Ready for change, yet not quite ready to take on a church building project? While a church building project may occupy the forefront of your goals, your new church design budget may take time to accumulate. While saving for your dream church project, why not do some low-cost renovations to your current building?
At Churches by Daniels, we understand pastors and church boards can sometimes feel overwhelmed when it comes to building or renovating their church. We help churches throughout the United States achieve their ministry building goals with professional construction services.
Make small affordable improvements with big impact
While saving, and fundraising, for your new church building or remodeling project, make the most of what you have, and bring an uplifting atmosphere to your current design. One place to start is your church lobby. Since it’s the first place people experience when they enter your building, put your best foot forward from floor to ceiling. Here are some ideas to spark creativity and innovation within your space:
1. Declutter and clean
How does free sound for a good place to start refreshing your lobby? Take time to declutter your lobby of furniture and wall art that don’t match your vision for the renewed space. Go through the information booth and throw away all the outdated information. Sift through the lost and found, and thoughtfully donate what hasn’t been found in a reasonable period of time. Next, deep clean your whole lobby so you have a fresh canvas on which to make changes.
2. Welcome with warmth
Have you ever been asked, “May I get you a cup of coffee?” There’s something quite welcoming about the hospitable gesture of offering a warm, soothing cup of coffee, tea, or even hot chocolate. You may not have the luxury of a full service coffee shop in your current church building, but that doesn’t mean delicious coffee can’t happen another way. A mobile coffee station may work for now. Consider creating a coffee bar that could be wheeled into the foyer at an attractive location to provide some basics like coffee, tea, and water. A couple of creamer options and some sweetener make a nice addition.
3. Create space to linger
If you don’t have some comfortable chairs or couches in your lobby, consider adding them to create some space for people to linger after service. Give people the perfect atmosphere to create connections, and they will.
4. Update the color
A fresh coat of paint is one of the most affordable ways to give a room a new look. Look up some of the most popular colors today, and take the opportunity to update your lobby with color. Understand that investing in high-quality paint may save you money in the long run. You may not need as many coats, and it should last longer than the paint that’s most affordable up front.
5. Add an accent wall
A wall painted with an accent color can add visual interest to your lobby and give a whole new design flow to your space. Look at the color wheel and discuss options with professionals at a reputable paint store. A complementary color can boost the overall design.
6. Create a purpose for sections of large spaces
If you have an open concept to your current lobby, design purposes for different sections of it. You can divide it up by using groupings of chairs, couches, the information booth, and coffee spot.
7. Make directions stand out
If you walk into your current lobby as if you were a first-time visitor, how would you know where different places are within the church? Based on your current signs, could you find the main sanctuary? What about the restrooms? Would you know which way to turn to get to the children’s ministry?
While giving your lobby some affordable, refreshing changes, take time to make directions stand out. Show people which way to go to find what they are looking for. One church literally painted some great looking arrows on the wall at a highly visible spot, and inside the arrows wrote: restrooms, children’s drop off, main sanctuary, etc., and it served as both a modern-looking design feature as well as a practical way to help visitors find their way around.
8. Add some greenery
Bring the outdoors inside by adding something as simple as fresh cut flowers in a vase at the information booth. If you’ve been blessed with some natural light in your lobby, consider adding refreshing green plants from your local nursery, and assign a volunteer with the responsibility of keeping them watered and healthy. If you prefer not to use real flowers and greenery, high-quality fake green plants can look amazing, add warmth to a space, and last.
9. Warm up your lighting
A simple table lamp on an end table adjacent to a couch or grouping of chairs can add a touch of warmth to the overall space. If you don’t have room for an end table, try adding a floor lamp in the corner to create warmth. If you have hanging light fixtures, consider switching them out for more modern-looking refreshing fixtures that complement your lobby’s overall look.
Freshen Up Your Church Design with Churches by Daniels
As you make the most of your current building, you can still plan for church future renovations. Get inspired by taking a look at some churches our team at Churches by Daniels had built or remodeled.
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