Going To The Chapelllllllll

And they’re gonna get carrieddddddd … away with restoration. You may recognize Abby and Trey Brothers from Turning the Page Mansion, the once-abandoned Aberdeen mansion they’ve made their home. Now the couple is onto a new project, “The Church,” which dates back to the 1880s in the Addor community (now part of Pinebluff). “We kind of just jump on old things and go ‘eh, we’ll figure it out,'” says Abby. 

The plan is to turn The Church into an intimate event space that will comfortably hold 50-75 people. Abby says much of the Page Mansion was too far gone for a restoration, which forced the couple to renovate instead. She’s been looking for an older property she can actually restore.

“It’s a different kind of challenge than our house,” says Trey. “This is smaller and simpler. With our house we were still learning. This time around we know what we want to do with the place.” 

It’s clear that the floor isn’t quite level, but parts of the building may have not been built straight to begin with. In one place, the floor was patched using a license plate. “We love that so we’re keeping it,” says Abby. They also love the ceiling and plan to keep to keep the white and blue color scheme.

One renovation will be to add plumbing and expand the coat closets on the sides to make room for a bathroom and kitchenette. They’ll also add landscaping and an arbor.

The couple is working with Preservation North Carolina on the project. Since it’s a protected property, certain parts of the church have to stay how they are.

“I can’t wait to have it done and put the plaque on the front saying this is a preserved property,” says Abby. Like the Page Mansion, the couple plans to do much of the work themselves. They are shooting to have it finished in about a year, meeting Preservation NC’s timelines.

“It’s in a community not many people know about, so preserving this church can help more people learn about it,” says Abby. Follow their journey on Instagram at The Addorable Church.