St Nicholas Church in Fundenhall attracted criticism from the Victorian Society after it spent £3,000 on 50 brown faux leader seats last September without permission.
A church court has now ruled the church near Norwich can keep the gold colour-framed seats because fundraising for replacements would take too long.
Chancellor of the Diocese of Norwich, Ruth Arlow was quote by the Daily Telegraph as saying. she learned with "concern and disappointment" about the church's decision but acknowledged parishioners "like their appearance and... comfort".
St Nicholas Church had been granted permission to remove its pews; however, it had not secured permission to acquire the new seating.
The Victorian Society, which previously said that new chairs were "cheap" and appeared "very dumpy", told the newspaper the legal reasoning behind the church court's decision was "gossamer-thin".
It had criticised the seats, saying: "The design of the frame is crude, with the extruded aluminium sections lacking any elegance, and the simple large radius curves of the design having a child-like quality.
"The thick upholstered seat pads, and the way in which they curve down at the front of the seat, make the chairs appear very dumpy. The matt-'gold effect' finish is a cheap one in a church with a palette of high-quality natural materials."