Each element of your church design plays a part in making your guests feel welcome. Whether you’re building new or renovating—the design choices you make will be impactful on your members and guests alike. Like some of the other design elements we’ve talked about, your vision should help guide you in making these decisions.
Why Choose Paint for Your Church Design?
For starters, here’s a picture of a small seating area at Blue Grass UMC in Evansville, IN, that serves multiple functions. It’s a small meeting space, a place for people to get to know each other over coffee, but also it’s an opportunity to share some of the history of the church with guests and members. The pictures hung on the walls tell a story, helping to tie your church’s vision into the interior design.
The Blue Grass example shows the effectiveness of an accent wall with a contrasting color of paint. The flooring and other walls are intentionally neutral colors, so that the contrasting paint in the sitting area will draw people’s eyes toward the pictures. This way, people are drawn to learn more about the church and what it has to offer to members and the community. Paint also helps diversify a space—it mixes well with other finishes and the number of colors is only limited by your imagination.
Another advantage of paint is that it can be easily changed or touched up. For example, Blue Grass might want to highlight a different aspect of its church history—or unfolding vision—next year. By changing both the pictures and the paint color, they can effectively draw members’ attention to what is new, without having to post a sign or make an announcement.
Paint is also the most cost-effective option for wall coverings. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for an economical church renovation to help you live out your commitment to good stewardship.
What about vinyl wall coverings?
Vinyl wall coverings can convey bright colors and are durable, but they can also be expensive to install and remove. We find that they are best used in children’s areas when creating wall graphics.
When You Want Your Church Building to Stand Tall
There are also times when it’s appropriate to use different wall finishes in order to illustrate other aspects of your church design characteristics. Say, for example, that you want to appeal to the millennial generation by using natural materials. This picture from Grace Gathering in New Haven, IN shows how a tall, stone-fronted fireplace can draw the eye upward, adding dimension, texture and definition to a large space.
The metal finish at the top of the walls creates interest within the space, but also serves a hidden practical function for the church building. This is because those metal finishes have tiny perforations and acoustical material behind them, helping to absorb noise that might otherwise echo in such an open area.
When You Want Everyone to Feel at Home
Finally, here’s another example of an appropriate use of wall finishes to enhance your church design. The wood wainscot is a traditional finish for homes, which helps add comfort and warmth to hospitality areas. You can also see how the accent color draws the eye to both the fireplace (another homey finishing touch) and the TV monitor which can be used for meetings, teaching or entertainment.
Much of what we’ve talked about today is really centered on the idea of hospitality. In our next post, we’re going to talk more about the specialty spaces in your church building that help support hospitality. Meanwhile, sign up today for our free i3 webinar series so we can help you make those important connections between your church building and your church’s vision.