Home Decoration Ideas

Shaker (c.1747 to 1900)

A religious sect founded in England in the late 1700s, the Shakers believed in common ownership of property and communal living. Persecuted for their beliefs, they emigrated to America where they led lives of abstinence and celibacy.

The Shakers believed that every object in the home should have a function and that decoration was unnecessary. ‘Whatever is fashioned, let it be plain and simple and for the good’ and ‘Beauty rests on utility’ are two of their favourite sayings. But because they also believed that the quality of their work was a testament to God, each item they made was painstakingly honed to perfection.

Style

• open plan
• simple, uncluttered
• limited colour palette of red, blue, yellow and blue-green
• handcrafted wooden furniture
• natural materials
• storage
• hand within a heart motif - it meant ‘hands to work and hearts to God’

Get the look

• Colour palette - keep the walls neutral. Bare white plaster is best if your walls are good enough. Stick to the Shaker colour palette: red, light and dark blue, warm yellow, and a blue-green. The Shakers used natural plant dyes and clays to make their paints and dye their fabrics. The paint should be matt rather than gloss and, for real authenticity, use casein or milk paints; some of them are still being made from the original recipes.
• Furniture - is key to the look. Cherrywood and maple were the most used woods. Choose simple shapes such as ladder back chairs with woven-tape seats in one of the colours of the palette. Use a simple trestle table for dining. Sofas and padded seats were comforts the Shakers did without. However, as not many of us are prepared to live so austerely, cover your sofa with a fabric in keeping with the colour scheme.
• Storage - everything should have its place. A typical look is peg rails hung all round the room at head height. The Shakers hung chairs off these, as well as mirrors and tools - basically, anything that could go up, went up. This kept the rooms neat and tidy plus it was easy to sweep underneath.
• Wardrobes - wardrobes and chests of drawers can take up whole walls. All the handles should line up.
• Fabrics - choose natural fabrics such as wool, cotton and silk. The Shakers made their own. A discreet check or denim is also suitable and ginghams can be used for curtains.
• Flooring - the floor should be bare boards but can be varnished.
• Woodwork - this should be left plain or given an orangey stain with varnish.
• Lighting - look for plain candlesticks and sconces, particularly in tin.
• Boxes - oval-shaped boxes in three different sizes, with a beautiful swallowtail and copper pin construction, are one of the quintessential Shaker looks.
• Have a clear out - the Shakers didn’t believe in clutter or unnecessary objects. However, small details such as beeswax candles, lavender sachets and wooden toys can add to the overall look.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 14th, 2008 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.