic panel, £220, Maison Tetbury. Candelabra, find similar at Antique Church Furnishings.
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Bless this house: a mixture of communion dishes offset with bold, cream ceramic pitchers, adds interest and a fun sense of feasting to the dining area. Choose items of different heights to keep the effect intriguing. The candle chandelier is a dramatic finishing touch, which brings the room to life as night falls.
18th-century trestle table, £3,800, Lorfords. Egham Hythe elm and beech early 1900s classic church chapel chairs, £55 each; Sacred Heart statue of Jesus with removable hands and cuffs, £265, both Antique Church Furnishings. Plain rimmed pewter plates, £75 each; 19th-century silver communion dish on stand, £350, both Lassco.Pewter mugs, from £28 each, Focus on the Past. Swedish ceramic jugs, £1,950 for two (as part of a collection), Brownrigg. Communion chalice, £1,200 for a pair, Lassco. Early 19th-century pewter bowl, £245, Josephine Ryan Antiques. Plates, £2,500 for a large set of tableware, Brownrigg. Three large silver plate forks with monogram, £25 for four; three French black-handled silver collared knives, £85 for 12, both Number 52 Antiques. Iron hanging candle chandelier, £450, Josephine Ryan Antiques. Blush pink tablecloth, £37.50; blush pink napkins, £14.40, both La Redoute.Pewter footed bowl, £150, Focus on the Past.
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In this cosy snug, a lectern has been cleverly refashioned into a lamp, complete with table. The finely detailed minister’s chairis not only a stylish addition to the room but also provides a comfy seat, with help from a sumptuously beaded cushion.
Trinity oak period minister’s chair, £295, Antique Church Furnishings. Late 1800s Italian altar cushion all glass beaded, £135 for a pair, Antiques Centre York. Bible, £2,000, Peter Harrington. Decorative floor lamp lectern, £980; orange silk lampshade 50cm, £210, both Lorfords. Rare Joseph and Mary antique French chalkware, £80 for the pair, Beau Chateau Boutique. Hymns ancient & modern book, £250; bible, £2,250, both Peter Harrington.Red book (on lectern), stylist’s own. Plants and pots, stylist’s own. Capital, £950 for a pair with columns, Brownrigg. Izzy two-and-a-half-seat sofa in Dusty Rose cotton matt velvet, £1,940, Sofa.com. Amara small velvet cushion, £35, Graham & Green. Cushion with saint image, stylist’s own. 1930s Turkish Kayseri kilim, £1,695, Rare Rugs.
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Simple velvet cushions are instantly transformed into something much more striking with the addition of maniples in contrasting colours.
Rug, find similar at Joshua Lumley. Amara small velvet cushions, from £35 each, Graham & Green. Red maniple (on pink cushion), £20; pink maniple (on orange cushion), £15; white maniple (on mustard cushion), £15, all Luzar Vestments. Plain rimmed pewter plate, £75, Lassco.
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The bathroom is ripe for incorporating salvaged pieces. Use the window sill to display statement candlesticks and small statuary. Be creative with other items such as columns and capitals – they make unusual soap holders or a spot for trailing plants.
Arched window mirror, £750, Lorfords. Bath and copper taps, find similar at Heritage Bathrooms. Painted wooden column, £495 for a pair, Lorfords. Savon de Marseille olive block soap, £12, Trouva. 18th-century Italian wooden cherub, £2,900 for a pair, Lorfords. Brass candlesticks, find similar at Lorfords. Tea lights and holders, stylist’s own. Towels, from £9.99, Zara Home. Books, stylist’s own. Natural sponge, £5, Homesense. Glastonbury chair, £450, Robert Mills Architectural Antiques. Spanish terracotta jug, £245, Josephine Ryan Antiques. Plaster and gilt frieze, £250, Maison Tetbury. Rug, find similar at John Lewis & Partners.
