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What Are Shaker Cabinets?

What Are Shaker Cabinets?

Sleek design and minimalist style are hallmarks of Shaker style, which arose from a religious sect of the same title in the U.S. In the late 1800s.

This organisation became known as "Shakers" because of their ardent physical reaction during religious services: imagine lots of vigorous body motions and dancing, which was unheard of at the time.

What Are Shaker Cabinets

The Shakers were also daring businesspeople, manufacturing furniture and cabinetry to fund their self-sufficient utopia. There is just one existing Shaker group in the U.S. Shaker cabinets are a lasting symbol of the religion.

This article will discuss shaker cabinets and how they can make a great addition to your home furnishings.

What Exactly Are Shaker Cabinets?

A five-piece Shaker cabinet door consists of a four-piece framework (2 stiles and rails) and one recessed centre flat panel.

Shaker-style cabinets were traditionally fashioned of solid wood from North American trees such as pine, maple, and birch.

Shaker cabinets are now constructed from a variety of materials, including salvaged wood and FSC-certified hardwoods, which are both environmentally friendly.

Where Did Shaker Cabinets Come From?

To further comprehend this style of design and the origins of the cabinets, one must consider the Shaker ethos. Shakers thought that being as near to God as possible required honesty, purity, and simplicity.

They applied these concepts to anything in their lives, from growing food to building hand crafted tools and furnishings, in order to achieve utilitarian perfection.

The Shakers thought extravagant decorations were wicked because they covered or concealed the underlying character of what lay underneath.

As a result, Shaker-style furniture was plain and unadorned, emphasising the materials and craftsmanship's beauty.

Rather than using expensive and even flashy imported wood, the Shakers chose wood that was readily available on their farm, allowing them to improve the designs of their simple yet expertly produced pieces.

Shaker-style furniture was highly sought after all across the United States due to the attractiveness of the woodwork and the precision of craftsmanship.

Shaker-Style Cabinet Types

Shaker cabinets feature three basic door types, just like all kitchen cabinet doors: inset, partial overlay, and full overlay.

  • Insets - Cabinet door frames that are inset into the cabinet create a smooth and flawless appearance. On the outside, the hinges are visible, while on the inside, they are hidden. This option involves hardware or a push to open hinge, which requires pushing to open and close it.
  • Partial overlays - This style exposes a portion of the cabinet all around cabinet doors, usually around 2" of the frame.
  • Full overlays - In full overlay design, the door and drawer stretch completely over the cabinet frame, hiding very little or no cabinet framing. Full overlay cabinet doors are often less costly than inset cabinet doors, yet they create the same modern, seamless aesthetic.

What Are Some Of The Advantages Of Shaker Cabinets?

Shaker cabinet doors are a classic design that can be easily and affordably customised with paint, stains, and hardware.

A variety of woods are available. Shaker cabinets are traditionally composed of solid hardwoods such as pine, maple, or cherry.

Many design styles are compatible. Regardless of your personal style preferences, today's Shaker cabinets are adaptable enough to fit into a wide range of kitchen designs, from conventional to contemporary.

Whether you want light-colored Shaker kitchen cabinets to make the room feel bright and airy, a dramatic two-tone kitchen with darker base cabinets and lighter upper cabinets, or perhaps something darker such as a deep mahogany, the elegance of Shaker-style exists in its uniqueness and potential to enhance a variety of design preferences.

If solid wood is too expensive, substitute wood options such as MDF and plywood have been built to assist create the effect without the added expense of solid wood.

Other cabinet options are more expensive. Shaker-style cabinets are often more economical than some other styles of cabinets due to its plain design, which includes no decoration and a 5-piece door.

What's The Difference Between Mission And Shaker Cabinets?

What's The Difference Between Mission And Shaker Cabinets

Although some may confuse Shaker cabinets with Mission-style cabinets because they both have a flat panel or recessed centre panel with trim, there are significant differences.

Mission cabinets are typically made of oak and are only lightly tinted to preserve the wood from dampness. The Mission style is distinguished by its natural wood grain.

Shaker cabinets, however, are more adaptable to the vision you have for the room. Shaker cabinets often have wood pulls, but Mission cabinets have heavier, more elaborate hardware.

Should You Choose Standard Or Skinny Shaker Cabinets?

When looking for these cabinets, you can come across designs that are described as thin or slim and shallow. The thinner and shorter your cabinets become, the more contemporary they appear.

You might want to look at the slender Shaker cabinet varieties if you want to make your cabinets somewhat more modern

Skinny or thin Shaker cabinets have narrower stiles and rails, often as little as 34 inch, allowing for a considerably larger sunken panel.

Cabinets with shallow shakers are often more trendy. Standard Shaker cabinets have a reduced step down to the sunken panel, frequently only 18 inches.

Many contemporary and modern Shaker cabinet styles blend slim and shallow characteristics. Keep in mind that if you choose narrow or shallow cabinets, you may need to select different hardware to fit such shorter and slimmer cabinets.

Final Thoughts

Shaker cabinets are still a staple in kitchen styles due to their basic build and ability to compliment practically any style or aesthetic over the years, whereas other cabinet styles have had waves of popularity.

Shaker cabinets are just like a blank canvas on which you may add paint or innovative hardware to match the aesthetic you want to achieve.

Although shaker cabinets are synonymous with country kitchens, there are many methods available to modernise or traditionalize them.

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