Design Inspiration from Historic Church Sites

We visited historic church sites for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The humble and primitive design style was very inspiring for me and I would love to share it with you!

My family and I went on a 3 week trip across country to visit historic sites in the US. (Did you catch the YouTube video of our trip?!) Our biggest focus was to explore the places of significant events surrounding the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

We learned of incredible blessings and incredible hardship, and are forever changed from the stories and spirit of the places we visited.

Most of these experiences are very sacred and special to me, but I was also inspired by the design elements I saw in the humble homes of Latter Day Saints in the early to mid 1800’s. Being a lover of all things interior design, I couldn’t help but soak up every detail.

We have also bought a new/old home and I felt so inspired by elements of design that speak to me as I seek to create a home that is colorful and primitive, cottage and farmhouse. Let’s just say, my heart and design cups were filled to overflowing on this trip!

A lot of these places we visited are rebuilt or restored structures, many with at least the same original foundation. It was fun to learn of all the historical records that aided in restoring these places of interest, and the careful attention to detail that the team of historians and designers honored in recreating places of learning and history.

If you ever get a chance to visit any of these places, please do it! I know you will be inspired in many ways and everything is free and void of any commercialism – which was a reprieve after visiting so many other US history sites where everything cost so much money.

Susquehanna/Harmony, Pennsylvania

In this small town originally called “Harmony”, we got to see the priesthood restoration site for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If you’re wondering what that means, you can learn more about it and even tour virtually here.

In this area was the first home of Joseph Smith (an early prophet of the church) and Emma Smith where they lived after getting married, as well as a home belonging to Emma Smith’s parents. Emma’s parents (The Hale’s) were a more wealthy family for the time, so it is interesting to note the differences in the homes.

The Home of the Hale’s

I loved all the windows with the green shutters on the Hale home. So charming!

The kitchen space was adorable as well. I loved the mix of yellow and blue, with the brick oven surround. I thought it was so clever in many of these homes that a rack would be hung near the stove to store and dry linens.

I was also in love with the wide plank wood flooring, mixed with brick flooring around the oven. The horizontal plank trim, the doors, the window trim, the antiques . . . I was just in love with every detail!

I love a pretty pantry with open shelving too! This space was staged to perfection.

I loved seeing the clever way to hang a cafe curtain with simple nails and string. The swoop it gives to the linen is adorable! Who will be the first to make this popular on Pinterest?

The Hale’s were wealthy enough to have a separate dining room, with incredible wall detail and lovely furnishings.

We learned that accurate to that time period, those with a little more wealth would often line their hardwood floors with varying rugs.

I loved how each space in the Hale home had a unique look and feel of its own, even though they were actually very small spaces by today’s standards.

I adored all the hardware, latches and lighting around every corner. So much color and pattern!

I just loved all the details in this historic home.

Joseph and Emma Smith Homestead in Pennsylvania

In this humble homestead owned by Joseph and Emma Smith, much of the work of the translation of the Book of Mormon took place, with several people acting as scribes to Joseph as he translated this ancient record by the gift and power of God.

I loved hearing the stories of the events that took place here, but also loved the simple design. I felt more at ease here as I am not one for too much color and pattern – like we saw in the Hale home.

Just look at all the incredible doors!

I loved the trim work in here so much – perhaps you will see something similar in our home someday.

Isn’t that a clever way to make a bed canopy?!

Palmyra, New York

Palmyra, New York is rich in history and sacred events for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Feel free to learn more about all that happened and all you can see while there. It was the cutest town too!

Among the buildings that inspired me (design-wise) was one of the Smith Family homes and the Grandin Print Shop.

Smith Family Farm Home

I wish I would have captured more here, but I did adore the primitive style of the Smith Family Farm Home. I never thought I would love red trim in a home, but it was quite charming.

One of my favorite things to see throughout the homes was the creative lighting. Of course, they didn’t have electricity in the 1800’s, but in the process of restoring the home to look and feel original, they had electric lights installed that looked like candles on the walls. I want that all over my home now! So cool!

I know historians worked hard to bring in original furniture pieces whenever possible. When that wasn’t an option, they stuck with period correct antiques to stage the homes when needed. It was all lovely and the historical stories were incredible.

Grandin Print Shop

My son loved the Grandin Print Shop and seeing all the mechanics that were involved with the printing of that day – and especially the miracles that helped bring the printing of the Book of Mormon to life.

Inside this tourist only print shop, we learned a ton, heard a lot of amazing stories – and I, of course, appreciated the beautiful home design.

The picture above was a recreation of the home where more translation of the Book of Mormon took place, and below you can see photos of the Grandin Print Shop itself.

I was loving that wooden shelving rack, and thought how nice it would be to have in a pantry too!

Kirtland, Ohio

Next, we cruised on over to Kirtland, Ohio where we got to tour the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints newly acquired Kirtland Temple (which I feel is too sacred to share the inside here), as well as another cute home of Joseph and Emma Smith.

I got some close ups of the details in this home, because I was enjoying them so much and wanted to remember them.

I can totally envision our new Lavender Blue Cottage home taking on these same design aesthetics . . . can’t you?!

Nauvoo, Illinois (The City Beautiful)

Visiting Nauvoo, Illinois was probably my favorite experience and where I captured less interiors (go figure). We spent 3 enjoyable days there and could have spent more.

Nauvoo is an entire city rebuilt and restored in memory of the 10,000 or so saints living there in the 1800’s. They sacrificed so much and endured so much religious persecution, but the stories of faith and community changed me forever.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has created a little haven here again where you can tour many historic homes, buildings, shops, etc. There are also carriage rides, kids activities, films and performances to fill your days. It felt like a slice of heaven!

Nauvoo was similar to Colonial Williamsburg where the workers dress up and try to give you a feel of the times. What impressed me about Nauvoo was that it was all free and those who worked the animals and grounds, performed and shared stories were all old and young missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – giving of their time and money to share these experiences with all those who will come and see. I would love to serve there someday too!

My heart broke for all the saints who were forced to leave their city Nauvoo, their beloved temple, homes, belongings and even loved ones in the wake of intense persecution and threat of attacks. Here we get the Mormon exodus to the West – with experiences no less miraculous than that of the children of Israel. You can even tour a lot of those historical sites to learn more about that!

Visiting Carthage Jail in Nauvoo was a humbling experience, witnessing where Joseph and his brother Hyrum Smith were martyred – sealing their testimonies of Jesus Christ with their blood. I’ll never forget the beautiful witness from the spirit that I received there.

I digress . . . here are a few images I captured while touring some of the historic homes in Nauvoo.

Thank you for allowing me this space to share design inspiration with you, as well a bit of my heart. Let me know if you’ve ever seen these places and what you thought of them!

Learn More

I invite you to learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and our history! Take care, because most of what you search for online is carefully misconstrued and inaccurate. I suggest starting at the churches website, inviting a missionary to come share more with you personally, or lately I have been enjoying the podcasts series called “The Joseph Smith Papers Podcasts” and “A Marvelous Work” on YouTube. You can also request a free Book of Mormon here – it is a beautiful book that stands as another witness of Jesus Christ.

More Design Inspiration for Your Home

Be sure to catch my other post where I shared design inspiration from our visits to Mount Vernon and Monticello. They are both stunning!

Feel free to take a look around my blog for more home design inspiration:

• Introduction to Nature and Earthy-Inspired Kids’ Bedroom Design with Play Loft
• Shared Kids Closet Design Reveal with Rolling Library Ladder
• How to Design Checkerboard Flooring (Color, Material, Finish)
• Design Ideas for Building a Pole Barn House
• The Best Interior Design Bloggers to Follow for Decorating Ideas
• The Most Beautiful Butler’s Pantry Design Ideas and Inspiration
• How to Layer and Style a Bed like a Designer
• How to Create Interior Design Mood Boards Digitally
• Master Bathroom Design Plans | Marble & Gold Bathroom
• French Cottage Bathroom Design Board
• Master Bedroom Design Elements
• Master Bathroom Design Board
• 24 Stunning Pole Barn Home and Barndominium Interiors
• 16 Gorgeous Pole Barn and Barndominium House Exteriors