Paint plays an important role in reimagining a historic Philadelphia church.

Even from the street, it’s clear this former church in Center City Philadelphia is up to something fun. A custom teal green* latex paint in a glossy finish makes a brilliant statement right from the front door — and plays a recurring role in the building, recently reimagined as the Deacon Hotel.

On the outside, the former church is unassuming, save for the custom teal green front door that hints at what’s to come inside.

Rooted in Color

“Every project I work on begins with color,” interior designer Shannon Maldonado says. In fact, her first design presentation to Deacon Hotel developer/partner Everett Abitbol centered on a color mood board. “His eyes lit up,” Maldonado remembers. Although Abitbol has worked with a good number of architects and designers on other projects, he’d never been given information about color that went beyond a single page. “The color palette was the first thing Shannon presented, and it really was the guiding light for this project,” he says. “It was a good reference point where we could always go back and make sure what we were doing was cohesive.”

Thoughtfully Transformed

The church’s former sanctuary became the hotel’s main common space. ProMar^® 200 Zero VOC Interior Latex Paint in Marshmallow SW 7001 (267-C1) covers the vast vaulted ceiling, with a custom teal green punctuating walls in the adjacent kitchen and dining/sitting room. “I like mixing high and low, elegance and tongue-in-cheek,” Maldonado says. “And I like going from the really huge space with tall ceilings to moments like the lounge and kitchen. It makes it intimate right away.” Similarly, each of the hotel’s eight rooms — housed on two floors adjacent to the common space — is painted Reserved White SW 7056 (258-C2) (most walls) and Marshmallow (ceilings), with accent walls in colors including Inspired Lilac SW 6820 (181-C1), Rose Embroidery SW 6297 (110-C3) and Tricorn Black SW 6258 (251-C1).

The church’s original sanctuary architecture remains largely intact in the vast common space. ProMar^® 200 Zero VOC Interior Latex Paint in Marshmallow SW 7001 (267-C1) covers the ceilings. “I remember landing on this color,” developer/partner Everett Abitbol says. “It makes the ceilings feel soft and authentic, and it does a lot with the light that comes in.”

The teal green kitchen tucks into the niche that once housed the church’s pipe organ. Danish furniture, vintage prints and whimsical chandeliers pop against the custom teal wall color in the dining/sitting area.

Honoring History

Although the Gothic Revival church structure was built in 1906, the church congregation — one of the first African Baptist congregations in the United States — dates back to the 1830s. Despite the congregants’ sale of the church and move to a larger, more modern building, Abitbol wanted to preserve — and reimagine — the historic building for the community. “Shannon was the design Sherpa for this project,” Abitbol says. “I knew she would help us build out a soul for what kind of space this would be — to work sensitively around this church’s rich history.” Preserving the building’s stained glass windows played an important part in that effort — and tied to the project’s focus on color. “There are some moments when the sun completely erases all of the color and makes the look modern and graphic,” Maldonado says. “And then there are others where the windows look traditional, the color strong.”

This hotel room’s accent wall, painted in Inspired Lilac SW 6820 (181-C1), picks up on colors in the church’s original stained glass windows.

*Note: ColorSnap^® Precision advanced color matching technology ensures accurate custom color matches.

Hotel: Photos: Jillian Guyette/Heidi’s Bridge