We thought this was a good post to kick off Spring Cleaning Month (and this is not a scene from Harry Potter). There are so many details to capture when visiting a place like Hancock Shaker Village. One that we would like to copy one day is the abundant use of peg rail around the top of EVERY room...
These lines become part of the visual decor of the room while also doing endless duty as a place to hang anything from brooms to chairs to you-name-it.
When the Shakers cleaned up the room, they really liked to clear the floor. As a result, all their furniture was movable and much of it was meant to hang on these pegs.
(Re-Edited from 2006-07-11 - MGR)
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Comments (4)
Please stop making posts with "Look!". It is completely unnecessary.
You can buy custom-cut peg rails from Shaker Workshops. I've bought stuff from them on line, and it's good quality.
www.shakerworkshops.com/
FYI - Shaker isn't necessarily "traditional." The Whitney had a Shaker exhibit about 20 years ago, showing it as the predecessor to modern design. It would work very well in a modern interior.
I think someone would have to decide if they were using this idea as a design element or as an actual storage alternative. As others have suggested, I doubt the two looks would have the same sort of appeal. Sometimes there is a reason why things go out of fashion....or are replaced by closets.
Still, the Shaker look always feels so serene and peaceful.
Hello Everyone! We at Paul Thomas Designs www.paulthomasdesigns.com have been making Shaker Peg Rails for many many years. I began making them based on original rails as found throughout various Shaker communities. I needed a place for my, at the time, young daughters to hang their backpacks.
Those wonderful people who unfortunately had one too many rules gave to all of us simple beauty. But in their eyes, it was functional utility.
Whether it be a broom, a quilt, or a pegrail, the reason for it's being was to serve a purpose. In light of this, the Shakers did use adornment. This can be seen in furniture made after 1850.
Today, in our giant fast paced world, we find peace in the notion that less is better. And the Shakers created just that. Simple, clean, unadorned functional wares.
While there are many ways to hang a cap, coat, backpack, whatever, the Shaker Pegrail is a darn good choice. It hugs the wall, it blends well with existing styles, it is available in matching wood, or paint colors, it can be made to fit, and it can stow many different types of things. And last but not least, it's simplicity is it's beauty.
Another notion: if it works, don't fix it. Pegrails have been in use for more than a hundred years. Our pegrail sales are very strong thus supporting the idea that Shaker pegrails are both useful, and decorative.
So, just how popular is the Shaker Pegrail? I have dealers across the country and in Canada who sell my peg rails. A couple of stores sell them online.
For the Shakers, whatever they did had to be right in God's eyes. Utility came next. Our interpretation of intrinsic beauty follows.
Questions, comments, please let me know.
Paul