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In 1983 I moved to a small town in Alberta, Canada called Colinton (Population
175). At the time, I was working for Athabasca University (an "open"
distance education university.) I had the opportunity to buy an old
(1929) United Church and school. The church was essentially 2X4
construction with no insulation, no plumbing, enough power to light a
couple of fixtures, and diesel (kerosene) heat. The ceilings were
about 13 ft. high, and the walls were shiplap fir covered with 3/8"
drywall. The church was likely built by several ministers and a cadre
of local farmers. With that many amateur builders working on it, there
wasn't a single 16" center in the house. There was a separate vestibule
at the front, where parishiners hung their coats. Given the total lack
of insulation, church in the winter must have been interesting. Keep in
mind that this is central Alberta where the temperatures get down to
-40 C (For those who can't convert, that's also -40 F, where the scales
converge). Someone probably came in early and stoked up the wood or
oil stove. When everyone arrived, they all probably kept on their
coats. The ones near the stove roasted and the ones at the other end
of the church froze.
My wife, Margaret Bigelow, and I drew up some plans and went to work. We started work in May, 1983 and moved in in December, 1983, but it took us 10 years to complete all the details! The house was superinsulated (average heating bills of approx. $40.00/month.) We installed a partial 2nd floor, Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Area, 2 Full Baths and 2 and 1/2 bedrooms (A large master BR, a normal size one, and a small one which doubled as a nursery.) The last year we were there, we added an addition to the house which connected the house and the "school" (actually our studio and workshop.)
I am interested in other similar home design and architecture sources. If you know of any interesting sites, please mail me and I'll post them here.
Here are some photos of the house. Click on each picture for a larger photo.
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The front yard. Note the great windows in the school --- perfect for a studio / workshop. |  |
Side yard showing the addtiion and back door. |
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Front of house, showing the vestible. Note that the double door was removed and replaced with a small window. |  |
A view of the addition which connects the house with the studio/workshop. |
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The Vestibule - with front door on right |
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A view of the living room (vestiblue) from the second floor landing. |
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Dining area with pass-thru to kitchen shown on right. |  |
Dining area. Note original church wood trim around windows. |
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Stairs to 2nd floor. |  |
A view of the kitchen, looking at the pass-through to the dining area. |
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Kitchen. Note the two extra windows that were added on either side of the original window. |  |
The addition, looking back from the kitchen. Door to studio/workshop on left, back door on right. |
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The addition, looking back toward the kitchen. Door to front yard on the right. |  |
Downstairs bathroom and laundry. |
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Upstairs bathroom. |  |
Master bedroom. |
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Master bedroom (north) showing closet and vanity area. | 
| Master bedroom (south) showing closet. and alcove for loveseat or desk at right. |