Four ways to acheive the popular Shaker kitchen design

It’s another week, and another blog on one of the hottest and most requested styles of kitchens at the Kitchen Design Centre. So far we’ve looked at retro, hi spec, traditional and minimalist kitchen ideas – and this week it’s the turn of the very popular Shaker kitchen design.

What is a Shaker kitchen?

Unlike most other kitchens, the term ‘Shaker’ doesn’t intuitively give away a lot about its style. That’s because this style of kitchen was named after the religious movement that developed it, the Shakers. The Shakers migrated to the United States from Manchester in 1774 and created their own simple, functional, high quality kitchens. They valued open-plan living space that was uncluttered and simple, and believed that every object in the home should have a function. This simplistic theory gave way to the clean lines and functional layout of Shaker kitchen design that we all love today.

Top tips for your Shaker kitchen design

One thing that’s much admired about the Shaker kitchen is its versatility. The key concepts of this style can be brought to a traditional kitchen or a more modern kitchen.

1. If you’re looking to achieve a classic Shaker style, you’ll achieve a simple and clean result, with everything in its right place. The chic modular units give you the freedom to re-arrange the layout if you fancy a change. And with wood playing a major role in Shaker style, it’s a good idea to incorporate some lighter colours into your design to keep your kitchen bright – for example, lighter painted cupboards and pale flooring. Popular colours for a Shaker style kitchen are creams, pale blues, yellows, greens and red.
2. For a country style Shaker kitchen, be sure to keep the colours light and take inspiration from features such as oak beams. At the Kitchen Design Centre, we can even build in rustic touches like large oak beams, or built out old stone walls to fit in with the design and style you have in mind.
3. A modern Shaker kitchen needs to feature more modern materials – so cabinets should be given a shimmering white high gloss, for that stylish modern twist. The use of stainless steel bar handles rather than wooden ones and the introduction of granite worktops are also great ways to modernise the traditional Shaker style.
4. For a traditional Shaker kitchen, keep in mind the classic design, but enhance it with features such as pilasters and pewter handles. Little touches like this can completely transform the classic plain Shaker kitchen. When it comes to colour, choose rich creamy colours to give your kitchen a cosy, comfortable, homely feel. You can also incorporate peg rails in traditional or country style Shaker kitchens – for hanging blackboards, aprons and anything else you might need for smooth running of the kitchen.

To enquire about Shaker kitchen design at the Kitchen Design Centre, contact us online, or drop into one of our designer kitchen showrooms throughout the North West. A member of our kitchen design team will be happy to talk you through some of our existing designs or discuss more bespoke design ideas to suit you.

What’s your favourite style of kitchen that we’ve covered in our blog so far? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @ModernKitchens