If you are looking for ideas on how to create a small chapel in your home, you may find that there are very few home improvement sites that offer DIY tips for creating a room of this type. While you will find a ton of information on how to design a game room or guest bedroom, you won’t find much information out there on how to design a small chapel for your home. That being the case, let’s take a look at a few tips on what is generally required when repurposing a room so that you have a place set aside for prayer and worship.
Find a Room in a Quiet Corner
One thing you don’t want to do is create a chapel in the next room from a game room, a nursery or even the living room. You will want to be located as far away from all the noise and chaos that is part and parcel of everyday family life. If there is no place like that within your home you might want to consider a garage or attic conversion or perhaps even repurposing an outbuilding in the back yard where little, if any, noise will filter through.
Chapel Décor
No matter what faith you are, if you intend to have services there then you will need an altar. This is especially important if you are Catholic or Orthodox where a priest may celebrate a home Mass. You will also want sacred art for the walls. Not only will this create a focal point for prayer, but it will add a feeling of holiness to your home chapel. Many people choose icons of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin, but along with these there will be patron saints or images of various Biblical stories. One of the most popular for a Catholic chapel is the Last Supper denoting the Eucharist in today’s liturgy.
Beyond Décor
You will also want a small table, probably near the entryway, where you will be able to place a few Bibles, prayer books and maybe a hymnal as well. Perhaps you could use a sound system to play soft music to aid in prayerfulness or Christian songs for times when a service is held there. Catholics will want a crucifix on the front wall, a holy water receptacle, and candles for the altar and for novenas being said for special intentions. Some Catholics lay rosaries on the table that holds bibles and prayer books for convenience so that anyone wishing to say the rosary will have one available.
It is said that a family that prays together stays together. Many Christians today have one night a week in which they get together for an evening of prayer. Some families host a Bible study or prayer group once a week. There is nothing quite like having a chapel in your home to give you a quiet place to commune with the Lord God, Almighty. Whether you simply want to sit quietly in His presence or beseech His mercy when life is spinning out of control, a chapel might provide a much-needed holy oasis in a barren desert you sadly call life.