Amish Furniture Styles (Mission, Shaker, Traditional/Heritage and Queen Anne

Mission: Introduced to America around 1900, this style features straight lines and will show more of the pieces infrastructure. Legs and posts will be square and aprons straight (or mildly arched). Drawer fronts are plain and sometimes shut flush with the front of the piece; door panels will be square and inset instead of raised. Hardware will be a plain wood knob or reproduction wrought iron (usually black). Moldings will be flat, 45 degrees and plain. The most popular wood for Mission pieces is 1/4 Sawn Oak (which was used during the early 1900’s) followed by Oak and Cherry. Most people feel Mission style furniture has a more modern “clean” look to it.

Shaker: Simple style and very similar to the Mission style. Mission legs will be square, Shaker legs and posts will offer a slight taper. Drawer fronts are flat and usually overlay with the front of the piece (you will not see space around drawers) and aprons may have a simple arch. Door panels can be raised or inset, square or plain arch. Moldings will be plain or plain cove moldings. Usually has plain wood knob hardware. Any wood type works well with this style furniture.

Traditional/Heritage: Simply put, if it is not Mission or Shaker if falls into the Traditional category. Legs will be fluted, turned or rope twist. Aprons will be more ornate with scalloping common. Doors and drawers will be full overlay. Doors will feature raised panels with a Cathedral Arch and drawer fronts will have a decorative routing. Moldings will be more of a wavy crown style (some featuring dental or rope twist).

Queen Anne: While still a traditional style, it requires it’s own category. Queen Anne style is what many popular antique pieces are crafted in. This style features a unique leg/foot (search our site for “Queen Anne”), with raised panel doors, ornate moldings and scalloping on all skirts. Hardware will be ornate and usually made of brass. The most popular wood type for Queen Anne pieces is Cherry with a dark red stain.