The History of Shaker Kitchens. A style that never fades….
Shaker furniture is a very distinctive style of furniture developed and designed by the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers, they were a religious sect that had guiding principles of simplicity, utility and honesty.
Their beliefs were reflected in the well-made furniture of minimalist designs that we know and love today.
Shaker communities were largely self-sufficient: in their attempt to separate themselves from the outside world and to create a heaven-on-earth, members grew their own food, constructed their own buildings, and manufactured their own tools and household furnishings.
Furniture was made thoughtfully, with functional form and proportion. Rather than using ornamentation — such as inlays, carvings, metal pulls, or veneers — which was seen as prideful or deceitful, they developed “creative solutions such as asymmetrical drawer arrangements and multipurpose forms to add visual interest.” Furniture was typically made of cherry, maple or pine timber, which was generally stained or painted with one of the colours which were dictated by the sect, these were typically blue, red, yellow or green.
If you visit any kitchen showroom in the UK, the predominant style available will be Shaker, it has become known and loved from Cornwall to John O’Groats.
It also manages to always stay in fashion, we see other trends coming and going relatively quickly whereas Shaker has proven its worth time and time again and remained a firm favourite.
Here at Classic Kitchens we continue this tradition by using the best materials we can to produce our Handmade Shaker cabinets. We love the kitchens we produce and the fact that the same kitchen can look like a modern masterpiece or a country kitchen with just a few tweaks, such as colour, T&G end panels or Pilasters and beading.
Take a look at our galleries to see how beautiful & versatile they are.
We are proud to continue in this strong tradition and we feel help develop it further with some of our new ranges and addition of modern features and accessories.
Shaker is here and it’s not going away any time soon, perhaps its time to accept the relentless march of the shaker style.
*sources – Wikipedia
