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c. 1780–1900

Shaker

Utility as beauty: built-in drawer walls, peg rails, recessed-panel doors, fine proportions and no ornament.

The Shakers, a religious community that flourished in the United States from the late 1700s through the 1800s, built furniture and interiors with nothing extra. Their rooms are lined with built-in drawers and cupboards, peg rails run around the walls, and every proportion is carefully judged. The flat recessed-panel cabinet door that now fills American kitchens comes from this tradition.

Shaker design is ideal for modern custom work: simple joinery, clean frames and generous built-in storage. Its strength is proportion, so drawer heights, rail widths and door sizes matter more than ornament.

Graceful Shaker spiral staircase with a continuous curving wooden handrail

How to recognize Shaker

  • Flat recessed-panel doors in square frames
  • Walls of built-in drawers and cupboards
  • Continuous peg rails at head height
  • Small turned wooden knobs
  • Cherry, maple or pine, often painted in muted blues, greens and reds

Shaker kitchen cabinets

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Long Shaker pine counter with banks of drawers and small turned knobs

Shaker Double Counter with Drawers (c. 1825)

Signature

Shaker kitchen with built-in wooden cupboards, a large work table and bright windows

Kitchen in the Brick Dwelling, Hancock Shaker Village

Essential

Watercolor of a tall Shaker cupboard with drawers between upper and lower cupboard doors

Shaker Cupboard with Drawers (Index of American Design, c. 1936)

Signature

Shaker cabinet doors & fronts

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Plain Shaker cupboard with flat recessed-panel doors and small wooden knobs

Shaker Cupboard (1800–1850)

Essential

Blue-green painted Shaker blanket chest with a lift lid and a drawer

Shaker Blanket Chest with Drawer (1835–75)

Essential

Watercolor of a small Shaker hanging cupboard with a single door and shaped top

Shaker Small Hanging Cupboard (Index of American Design, c. 1936)

Essential

Watercolor of a small Shaker corner cupboard above blue painted wainscot

Shaker Small Corner Cupboard (Index of American Design, c. 1937)

Essential

Shaker built-ins & bookcases

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Shaker retiring room with a wall of built-in drawers and cupboards and a wooden peg rail

Retiring Room Built-ins from the North Family Dwelling, Mount Lebanon (c. 1830–40)

Signature

Watercolor of a Shaker built-in cupboard with panelled doors beside a doorway

Shaker Built-In Cupboard (Index of American Design, 1937)

Signature

Watercolor of a narrow Shaker built-in cupboard with drawers fitted into a corner

Shaker Built-In Corner Cupboard and Drawers (Index of American Design, c. 1938)

Signature

Watercolor of a tall Shaker built-in closet beside a black cast-iron stove

Shaker Built-In Closet Beside a Stove (Index of American Design, c. 1938)

Signature

Shaker mudroom & entry storage

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Simple long pine Shaker bench with plain board seat and shaped ends

Shaker Bench (c. 1850)

Essential

White Shaker hallway with an arched ceiling, dark wood peg rail and a bench under a window

Arched Hall with Peg Rail, Centre Family Dwelling, Pleasant Hill

Essential

Simple wooden Shaker drying rack with three rails and arched feet

Shaker Towel or Drying Rack (c. 1830)

Essential

Shaker wall paneling & wainscoting

All wall paneling & wainscoting
Shaker meeting house interior with painted blue woodwork, built-in cupboard and wooden benches

Meeting House Interior, Canterbury Shaker Village

Essential

Shaker workroom with a wooden peg rail holding dresses, a sewing table and a stove

Room Interior at Canterbury Shaker Village (photographed 2017)

Essential

Shaker trim & moulding

All trim & moulding
Shaker stairway with a slender wooden handrail and simple balusters

Stairway in the Dwelling House, Canterbury Shaker Village (1793)

Essential

Graceful Shaker spiral staircase with a continuous curving wooden handrail

Spiral Stair in the Trustees' Office, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill

Heirloom

Shaker bathroom vanities

All bathroom vanities
Shaker wash stand with a shaped splash board, tapered legs and a lower shelf

Shaker Wash Stand (1810–30)

Essential

Signature motifs

Shaker panelPeg railDovetail

Typical woods and materials

CherryMaplePainted pine

Have a Shaker detail made for your home

Choose any example above as a starting point. We adapt it to your measurements and make it on our CNC, with published price ranges for every element.

How custom work works

Other styles