This week the Persephone Post celebrates Shaker furniture: timelessly beautiful, unfussy, our absolute favourite. And influential! There is an Ercol chest of drawers, available from John Lewis, very like this actual Shaker piece. Cf Britannica here about: 'furniture designed for the religious colonies of Shakers  founded in America in the last quarter of the 18th century, characterised by austerity of decoration and truth to materials. Deeply dedicated to ideals of communal living and asceticism, the Shakers designed and constructed  furniture that reflected their belief that to make a thing well was in itself an act of prayer and their conviction that the appearance of a thing should follow upon its function. Each item was fashioned solely to serve its intended use, and all superfluous decorations, such as inlays and moldings, were eliminated.'