Church pews. That’s what I saw as the words formed in my head when I rounded the corner and came face to face with the long oak benches on the loading dock at the auction house. These symbols of religious worship seemed a strange fit among the home furnishings stacked almost from concrete to ceiling.
A few people were sitting on one of the two pews, either waiting for the bidding to start or testing them out. Or they were hoping for some miracle that would get them a good price on the dressers, chests, dining room sets, end tables and headboards on the dock. You never know if something good had settled in furniture on which many people had likely said a little prayer or some Hail Marys.
How did church pews end up here, I wondered. And who’s going to buy them? A growing church that needed pews at an affordable price? A homeowner or designer looking for that something different? So I went Googling to find out.
Pews for churches
Plenty of companies made them new, and they turned up instantly in my search. One site that billed itself as a consumer guide offered “insider secrets” that it said manufacturers didn’t want you to know (“solid oak” isn’t as solid as it used to be). Pews are serious business.
And you have to love a company that called itself Born Again Pews, which offered them new or refurbished. Another site advertised that it will “buy, sell or donate your good used church equipment.” It was offering ads from churches that were selling pews from $50 to $250 each.
On that mother of all auction sites – eBay – you could get 46 pews for $1,690 or two for $375, all of which went unsold. Among those that sold were 16 pews for $102.50 and 25 for $10.50.
Pews for your home
As for absorbing them into the décor of your home, I didn’t find many suggestions. There were plenty, though, for decorating them for a wedding.
One site was selling a $550 oak pew that “would make a great addition to an entry way, breakfast nook, hallway, library, gazebo or any number of other areas.” It included a photo showing how the pew could be arranged in your home.
How about designing a headboard out of a church pew? Not sure if that works for me.
A pew as a dining-table bench had potential, as in here and here, where the writer suggested that it could be pulled up to the table as a banquette or bench. That would be a very long table depending on the length of the pew.
An ornate one made this entryway look way too much like a church. Looks like you’re waiting for the sermon to begin.
Church pews were a new auction item for me. I often stumble on huge old family Bibles, rosaries, religious icons and crucifixes. One auction house even sold a portable Catholic Church confessional last summer.
The oak pews were not the only ones sold that day. An ornate mahogany pew went for $35. I had gone inside for the box-lots auction when the oaks sold, but I managed to find out later which dealer had bought them. So, I asked about the price: The woman got them for $110 each.
