Debbie Shipston has found a buyer for her Cheltenham chapel conversion, featuring remarkable stained-glass windows. Picture: Tony Gough
A Cheltenham chapel conversion with glorious stained-glass windows has tempted a buyer within 24 hours of hitting the market.
Debbie Shipston is set to earn a figure at the top end of the $870,000-$930,000 asking range for her piece of heaven on earth at 2/3 Evergreen Circuit, when the sale goes unconditional this week.
Ms Shipston said when she bought the space inside the 1963-built former home of the Sisters of the Holy Name in 2017, it was being used as a warehouse.
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The stained-glass windows are truly magnificent.
Ms Shipston restored the windows to their former glory.
“Like everybody else, I was attracted to the stained-glass windows,” she said.
“My heart and soul went into restoring it — I am a person of faith, so I just felt I wanted to bring it back to its former glory.
“I repaired broken windows, sanded the floors down, and proceeded to make it my home.”
A family from Caulfield made an offer on the three-bedroom townhouse Ms Shipston created, on the same day they spotted it online and inspected it.
The soaring timber ceiling was also a selling point.
How divine.
The property was built as a chapel in 1963.
Greg Hocking Bayside agent Lauren Chambers said it was “love at first sight” for the buyers, who were tempted by the home’s colourful windows and soaring timber ceilings.
Ms Shipston grew up in the Cheltenham area and said, as a child, she suspected she may end up calling the chapel home one day.
“It was called the naughty girls’ home. I always thought if I was naughty, I might end up living here,” she said.
“But there’s actually a lovely story (behind it). (The Sisters) really tried to help ‘wayward girls’ in those days.”
The main bedroom …
… and the altar that used to occupy the space.
Ms Shipston’s bedroom occupies the same space the altar did when the building was a house of God.
She said she was delighted to sell so quickly during a challenging time for the property market, and would now downsize.
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