A mixture of comfortable upholstered lounge seating mixed with high-top tables and stools are gracing expansive church lobbies today. Image: GFF
Over the past several years, church seating became more of a focus than ever before because attendees were worried about being too close to other people. So, instead of focusing on color schemes, the most important trend to develop in seating this past year was safety.
“The biggest question in church seating has been, more than ever, can we sit people through COVID safely with enough freedom; it’s been a reset for everyone,” says Chelsea Roth, sales operations manager at Sauder Worship Seating in Archbold, Ohio. “One of the things that’s always thriving is a sense of community and being connected to one another. We really like being able to put benches in—it allows for more bodies and the freedom to spread out.”
During the past few years, though, many churches were forced to turn towards more durable, easy-to-handle seating that will withstand frequent disinfection.
Loose and free
Seating in the worship space is gravitating to more flexible offerings, largely to support a bigger trend toward smaller, more intimate room sizing with flat floors to accommodate both worship and community functions, guest lectures, etc.
Trinity by the Cove Episcopal Church in Naples, Florida, uses HOWE's stackable 40/4 seating in its worship space. Image: HOWE US Inc.
“A room with fixed seating serves limited purposes and can look empty on weeks with low attendance."
Emily Mendez, Interior Design Leader, GFF Church Works Studio, Dallas, TX
“The biggest change we have experienced is the increased move toward flexible, loose chairs in worship,” confirms Emily Mendez, interior design leader for the GFF Church Works studio in Dallas, a group of professionals who focus exclusively on the planning and design of faith-based facilities. “A room with fixed seating serves limited purposes and can look empty on weeks with low attendance, such as during the worst months of the pandemic.”
In addition, by using loose chairs, seats can be spaced to accommodate social distancing, and as health regulations continue to change, the room can be filled with the right number of seats to avoid feeling empty. This is something the company has utilized at Ash Lane United Methodist Church in Euless, Texas.
“The key to flexible seating is confirming how many chairs the room can accommodate, but also planning for nearby storage that is sized to hold at least half the chairs when the room is utilized for other events,” Mendez says.
Debbie King, North America sales manager for HOWE US Inc., shares that although places of worship are intended for religious ceremonies and human contemplation, today, they often serve as venues for concerts, orchestral performances, seminars, charitable fundraisers, and other events.
“This calls for design that pays tribute to the timeless surroundings as well as offers the highest degree of flexibility and comfort,” King says. “As churches are hosts to many different events, chairs often need to be moved, removed, and stacked. This requires flexible and comfortable seating of the correct quality and often leads to a decision to replace the older inflexible seating with new solution, lightweight, and flexible [options] that allows for easy reconfiguration and storage.”
“As churches are hosts to many different events, chairs often need to be moved, removed, and stacked."
Debbie King, North America Sales Manager, HOWE US Inc., Grand Rapids, MI
For instance, the 40/4 chair, which now comes in regular and xtra, is recognized as a notable seating design of the 20th century for its compact stackability, excellent ergonomics, versatility, and timeless grace. They have been installed, among others, in the Episcopal Cathedral in Philadelphia, Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Atlanta, and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon.
“With flexible seating, such as 40/4 chairs, and specially designed rolling racks, it’s easy and convenient to set up seats anywhere,” King says. “The chair can link or stand-alone and is simple to move on a specially designed dolly that wheels up to 40 chairs piled to up to four feet.”
Injecting personality
Lisa Masteller, designer at Sassafras Studios based in Raleigh, North Carolina, who regularly works on churches, notes that whenever she discusses seating with a church, people are very passionate about how to include people of all ages and personalities, to help bridge the gap of putting a purposeful place for connection to one another.
Image: Sassafras Studios
Image: Sassafras Studios
At one recent church project, the designers at Sassafras Studios introduced tires as seating options for youth spaces, which can be rolled and stacked for large events or play activities.
“Each property is challenged with space, investment, and elements,” she says. “We believe through architecture and creative elements we are able to make those spaces seem unique and [a] natural fit for their individual seating areas. We love introducing custom benches that move along the perimeter and break up the room. Designing furniture with hidden storage solutions is always a win-win.”
At one recent church project, the designers at Sassafras Studios introduced tires as seating options for youth spaces, which can be rolled and stacked for large events or play activities.
“We have been seeing mostly stackable chairs and bean bags, but recently within the last few years, the preference to strike a room (tear it down and make it empty) is more common, therefore we look for things that can move in order to strike a room to give more flexibility [for] events throughout the year,” Masteller says.
Park it outdoors
Over the past years, GFF Church Works’ designs that accommodate outdoor seating have been much more casual.
“An exception was a large, covered amphitheater with stadium-style fixed seating, but otherwise we have seen lawns for picnic blankets, benches resembling large blocks of stone that are integral to the landscape, and residential-style patio seating and rocking chairs for a very warm, inviting feel,” Mendez says.
Residential-style patio seating and rocking chairs create a warm, inviting feel, says Emily Mendez, interior design leader at GFF Church Works Studio in Dallas, Texas.
Conversation kick-starters
For common and gathering areas, the formal feeling of an entry hall has long given way to living room and coffee bar arrangements with a variety of furnishings for different age groups and accessibility needs, Mendez says.
“Often, it’s a blend of comfortable upholstered lounge seating mixed with high-top tables and stools,” she says. “Taller seating arrangements are wonderful for encouraging conversation because other people can walk up and join the group while standing without feeling like they are hovering over those who are seated.”
“Taller seating arrangements are wonderful for encouraging conversation because other people can walk up and join the group ..."
Emily Mendez, Interior Design Leader, GFF Church Works Studio, Dallas, TX
GFF Church Works tends to see very similar functional requests for youth spaces, but with an edgier look to the pieces. For example, in a recent youth space it designed, traditional armchairs gave way to comfy sofas, two-person swivel chairs, and beanbag rockers.
“Students utilize this facility almost every night of the week for various activities, and we wanted to create a space that felt modern and vibrant,” Mendez says.
Charles Davis Smith Charles Davis Smith - FAIA
Mix-and-match young space seating
In a recent youth space GFF designed, traditional armchairs gave way to comfy sofas, two-person swivel chairs, and beanbag rockers.
King notes that seating chosen for community spaces should accommodate the need to create functional zones that can be multi-use, ensuring beauty and relevance at the same time, and allow for flexible layouts that suit different occasions.
“It should communicate that the venue is focused on providing the desired level of comfort that visitors will have in the room,” she says. “It should be comfortable, durable, and fashionable, providing a haven for creative reflection and liberation of thoughts.”
