| There are many different styles of furnishings to be | | | | wood they used. You can replicate this process by |
| found at unpainted furniture stores. It has to be said | | | | staining the bare wood furniture you purchase from |
| most of the pieces will be mass produced | | | | the unpainted furniture stores. |
| reproductions. That doesn't mean that you cannot turn | | | | You can buy Shaker reproduction furniture in a finished |
| it into beautiful fixtures for your home. | | | | state but often the pieces are made from cheap |
| The key is to pick simple styles that you can polish or | | | | woods such as gum and whitewood. They are then |
| stain to bring out the woods natural beauty. One style | | | | stained to look like mahogany or oak. Buying bare |
| that suits most homes is the Shaker style. This was | | | | wood furniture ensures that you know exactly what |
| developed in the period from 1770 to the 1800s. The | | | | type of wood you are buying and you should be able |
| Shakers were a religious sect originally from New | | | | to buy real pine or Maplewood for a lower price than |
| England. They believed that furniture should be simple | | | | the complete reproduction product would have cost. |
| and useful but don't let that mislead you. The very | | | | You do not need to worry that you won't have the |
| simplicity of these pieces adds to their beauty which is | | | | skills to stain the furnishings yourself. All it takes is the |
| why the style is so popular today. | | | | correct preparation and the right materials and quite a |
| You won't find any ornate carving or embellishment on | | | | bit of patience. I am sure that you will be absolutely |
| Shaker wood furnishings. The most that these | | | | amazed at the finished items you will be able to create |
| craftsmen did was to use stains to accentuate the | | | | from purchases made at your local unpainted furniture |
| natural beauty of the fruitwood, Maplewood or pine | | | | stores. |