A wholly American design from the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing — the Shakers. Holding ornament to be prideful, they made plainness itself the design: a beaded molding or an asymmetrical bank of drawers in place of decoration, and pulls almost always turned from wood. Some see in it the root of Danish and Mid-Century Modern.
Design Elements
- Honest, utilitarian simplicity
- Minimal decoration
- Native cherry, pine, and maple, worked from a self-sufficient life
- Paint in red, blue, yellow, or green
- Flat-paneled, rail-and-stile doors
- Ladder-back chairs with woven tape or cane seats