Shaker Kitchens

Perennially popular, Shaker kitchens are inspired by the functional furniture produced by the Shaker movement dating back to the 18^th Century. Originating in Manchester, the Shaking Quakers, ‘Shakers’ had strong religious principles based on creating a utopian reality on Earth to prepare for the Second Coming; beliefs for which they were persecuted in England. Eventually settling in Maine, New England, they lived as a religious commune, making their own tools to build timber-framed dwellings with wooden furniture and homewares all based on efficient form and function with simple, yet beautiful, styles.

Today, their furniture is lauded worldwide and has, over many years, inspired the Shaker look, which works so well for kitchens in period homes, and some modern ones too. Today, Shaker kitchens tend to feature tongue and grooved panels with a mix of ball handles on cabinets and pull cup handles on the drawers. They can also include polished oak overmantels, with oak accents, as additional flourishes to these stylish symmetrical designs.

At Searle & Taylor, we have specialised in designing bespoke Shaker kitchens in Hampshire for more than 30 years, and we feature two options at different price levels: Handmade Bespoke, where furniture comes in set sizes with lay on doors that sit on the front of the carcase. Our Signature Bespoke Shaker kitchens have in-frame doors and can be designed and made in any size or dimension to suit your property. Both feature mortise and tenon joints and include dovetail drawer boxes, a nod to the craftsmanship of the Shakers, and can be handpainted in any colour to suit your home

As you enter the Searle & Taylor Winchester showroom, we feature a handmade handpainted Signature Bespoke Shaker kitchen display, with a circular kitchen island. Another, kitchen, with handpainted floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, is also on display on the ground floor. A full handpainted Handmade Bespoke roomset is located downstairs on the lower ground floor next to our new Signature Bespoke walk-in pantry.