The Kitchenworks
Shaker Style Cabinetry: A Consistent Favorite And A Lasting Style!
History
Shaker furniture is named for the Shaker community, a religious Christian community that originated in the early 18th century as an offshoot of the Quaker movement. The Shakers’ unwavering and steadfast commitment to simplicity in life and self-reliance led them to design their own furniture, of which an absence of flair and resolute simplicity of design were the marked features.
The Shakers’ spartan lifestyle and the economics of self-production became self-evident in both their architecture and furnishings.
The minimum amount of material was used to construct an object so that it performed its intended role with utility and nothing more. A perfect example would be the ladder backed chair – it eschews the solid block of wood as a backrest and leaves only the narrow rails that offer support, albeit at a loss of comfort.
Another prominent feature was the strength; Shaker furniture became synonymous with quality as it was made with the best wood available – commonly birch, maple, pine, and chestnut.
The Modern Shaker Appeal
Shaker furniture and its clean, straightforward lines are back in vogue and the rise in the popularity of the Shaker look today stems from the trend towards minimalism in present day home remodeling design. The utilitarian approach integrates well with a broad spectrum of design approaches, including traditional, country, minimalist and modern.
A modern approach to kitchen renovation ideas is using apps on your phone, take a look at our article 10 Apps to Help with Kitchen Remodeling Ideas.
Many homeowner’s are discovering that the Shaker concept is particularly appealing in what can be one of the most cluttered spaces in a home – the kitchen. Shaker kitchen cabinets offer a crisp, fresh look that transcends transient fads which fall prey to exhibiting a dated appearance very quickly with shifts in trend over time.
Haus Interior Design
Shaker Style in the Modern Kitchen
When the Shakers developed a concept that worked, they abandoned further experimentation with design and used that concept alone. This has resulted in repetition being a key characteristic of Shaker furniture; a Shaker chest of drawers, regardless of the number of discrete drawers, follows the exact same design and dimensions from the topmost to the lowest. Kitchens today usually sport multiple vertical sets of drawers and this is where Shaker design most prominently makes its mark.
Kitchens today usually sport multiple vertical sets of drawers and this is where Shaker design most prominently makes its mark.The straight-edged and uninterrupted rail, stile and central panel may be flat or recessed, and individual cabinet doors or drawers may feature a knob or handle of equally uncomplicated design, or forego them
The straight-edged and uninterrupted rail, stile and central panel may be flat or recessed, and individual cabinet doors or drawers may feature a knob or handle of equally uncomplicated design, or forego them all together in favor of a recessed groove with which they can be opened.Shaker simplicity proscribed the use of embellishments of any type and furniture that bears their name most often features square edges.
Of Shaker simplicity proscribed the use of embellishments of any type and furniture that bears their name most often features square edges. Of late however, there has been a small drift towards minor flourishes through the use of beveled edges.
Nolan Painting Inc.
Finishings
Shaker furniture was originally entirely composed of wood, particularly pine and maple and birch. Furniture made in their style today may be composed of solid timber at the top end or simply MDF. Any of these options are offered in a variety of finishes to go with look you want and the décor in and around your kitchen and home.
Burnished Finishes
Meant to give the appearance of antique fittings, a burnished look is attained by first distressing the panel then, sanding it to achieve a level surface. A burnishing stain is then applied to achieve the final look. Burnishing involves several individual steps where each subsequent one relies on the preceding ones for the best results – this makes the entire process relatively complicated and time-consuming.
Painted Finishes
A common fixture of kitchens, painted finishes (especially white shaker cabinets) are a well-balanced idea of a modern & traditional look which has made it become one of the most popular cabinet finishes. One possible drawback that has been observed is the appearance of hairline cracks in the wood over time as the wood expands and contracts. However, this does not affect the strength of the wood itself.
Premier Surfaces
Laminates
The look of solid wood kitchen cabinet doors may be attained with a variety of wood laminate substitutes that are both economic, last long and give an authentic Shaker look to your kitchen.
Your Customized Brand of Shaker Fittings
We use Wellborn Cabinetry for their high quality, ease of installation and the wide variety of designs and finishes that they offer. For Shaker kitchen cabinet doors and drawers, in particular, Wellborn Cabinetry’s range of customizable options leaves homeowners spoiled for choice. The Wellborn range offers three of the choices you have that have proven to be very popular.
The Wellborn range offers three of the choices you have that have proven to be very popular.
Wellborn
Bristol
The Bristol style is easily identified for its particularly wide rails and stiles, which give it a relatively broad border and a smaller central panel. It features a Cope & Tenon construction and Wellborn Cabinetry offers it in a square door style with a recessed surface. A Ginger finish gives an attractive appearance to the Bristol Shaker cabinet door and drawer. It is available as a full overlay for cabinet doors and as a standard front for slab drawers.The Bristol may be incorporated as part of the Wellborn Premier Series, Elegant Bath Collection or the Estate Collection.
The Bristol may be incorporated as part of the Wellborn Premier Series, Elegant Bath Collection or the Estate Collection.
Chelsea
The Chelsea Style of Shaker door is another one of those that features broad rails and stiles giving it a wide edge coupled with a large central panel compared to other designs. It features Cope & Denon door construction, which boasts a square design and a recessed surface with a sloped border for a small deviation from classic Shaker design.
The material used for the Chelsea is Cherry and it is finished in Cloud Sugar. It is offered as a full door overlay for kitchen cabinets and as a standard front for the Classic drawer range.
The Chelsea forms part of three Wellborn product lines – the Wellborn Premier Series, the Estate Collection, and the Elegant Bath Collection.
Prairie
The Prairie is another one of the Shaker design that features wide rails and stiles, giving a large, rectangular central panel. Door construction is again by Cope & Denon, and the recessed door has a minimalist square-edged border in the classic Shaker look.
Like the Chelsea, Cherry is used for the Prairie as well but here the finish is Sienna Charcoal. It is offered as a full overlay for kitchen cabinet doors but is only available as part of the Wellborn Select Series product line.
We hope this post was very informative in your cabinet selections, if you are considering your own remodeling project in the Chicago western suburbs, we hope you contact us and stop into our showroom to look at the Wellborn cabinetry line. You can also grab your free copy of our E-Book below, to help you during the remodeling process.
