American Cherry Shaker Furniture

Choose from an assortment of styles, material and more in our collection of American cherry shaker furniture on 1stDibs. Frequently made of wood, cherry and hardwood, every piece of American cherry shaker furniture was constructed with great care. If you’re shopping for an item from our selection of American cherry shaker furniture, we have 4 options in-stock, while there are 6 modern editions to choose from as well. Whether you’re looking for newer or older items, there are earlier versions available from the 20th Century and newer variations made as recently as the 21st Century. A choice in our collection of American cherry shaker furniture, designed in the Art Deco style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. You’ll likely find more than one object in our assortment of American cherry shaker furniture that is appealing in its simplicity, but Carter Ellis and Ethan Allen produced versions that are worth a look.

The average selling price for a piece of American cherry shaker furniture at 1stDibs is $7,033, while they’re typically $800 on the low end and $14,500 for the highest priced.

Authentic antique Shaker furniture is hard to come by, but not exceedingly rare. “Shaker style” describes furnishings and interiors that are both warm and simple, centered on unpretentious wooden chairs, tables and cabinets without ornament or embellishment. 

The term derives from the popular name for an all-but-vanished American religious sect, whose members crafted modest household furniture and objects as part of their belief in purposeful living and simplicity in all things.

Members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing — called Shakers, derisively, because they writhed and danced in religious ecstasy during worship — arrived in the United States from England in 1774. Within 50 years, the sect had established 19 self-sufficient communities from Maine to Kentucky, where they lived pure, humble and industrious lives.

The furniture and objects the Shakers made reflected their strict rules of behavior. Pieces such as ladder- and slat-back chairs and trestle tables were painstakingly crafted from native woods like maple and cherry, using traditional methods such as mortise-and-tenon and dovetail joinery and lathe turning. They employed strong, straight lines and symmetrical proportions, and decoration of any kind — carving, veneers, inlays — was prohibited, as it would encourage the sins of pride and vanity.

The Shakers movement included some 6,000 members at its peak in the 1860s, but the group practiced celibacy and could attempt to sustain their flock only by recruiting new adherents. Modernity proved too alluring. Today only one tiny Shaker community, in Maine, still exists, though the sect’s heritage is preserved at several historical sites.

To support their communities, the Shakers sold furniture to outsiders, who appreciated its superb quality. While the “Shaker style” label is today given to many plain, simple wooden pieces, it should also denote superior construction and solid materials. As elements in interior design, Shaker furnishings work best in a quiet decor. Modest pieces such as these can become lost among more ornate works. The style is most suitable to a country home — although a Shaker chair or cabinet can make a striking counterpoint in a modernist, urban setting.

Shaker furniture and objects have a deep appeal for their warmth, honesty and graceful simplicity, which make them welcome almost anywhere.

Find antique Shaker furniture for sale on 1stDibs.