Mission vs Shaker Style Cabinets
Both the Mission and Shaker cabinet styles date back many years. There’s a timeless appeal to the simplicity of both styles. The element that both have in common when it comes to cabinet doors is a square frame and a flat, recessed panel. Maple is the classic wood used in a Shaker cabinet, the lines are clean and the scale is light. This is a classic, maple Shaker door that we would use in a kitchen remodeling or refacing project.
A true Shaker would frown on any stain or finish on that door, nothing to detract from the natural beauty of the wood. But I don’t do many projects for real old-school Shakers. When the simple lines of the style are done in a sold white or a deep Java stain, the look is more interesting in my opinion, even if it’s not pure Shaker.
Mission and Craftsman are related, they tend to “show off” a little bit more than a pure Shaker look. Gustav Stickley was the man when it comes to this style of furniture and cabinetry. It’s angular, but also shows the details the craftsman used to build the door. Square pegs at the corner joints and butterfly inlays are typical for this style. The wood species is usually Oak. That’s right – but it’s not the big, whirly grain oak that was installed in every kitchen in the 90’s – it’s Quartersawn Oak. Quartersawn is a way of milling the log that leaves straight grain and also the signature medullary rays, or “flake”. It’s the wood of Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Mission and Craftsman styles are sometimes done in cherry, but Quartersawn white oak is traditional. Here’s a photo of the doors I used in a kitchen I completed this summer in Downers Grove:
Here are a couple other examples of Crafstman and Mission styles.
I caution clients about following the latest trend. A quality kitchen should last 20 years or more. Colors and Glazes may come and go, but quality, furniture grade woods like cherry, maple and quartersawn oak always endure. The simple style of Shaker may be boring to some, but the clean lines of both the Mission and Shaker will continue to endure as examples of good design.
