If you're now working remotely and able to live anywhere, why not a sanctuary in a quaint rural town in Wisconsin?
There's a Catholic church, built in 1885, that has been converted into a Mediterranean-style home and is now on the market for $287,500.
"It looks like a house that no one else would have," said Brenda Thompson, owner of Special Finds (www.specialfinds.com), a website for unusual properties.
The church still has its original hand-carved entry door, which opens to an interior with 20-foot domed ceilings, original Gothic arched windows and two huge stained-glass windows — in the kitchen. The 2,544-square-foot home is filled with light, thanks to the tall church windows, and has an open floor plan and original maple floors.
There's just one bedroom — in the former choir loft — but its bathroom includes a walk-in shower and claw foot copper tub. There's also another half bath.
The distinctive home is located in Weyauwega, Wis., a town with a population of 1,900 built around a lake about 250 miles from the Twin Cities. Weyauwega is between Stevens Point and Appleton, and offers proximity to the Chain o' Lakes and Wolf River.
The town's claim to fame is that author Robert Bloch lived there for six years while writing "Psycho," the horror novel that inspired the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film classic.
The current owners converted the old church into a home after moving from Florida and discovering the property while they were in the area. "They had no intention of buying a church," said Thompson, but they fell for its distinctive architecture.
Over the years, the owners invested substantially in the property, Thompson said, converting the 0.39-acre corner parcel from a parking lot to a fenced, lawn-covered yard, and adding an oversized two-car garage.
The systems and mechanicals have been updated, with a newer furnace, a tankless hot-water heater and a new roof.
The owners also added handcrafted, one-of-a-kind chandeliers, decorative tile in the kitchen, hand-stenciled floor designs and shutters to fit the Gothic windows, shipped from a Catholic church in New York.
"There's a whole breed of people who buy churches" to live in, said Thompson, who currently has three on her website.
"The benefit of owning a church is it's built to last forever," she said, with walls 8 inches thick. "It has stood the test of time."
The property is listed at Special Finds (www.specialfinds.com).
