Project Case Study · Pew Reupholstery

Before and After: Reupholstering Orange Church Pews in Hunter Green

Bright orange pew fabric makes a statement. In this sanctuary it was competing with amber and green stained glass. We reupholstered the pews in a deep hunter green and kept the oak pew ends with their carved crosses. Here is what changed, why the new color works, and how to choose a pew color for your own sanctuary.

Church pews reupholstered in hunter green fabric with oak ends and carved crosses beside stained-glass windows
The finished pews: hunter green fabric, original oak ends, carved crosses intact.

The Pews, Side by Side

Both photos are taken from nearly the same spot, looking down the pew line toward the stained-glass windows. Watch the carved cross on the nearest pew end, the lattice glass, and the gray carpet. None of those changed.

Before Church pews upholstered in bright orange fabric with oak ends and carved crosses before reupholstery
Before: bright orange from seat to top of back. Against amber glass and white walls, the pews were the loudest thing in the room.
After Same church pews after reupholstery in hunter green fabric, stained-glass windows along the wall
After: hunter green, same oak and crosses. The green picks up the green panes in the stained glass and lets the windows lead again.

The takeaway: when the frames are good, a new fabric color can change how a whole sanctuary feels. Nothing structural moved in this room.

Where This Sanctuary Started

These pews were already upholstered, so this was a reupholstery job, not a first-time conversion. The seats and backs were covered edge to edge in a bright orange fabric. The oak pew ends each carry a carved cross, and the frames are square and solid.

The room around them is simple and bright: white walls, gray-blue carpet, and tall lattice windows filled with amber and green stained glass. That is a lot of warm color coming in through the glass. Put orange pews underneath it and everything starts shouting at once.

The good news in the before photo is everything that is not orange. Oak ends like these, with the crosses cut right into them, are the kind of detail a church should keep. New pews would have meant losing them.

So the question was never whether to replace the pews. It was which color would let this room settle down.

Oak church pew with carved end reupholstered in red fabric by McPhail Church Services
Oak ends are worth keeping. This red pew is from a different McPhail project, shown for comparison.

Choosing a New Pew Color: What This Room Teaches

Pew fabric is the largest block of color in most sanctuaries, and it stays for a long time. This project is a good lesson in how to choose it.

Start with what cannot change

Stained glass, wood tone, and carpet are expensive or impossible to swap. Here the green came straight out of the windows, so the pews and the glass now agree.

Pick a color that sits back

Deeper colors let the windows, the altar, and the cross carry the room. Bright colors pull the eye down to the seating, which is rarely where you want it.

Respect the wood tone

Golden oak and hunter green have been paired for generations because they flatter each other. The carved crosses now stand out against the fabric instead of disappearing into it.

Judge samples in your own light

Stained glass tints everything under it. A fabric that looks right in a showroom can look very different at 11 a.m. on a Sunday, so look at samples in the sanctuary itself.

We offer a wide fabric selection with design recommendations and color-matching. More on that is on our church pew upholstery page.

How a Pew Reupholstery Job Comes Together

Changing the fabric on already-upholstered pews follows a steady sequence. Here is how a job like this one runs.

  1. Walk the sanctuary

    The free consultation starts with the frames, joints, and seat boards. If something needs repair, it gets fixed before new fabric covers it.

  2. Choose the fabric and color

    Our fabrics are woven in the U.S. from domestic yarns and built for commercial use. This is where the room’s glass, wood, and carpet guide the choice.

  3. Take off the old fabric

    The old covering comes off, and the foam underneath gets checked. Worn foam is replaced with high-density LUX foam, sized and firmed for the congregation.

  4. Protect the wood

    Oak ends and carved details stay on the pew and are protected while the upholstery work happens around them.

  5. Fit the new fabric

    New fabric is pulled tight and fastened so it sits flat from end to end, with clean edges against the wood.

  6. Reset the room

    The pews go back in their rows, ready for the next service. The upholstery is covered by our 15-year warranty.

McPhail craftsmen preparing church pew panels for reupholstery in their shop
Prepping pew panels in our shop. This photo is from a different McPhail project.
McPhail technician finishing reupholstered church pews inside a sanctuary
Finishing upholstered pews on-site. Also from a different McPhail project.

Pew Fabric Colors and the Rooms They Suit

There is no single right pew color. There is a right color for your room. These are the pairings we see work again and again.

Fabric colorOften suitsWatch for
Hunter or forest greenGolden oak, green in the stained glass, trees outside the windowsCan read dark in a room with small windows
Burgundy or redDark wood, traditional sanctuaries, dark wainscot, like our Lebanon, TN pew upholstery projectCan overpower a small, low-ceilinged room
BlueBlue carpet or glass, lighter wood tonesMatch the carpet closely or clearly contrast it
Gray or taupeLarge, modern rooms with neutral walls and lots of lighting, like our large two-level sanctuaryPick a warm neutral if the wood is golden

If the fabric is fine and the wood is the problem, start with church pew refinishing instead. If you want some padding without full upholstery, look at lay-in pew cushions.

Why Churches Trust McPhail With Their Pews

We are a family-owned company that has worked with churches from Eastern North Carolina to Texas, plus courthouses, funeral homes, and historical buildings. The people who help you choose the fabric are the same people who put it on your pews.

2,000+church pew restorations
30+years of combined experience
15-yearupholstery warranty
100%in-house, no subcontractors
  • A 15-year upholstery warranty. Rare in this trade, and backed by the team that did the work.
  • Color help included. Design recommendations and color-matching to your wood, glass, and carpet.
  • No outside contractors. Upholstery, refinishing, repairs, and installation by our own team.
  • USA-sourced materials. Domestic wood, fabric, and foam, with high-density LUX foam in the seats.
  • Built around your calendar. We schedule around services, weddings, and funerals.
  • Free consultation and quote. Honest advice on what needs doing now and what can wait.

“We appreciate your dedication to your job and concern to complete the installation in a neat and orderly manner.”

Bethel United Methodist ChurchChurch Pew Restoration in Clarksville, TN

“I cannot say enough as to how blessed we were to have a man of his honesty and integrity to be a part of the building of our new place of worship.”

Bible Holiness ChurchChurch Pew Restoration in Silvis, IL

See more color changes in our before-and-after photo gallery, or read more about the McPhail family.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can church pews be reupholstered in a different color?

Yes. This project took pews from bright orange to hunter green. The old fabric comes off, the foam is checked, and new fabric in any color from our selection goes on the same frames.

How do we choose the right color for our church pews?

Start with what will not change, such as stained glass, wood tone, and carpet, and choose a fabric that works with them. Look at samples in your sanctuary’s own light. We offer design recommendations and color-matching to help.

Is the old foam replaced when pews are reupholstered?

We check it on every job. Where the foam has worn down, we replace it with high-density LUX foam and set its size and firmness for your congregation.

Will reupholstering damage carved pew ends?

It should not. The oak ends stay on the pew and are protected while the upholstery work is done. The carved crosses on the pews in this project came through unchanged.

Will our church have to cancel services during the work?

No. We schedule every project around your church calendar, including services, weddings, and funerals, so the sanctuary stays available for worship.

What warranty comes with pew reupholstery?

McPhail Church Services offers a 15-year warranty on church pew upholstery, which is rare in this industry. All of the work is done by our own team.

Ready for a Color Change?

If your pews have a color that no longer fits your sanctuary, the frames are probably worth keeping. Let us take a look and bring the room back together. The consultation is free.

McPhail Church Services, Inc. · 59 Vickers Lane, Autryville, NC 28318 · 910-322-5673

Project Case Study · Large Sanctuary

Before and After: Reupholstering Pews in a Large Two-Level Sanctuary

Most pew projects cover a couple dozen rows. This one filled a main floor and a wraparound balcony. The faded mint-green fabric came off, a neutral gray-taupe went on, and the solid oak pew frames stayed right where they were. Here is what changed, how a reupholstery job this size gets done around a busy church calendar, and what to plan for if your sanctuary is big too.

Large two-level church sanctuary after pew reupholstery, with gray-taupe fabric on every pew on the main floor and balcony
The finished room: every pew on the main floor and balcony in one gray-taupe fabric.
ScaleMain floor plus a wraparound balcony
ServiceChurch pew reupholstery
Starting pointFaded mint-green fabric on oak frames
ResultOne gray-taupe fabric, every frame kept

The Sanctuary, Side by Side

Same room, shot from two different spots. The before photo looks across the main floor from the side. The after photo looks out from the platform. To line them up, find the balcony front, the lighting truss, and the wood doors along the back wall. None of those moved.

Before Large church sanctuary before pew reupholstery, rows of mint-green pews on the main floor and balcony with work underway
Before: mint-green fabric, work underway. Look at the right edge. A saw station and tools sit on the floor, and crew members are working up in the balcony rows.
After Same large church sanctuary after reupholstery, gray-taupe pews in angled sections below the balcony
After: gray-taupe on every row. Same oak ends, same angled sections, same balcony. The room around the pews got new carpet and a lighter wall color too.

The takeaway: size is not a reason to replace. A sanctuary this big can keep every pew frame and still end up looking like a different room.

What a Room This Size Starts With

Start with the pews themselves. Hundreds of feet of them, set in angled sections that fan toward the platform, with more rows stepping up the balcony. Every pew is fully upholstered on the seat and back, with oak ends and an oak cap along the top.

Now look at the fabric. In the before photo the green is not one color. It runs lighter in some spots and darker in others, the way upholstery does after years of people sitting, standing, and sliding in and out. Aisle seats and front rows take the most traffic, so a big room can look patchy long before the frames need anything at all.

And the frames did not need anything obvious. The oak ends are straight and square, the sections are still in line, and the balcony rows match the floor. That is the situation where reupholstery makes the most sense. You are paying to replace the part that wore out, not the part that did not. Smaller rooms follow the same logic, like our church pew upholstery project in Lebanon, TN, where bare wood pews got padding for the first time.

Scale changes the planning, not the principle. More pews means more fabric to order, more sections to sequence, and more Sundays to work around. It is the same job, many more times.

McPhail technician working on upholstered church pews on-site inside a sanctuary
On-site upholstery work in a sanctuary. This photo is from a different McPhail project, shown to illustrate the work.

What Changed, Detail by Detail

Put the two photos next to each other and four things stand out. The biggest one is what did not change: the seating layout of a very large room.

A neutral fabric

Mint green gave way to a soft gray-taupe. A neutral lets the platform and the people be the color in the room, and it will not look dated when the next paint job comes along.

Balcony matches the floor

The balcony rows got the same fabric as the main floor. From the platform, the whole room reads as one pew line instead of an upstairs and a downstairs.

Angled sections kept

The pews still fan toward the platform in the same angled sections, with the same aisles. Nobody had to relearn where they sit, and no one had to redesign the room.

A new palette around them

The church also changed the carpet and lightened the walls. New pew fabric had to fit that new palette, which is why the color choice mattered as much as the upholstery.

How a Large Sanctuary Gets Reupholstered

A big room follows the same process as a small one. It just takes more coordination. The full service overview lives on our church pew upholstery page.

  1. Walk the whole room, balcony included

    The free consultation covers every section. We check frames and joints, note which rows are angled or curved, and flag anything that needs repair before new fabric goes on. We work on pews of any size, curved, angled, or straight.

  2. Choose one fabric for every section

    Our fabrics are woven in the U.S. from domestic yarns and built for commercial use. They are also multi-sourced, which matters on a big order, because a room this size cannot sit half-finished waiting on a shipment.

  3. Set up right in the building

    On large jobs the crew often works from a staging area inside the sanctuary, which is exactly what the saw station and tools in the before photo look like. Keeping the work on-site saves hauling hundreds of pews back and forth.

  4. Work section by section

    Old fabric comes off, foam is checked and replaced with high-density LUX foam where it has worn down, and new fabric is pulled tight. Sections are sequenced around your services, so the room stays usable.

  5. Match the balcony to the floor

    Upstairs rows get the same fabric, the same foam, and the same finish as the main floor. Consistency is the whole point in a room where you can see every pew from the platform.

  6. Walk it again with the church

    Once the last section is done, the rows are back in place and ready for a full house. Every pew is covered by our 15-year upholstery warranty.

McPhail crew carrying a church pew into a church from a work trailer
Moving pews is part of the trade. This photo is from a different McPhail project.
McPhail craftsmen preparing church pew panels for upholstery in their shop
Prepping pew panels in our shop. Also from a different McPhail project.

Planning a Big-Room Pew Project

If your sanctuary has hundreds of seats, a few things are worth sorting out before the first pew is touched.

TopicWhat to plan for
ScheduleShare your full calendar early, including midweek services, weddings, and funerals. The work gets sequenced around it section by section.
Other renovationsIf carpet, paint, or lighting is changing too, say so at the consultation so the schedules line up and the fabric suits the new palette.
Fabric colorPick for the room you will have, not the room you have now. Look at samples in the sanctuary’s own light before you decide. Our orange to hunter green case study walks through one color choice.
BudgetFor about a third of the cost of new pews, existing furniture gets new life. Large rooms can also be phased, with the worst sections first.
RepairsAny loose joint or cracked seat should be fixed before new fabric covers it. Structural work runs through church pew parts and repairs.

If the wood needs attention too, pair the upholstery with church pew refinishing so the oak and the fabric finish together.

Why Large Churches Trust McPhail With the Whole Room

A big sanctuary is a big decision, and the congregation will sit with the result for a long time. We are a family-owned company that has served churches from Eastern North Carolina to Texas, plus courthouses, funeral homes, and historical buildings. The people who walk your room are the people who do the work.

2,000+church pew restorations
30+years of combined experience
15-yearupholstery warranty
100%in-house, no subcontractors
  • A 15-year upholstery warranty. On every pew, whether you have twenty or several hundred.
  • No outside contractors. A big job is not handed off to extra crews. Our own team does the work.
  • Built around your calendar. We schedule around services and events so worship keeps going.
  • USA-sourced materials. Domestic wood, fabric, and foam, with high-density LUX foam in the seats.
  • Any pew shape. Curved, angled, or straight, on the floor or in the balcony.
  • Free consultation and quote. We prioritize what needs attention now and what can wait.

“I cannot say enough as to how blessed we were to have a man of his honesty and integrity to be a part of the building of our new place of worship.”

Bible Holiness ChurchChurch Pew Restoration in Silvis, IL

“Mr. McPhail did an excellent job in the restoration of the pews.”

Asbury United Methodist ChurchChurch Pew Restoration in Knoxville, TN

See more finished rooms in our before-and-after photo gallery, or read more about the McPhail family.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a large sanctuary be reupholstered without replacing the pews?

Yes. This project kept every oak pew frame on the main floor and in the balcony and replaced only the fabric and the worn parts underneath it. If the frames are sound, the size of the room does not change the answer.

Will our church have to cancel services during a large pew project?

No. We work in stages around your services, weddings, funerals, and events, so the sanctuary stays usable while the work moves through it section by section.

Can you reupholster curved or angled pews?

Yes. We work on pews of any size, whether they are curved, angled, or straight. The angled sections in this sanctuary kept their layout exactly.

Can balcony pews be reupholstered to match the main floor?

Yes. In this project the balcony rows received the same fabric as the main floor, so the whole room reads as one continuous pew line from the platform.

How long does a large pew reupholstery project take?

It depends on the number of pews, their condition, and how the work has to fit around your calendar. Many upholstery projects finish within a few days, and larger rooms are scheduled in stages. We give you a real timeline after the free consultation.

What warranty comes with church pew reupholstery?

McPhail Church Services offers a 15-year warranty on pew upholstery, which is rare in this industry. Every stage of the work is done by our own team.

Big Room? Let’s Walk It Together.

If your sanctuary looks more like the before photo than the after, we will walk every section with you, balcony included. The consultation is free, and your church never has to miss a Sunday.

McPhail Church Services, Inc. · 59 Vickers Lane, Autryville, NC 28318 · 910-322-5673

Project Case Study · Lebanon, Tennessee

Before and After: Church Pew Upholstery in Lebanon, TN

This Lebanon, TN sanctuary started with rows of hard, bare wood pews. It ended with fully padded, fabric-covered seats and backs, and it kept every original pew frame. Here is what changed, how a wood-to-upholstered conversion like this comes together, and how to tell whether your own pews are good candidates.

Church pews in Lebanon, TN after upholstery, with red fabric seats and backs on the original dark wood frames
The finished pew line in Lebanon, TN: same frames, same rows, new red upholstery.
LocationLebanon, TN (Wilson County)
ServiceChurch pew upholstery
Starting pointSolid wood pews, no padding
ResultPadded seats and backs, original frames kept

The Lebanon Pews, Side by Side

Both photos come from the same Lebanon, TN sanctuary. Look at the scroll-topped pew ends, the dark wainscot, and the tan carpet. Those never changed. The after shot is taken from the opposite side of the room, which is why the window shows up on the right.

Before Bare dark wood church pews in Lebanon, TN before upholstery, showing worn finish on the seat backs
Before: all wood, no padding. Hard seats, hard backs, and a dark finish worn hazy where shoulders and hands rub the backs every Sunday.
After Upholstered church pews in Lebanon, TN after the project, red fabric on seats and backs with dark wood ends
After: padded and covered, frames kept. Red fabric runs the full seat and back. A slim wood rail still caps each back, and the ends frame the fabric.

The takeaway: if your pews look like the photo on the left and the frames are still solid, they can look like the photo on the right without buying a single new pew.

Where This Lebanon Sanctuary Started

Lebanon is the Wilson County seat, about half an hour east of Nashville. Locals call it Cedar City for the red cedars that cover the area, and the town takes its name from the cedars of Lebanon in scripture. The forest is still there. Cedars of Lebanon State Park sits about 10 miles south of town.

It is also a place with deep roots. Cumberland University was founded here in 1842. Towns with that kind of history tend to have sanctuaries full of solid wood pews, built to outlast everyone who ever sat in them. Comfort was not really the design brief.

That is what the before photo shows. These pews were structurally sound, with heavy scroll-cut ends and long, straight seat boards. But every surface you actually touch was bare wood. The finish on the backs had gone cloudy from years of contact. For a short service that is fine. For a long service, a revival week, or an older member with a bad back, it is a long hour.

So the problem was never the pews. It was the part of the pew that meets the congregation.

Close view of bare wood church pew rows in a Lebanon, TN sanctuary before reupholstery
The Lebanon pews before the project. Solid frames, worn finish, no padding anywhere.

What Changed, Detail by Detail

Put the two Lebanon photos next to each other and four changes stand out. None of them required moving a wall, pulling carpet, or changing the layout of the room.

Padded seats

The bare seat boards now carry foam under a tight fabric cover. It is the change the congregation notices first, usually within about ten minutes of sitting down.

Full-height backs

The fabric covers the whole back panel, not just a strip. That also hides the worn, hazy finish that showed up so clearly in the before photo.

A clean wood cap line

A slim wood rail still runs along the top of every back. It gives each row a crisp edge and keeps the pews reading as wood furniture, not a theater row.

Color chosen for the room

Red against dark wainscot and cream walls is a classic sanctuary pairing. The exposed pew ends now read as a darker, even frame around the fabric. For a color change on pews that were already upholstered, see our orange to hunter green pew reupholstery.

How a Wood-to-Upholstered Conversion Comes Together

Turning solid wood pews into upholstered ones is one of the most common requests we get, and the process follows the same sequence whether the church is in Lebanon, TN or down the road from our Autryville, NC shop. You can read the full service overview on our church pew upholstery page.

  1. Walk the sanctuary and check the frames

    It starts with a free consultation. We look at the ends, joints, and seat boards before anything else, because foam and fabric only belong on a frame that will last as long as the upholstery does.

  2. Pick the fabric and the color

    Our fabrics are woven in the U.S. from domestic yarns and built for commercial use. We help match color to the room, the way red works against dark wainscot in Lebanon.

  3. Choose the foam

    We use high-density LUX foam and set the thickness and firmness to the congregation. A seat that feels plush in week one and flat by year three is a foam problem, so this step matters.

  4. Prep the wood underneath

    Seat and back surfaces get cleaned and checked, and anything loose gets fixed now. Once fabric goes on, nobody sees that wood again, so this is the last chance to do it right.

  5. Upholster the seats and backs

    Foam is cut to each pew, then fabric is pulled tight and fastened so it sits flat from end to end. The top edge finishes cleanly under the wood rail.

  6. Finish the exposed wood and reset the room

    The ends and rails left showing get cleaned up so the wood frames the fabric. Then the rows go back exactly where they were, ready for the next service.

McPhail craftsmen preparing church pew panels for upholstery in the Autryville, NC shop
Prepping pew panels in our shop. This photo is from a different McPhail job, not the Lebanon project.
McPhail technician finishing upholstered church pews on-site inside a sanctuary
Upholstery work on-site in a sanctuary. Also a different McPhail job, shown to illustrate the process.

Upholstering Existing Pews vs. Buying New

When a church decides its pews are uncomfortable, the first instinct is often to price new ones. The Lebanon project is a good example of why that is not always the right call. The same logic holds at any size, as our large two-level sanctuary reupholstery shows.

QuestionUpholster what you haveBuy new pews
CostFor about a third of the cost of new pews, existing furniture gets new life.Full purchase price for every pew, plus removal of the old ones.
The roomSame rows, same spacing, same look of the sanctuary your members know.New layout, new style, new measurements to plan around.
Wood qualityKeeps solid frames built from the kind of wood that is hard to buy today.Depends entirely on what the new pews are made of.
DisruptionMany upholstery projects are finished within a few days, scheduled around services.Lead time for manufacturing, then delivery and installation.

Upholstery is not the only fix, either. If your congregation wants padding but you would rather keep the wood fully visible, lay-in pew cushions are a lighter option. If the wood itself is the problem, start with church pew refinishing.

Why Tennessee Churches Call a Pew Company From North Carolina

Lebanon is a long way from Autryville, NC. Churches there and across Middle Tennessee still call us, for the same reasons congregations do from Eastern North Carolina to Texas. We are a family-owned company, and the people who quote your job are the people who do it. More on our work across the state is on our Tennessee church furniture page.

2,000+church pew restorations
30+years of combined experience
15-yearupholstery warranty
100%in-house, no subcontractors
  • A 15-year upholstery warranty. That is rare in this trade. We can offer it because we do every stage ourselves.
  • No outside contractors. Upholstery, refinishing, repairs, and installation are all done by our own team.
  • Work around your church calendar. We schedule around services, weddings, and funerals so worship never stops.
  • USA-sourced materials. Wood, fabric, and foam are domestic, and our cushions use high-density LUX foam.
  • Two generations on the job. Norman McPhail and his son Nicholas still run projects together.
  • Free consultation and quote. We tell you what needs attention now and what can wait a budget cycle or two.

“We appreciate your dedication to your job and concern to complete the installation in a neat and orderly manner.”

Bethel United Methodist ChurchChurch Pew Restoration in Clarksville, TN

“Mr. McPhail did an excellent job in the restoration of the pews.”

Asbury United Methodist ChurchChurch Pew Restoration in Knoxville, TN

Want to see more sanctuaries like this one? Browse the full before-and-after photo gallery, or read more about the McPhail family.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can solid wood church pews be upholstered without replacing them?

Yes. That is exactly what this Lebanon, TN project shows. As long as the frames are sound, foam and fabric can be added to the seats and backs of existing wood pews, and the original ends and rows stay in place.

How long does it take to upholster church pews?

Many pew upholstery projects are completed within a few days. The real timeline depends on how many pews you have and whether any repairs are needed first, which we confirm during the free consultation.

Will our church have to cancel services during the work?

No. We schedule every project around your church calendar, including services, weddings, and funerals, so the sanctuary stays available for worship.

What warranty comes with pew upholstery?

McPhail Church Services offers a 15-year warranty on church pew upholstery, which is rare in this industry. All of the work is done by our own team, so there is never a question of who stands behind it.

Do you work with churches in Lebanon and elsewhere in Tennessee?

Yes. This project was in Lebanon, TN, and we have also restored pews for churches in Clarksville and Knoxville. Our shop is in Autryville, NC, and we serve churches across the East Coast and as far west as Texas.

How do we choose a fabric color for our pews?

We bring a wide selection of U.S.-woven fabrics and help you choose a color that suits your sanctuary’s wood, walls, and carpet. We can also color-match fabric to furniture you already have.

Your Sanctuary Could Be the Next Before-and-After

If your pews look more like the Lebanon before photo than the after, let us take a look. The consultation is free, the quote is honest, and your church never has to miss a Sunday.

McPhail Church Services, Inc. · 59 Vickers Lane, Autryville, NC 28318 · 910-322-5673