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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
| Topic | What to plan for |
|---|---|
| Schedule | Share your full calendar early, including midweek services, weddings, and funerals. The work gets sequenced around it section by section. |
| Other renovations | If 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 color | Pick 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. |
| Budget | For 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. |
| Repairs | Any 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.
- 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.”
“Mr. McPhail did an excellent job in the restoration of the pews.”
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.
More answers on our FAQ page. Back to top
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