Church Pew Restoration vs Church Pew Refinishing: What's the difference?
In short, the difference is dramatic.
Why?
It's because the process and outcome of each call for an entirely different set of parameters.
One puts the cart before the horse. The other is the horse.
Church Pew Refinishing
Most of the time that is a mood board or concept board that had as its' priorities the paint colors, fabric swatches, tiles, etc. If it even contains a wood sample it’s generally an afterthought.
The pew finishes are subordinate to the design. After all, it's just "seating."
This is more likely to be the case in recently built structures where they are "updating" the outmoded original decorative theme to current trends.
Thus, Church Pew Refinishing just needs to match.
So, the pew finishes for church renovation projects are nearly always heavily opaque and two dimensional.
Painted.
That's what you have to do to make them match.
Church "decoration" to current hip trends
Church "decoration" to current hip trends is a cycle that repeats itself repeatedly over decades.
Ok so now the fun part.
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Church Pew Restoration
We'll start with history.
When you walk into an old church do you expect to see everything looking new?
Nope.
But that happens to many Sacred Spaces that have fallen into the redecoration rabbit hole over time.
What you tend to see is a hodgepodge mix of the many previous decorations.
They did this blond in the 1950's, that dark walnut in the '70's, the gorgeous Mauve wall paint in the 80's and it hasn't been touched since.
So, the entire format for what needs to be done isn't merely interior design.
You can't fight the original church architecture. You can't change its' shapes or materials.
And rightly so.
The only time in the decorative history of the church when everything was perfect was when it was first built.
So, what was it like then?
It's not that you want to replicate the original now. But that initial design is helpful when you are beginning to decide how to make the adulterated historic interior cohesive with the original architecture.
It's a starting point.
The interior wood components, though, have different considerations.
Old wood in an old church shouldn't look "like new" should it?
Aged wood in an old building is a testament, a marker, to its time on earth.
In a Sacred Space the old wood is a reminder of its' long history of worship.
Proof that it’s been a vibrant place in the community where people have been coming and going for a very long time.
(Think about all the actions that have taken place there... funerals, baptisms, weddings, celebrations).
Ok, yeah, but what does this have to do with the Church Pew Restoration?
(Pardon the preservation tangent.) :)
To determine the goal of a restorative finish aesthetic for old pews in an old church you must take the entire building into account.
That's why we ask potential clients to send us photos that include the exterior AND the full interior.
We want to get an idea of the era and the status of things.
We take all that into account.
(Overthinking the pews a bit, eh?)
Think about it.
A full church redecoration
A full church redecoration almost always has as its' priorities on things that are only visual.
The stained glass, wall paint decoration, murals, etc.
The pews are down on the "human" level.
You sit in the pews. Slide across them. Touch them.
And the actual physical mass of them is quite a bit.
It's much more impactful than they get credit for.
So how do you determine what the old historic wood church pews should look like?
You must first recognize and prioritize the original architectural components that remain.
The wood ceiling beams, wainscoting, doors and frames, balcony half wall, altars, communion rail and organ pipe housing just for a start.
Are the finishes original? Aged? Or have they been "refinished" in the past?
What are the interior decorative "orphans." The late additions that don't seem to fit any era anymore.
Most importantly, you must seek out pristine original finish.
Pristine original finish circa 1840.
It's there. You just need to find it.
It's hidden on chair rails behind original cabinetry or under pew ends or where wood meets wood on door frames.
That finish tells you how the wood would look if damage hadn't happened.
Damage like sun bleaching, refinishing, recoating causing blackened color, etc.
That should be your guide.
Then how do you attain that?
Well, then you call us!
(I know. It was just getting interesting.)
Churchpewrestoration.com is the only pew refinishing company who was founded on historic preservation principles.
Principals like The Department of Interiors Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Structures that considers the existing wood patina a "contributing historic element."
We do too.
Rescuing the patina buried beneath added layers surface finishes is our thing.
And if the finish has been damaged beyond repair, we can recreate the incandescent warmth of aged wood that will meet the expectations visitors had imagined.
(Ok here comes the big finish)
Frank
Frank Lloyd Wright once said,
"Wood is the most humanly intimate of all materials."
We agree.
And that's what we do.
We make historic church interiors feel better.
One old pew at a time.
Scott
PS AI helped with structure and the Frank and the interior rendering but the copy was all just me. Word for word. Unchanged. Like real people do!