Shaker -- The Beauty Of Solid Wood And Purity Of Design Give This Furniture A Timeless Quality

CUTLINE: BELOW - SHAKER REPRODUCTIONS ARE EASIER TO FIND AND FAR MORE AFFORDABLE. KENMORE RESIDENT JANET ROSEMA RAISED FOUR SONS ON THE SHAKER TABLE AND SIX CHAIRS SHE BUILT FROM KITS NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO.

CUTLINE: ROSEMA BUILT THIS SHAKER-STYLE CHERRY CLOCK FROM A KIT. THE TIMEPIECE IS MODELED AFTER THOSE MADE BY 19TH-CENTURY SHAKER CRAFTSMAN ISAAC YOUNGS. SHAKER PIECES ARE GAINING POPULARITY BECAUSE THEIR CLEAN LINES AND NATURAL WOOD FINISHES BLEND WITH BOTH TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY DECORS.

Bill Cosby collects it. So does Oprah Winfrey.

These stars, and an increasing number of everyday people, are catching on to the appeal of Shaker furniture, both as a valued collectible and an attractive, goes-with-anything look for the home.

Originally introduced to this country 200 years ago, Shaker's no-frills beauty looks particularly attractive after the excesses of the American and English country looks of the 1980s. Light and airy like Danish modern, but without the swooping lines that characterize that style, Shaker furniture has a timeless quality that goes with every decor. The purity of solid wood evokes a country feel, while the purity of line rivals the best of the Bauhaus.

``It's easy to integrate with other styles. You can mix it and match it and it isn't offensive,'' says Marcia Voorhees, a collector of Shaker furniture who lives in Kirkland. ``Years ago, when I first got interested in `country,' it was cluttery and there were a lot of things going on in the room. Shaker is more accepted now because it's a cleaner line. People want to get rid of all that stuff. We don't have time to dust.''

Officially known as The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, the Shakers earned their nickname in the 18th century due to the trembling their religious fervor induced. Although the sect once claimed to have more than 17,000 followers in 27 communities, only a handful of Shakers survive today in settlements in Canterbury, N.H., and Sabbathday Lake, Maine.

The Shakers lived by principles that called for celibacy, communal living and separation from the outside world. Rejecting the frippery and pretense of furniture designs of the day, the Shakers built their own furnishings, finding beauty in form rather than surface decoration. Their creations were simple and direct, observing the tenets of ``form follows function'' 100 years before Louis Sullivan coined the phrase. Chairs, for example, were designed to hang upside down on wall pegs, to make floor sweeping easier and keep dust from settling on the seats.

``Their religion permeated their whole lives,'' says Kristin Strand, owner of Shakers Cottage, a store in Bothell. ``If you made a chair, it was as if an angel was going to sit on it, so it had to be perfect.''

Voorhees and her husband Dick own several pieces of authentic Shaker furniture - that is, pieces made by the Shakers themselves between 1790 and 1940. A slight, ladder-back rocker from Lebanon, N.Y., features a caned seat and the signature Shaker finials on its back. The chair sits in front of a handsome, russet-colored chest of drawers crafted from solid cherry. The piece features four main drawers and a recessed top, and dates from the 1860s. The top right-hand drawer includes even the craftsman's signature - a rare feature in a Shaker work.

The couple has accessorized with a Shaker-style wall clock and traditional Shaker oval boxes, with

their distinctive ``finger'' laps on the side.

Authentic Shaker pieces - such as those belonging to the Voorheeses - are few and far between, especially in the Northwest. Since the Shakers never settled farther west than Indiana and Kentucky, people don't know much about them here, and often confuse them with the Amish.

``It takes an expert to really tell what's Shaker,'' says Kristin Strand. With authentic Shaker pieces often fetching five-figure sums at auction (Oprah Winfrey paid a reported $220,000 - an auction record - for a Shaker chest recently), these pieces are out of bounds for any but the wealthiest homeowners.

One alternative is to purchase ``degenerative'' pieces - those produced by furniture companies around the turn of the century, after the Shakers sold the rights to their designs.

A more affordable alternative is reproduction Shaker - contemporary pieces made according to traditional designs and standards. Unfortunately, even these can set your budget back a bit. ``The Shaker furniture that is made now is very expensive, because of the quality of the work,'' says Strand, who stopped carrying Shaker furniture at Shakers Cottage several years

ago due to lack of demand.

``People out here aren't willing to pay for that kind of quality in furniture,'' she says.

Those interested in reproduction Shaker furniture would do well to read some books about the subject before heading out to shop. Some manufacturers and craftsmen, reacting to the growing interest in the style, are producing pieces that borrow the appearance of Shaker, but make allowances to save money and appeal to contemporary lifestyles. The pieces may look Shaker, but they're often just ``Americana.''

A good way to acquire accurate Shaker reproductions is through the mail. You can find ads for these firms in country-style decorating magazines. One of the most respected sources is Shaker Workshops, a 20-year-old business based in Concord, Mass. Shaker Workshops boasts a quarter-million customers worldwide, and supplies furniture to the gift shops of major Shaker museums around the country. They produce a free 50-page catalog twice a year (call 617-646-8985 to order).

All of the chairs, tables, beds and clocks shown in the Shaker Workshops catalog may be ordered either in kit form or pre-assembled, usually at twice the kit price. For example, a standard slat-back chair sells for $86.25 in kit form, $172.50 assembled and finished. A 6-foot pine trestle table sells for $500 in kit form, $800 finished. Shipping is extra.

Kenmore resident Janet Rosema raised four boys using Shaker kit furniture. Janet says she was attracted to the pieces by their timeless appearance and durability. ``I don't like plastic,'' she says. ``People just get stuff and when they're tired of it or don't like it they just throw it away. I don't like that idea. If I get something, I want to keep it and I want to take care of it.''

Janet's father taught woodworking and her husband's father owned a millwork, so both appreciated the beauty of unadorned wood. Janet and her husband built their trestle table and slat-back chairs from kits they purchased nearly 20 years ago from Cohasset Colonials. Although the kits weren't cheap even then, the pieces have endured thanks to their solid wood construction and intelligent design.

As an example, Janet points to the table's breadboard end - a strip of wood the Shakers pegged into the side of a tabletop to prevent it from

warping as the wood swells or shrinks. The crossbeam underneath is set high under the top so chairs can be pushed all the way in, and to prevent anyone from resting his feet on the beam.

The chairs feature woven seats and ``tilters'' on the rear legs - swivel balls held in place with a leather thong that allowed Shakers to lean back in their chairs without toppling over or damaging floors.

``I like the idea of history,'' says Janet, now a widow. ``I think that we need a connection to the past.''

As she caresses the surface of the pine tabletop and points to scratches left by school projects and areas darkened by years of newspaper-reading, Janet laughs. ``The other beauty of this to me is that it looks like it's been used. That doesn't bother me a whole lot. It's got a lot of history now itself.''

Asked if her sons developed an appreciation for the furniture after using it over the years, Janet replies, ``It's sort of the opposite. They just take it for granted that this is how furniture is supposed to be.

``They're in for some rude awakenings.''

SEATTLE WRITER FRED ALBERT REPORTS REGULARLY ON HOME DESIGN FOR PACIFIC, AND IS CO-AUTHOR OF ``AMERICAN DESIGN: THE NORTHWEST,'' PUBLISHED BY BANTAM. MIKE SIEGEL IS A SEATTLE TIMES STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER.