Shaker Style: An American Made Furniture Tradition

Our Shaker Collection features beautiful American hardwood tables, Shaker desks, and media TV stands. As Wikipedia describes, “Shaker furniture is widely admired for its simplicity, innovative joinery, quality, and functionality… Collections of Shaker furniture are maintained by many art and historical museums in the United States and England, as well as in numerous private collections. The underlying principles of Shaker design have given inspiration to some of the finest designers of modern furniture.”

Farmhouse Media Center in Chestnut finish.

At Manchester Wood we believe in tradition as well as modernization to the changing times. Shaker style furniture, as previously described, is the mark of early American made furniture which makes for a great collector piece in your home. In providing Shaker furniture, we’re providing history in contemporary form with a collector quality by way of the handcrafted and resourced nature of our work. It’s to no surprise then that our small family-run Made in USA business is a true standard in continuing the tradition of Shaker style American made furniture.

If you’re shopping for media TV stands, like for our popular Farmhouse Media Center, or for a Shaker desk, like the many we have available including our Shaker Secretary Desk, or for an end table or coffee table, our options are extensive and growing in offering you the finest quality Made in USA furniture in Shaker style.

View our Shaker Collection and take home an heirloom piece for your own at an affordable price at ManchesterWood.com, your American made furniture provider.

The Importance of Media and Television Stands

The origins of television in this country can be traced back to almost a century ago. The first TV station license was issued in 1928, but the rise of the amazing new technology was sharply curtailed as a result of the Great Depression. During this time, televisions were far too expensive for the average consumer: only about 200 TV sets existed in the whole country by 1936! It wouldn’t be until the boom of 1950s and the proliferation of consumer appliances that TV because widely available to the middle class. Throughout this period, televisions continued to stand by themselves, unreliant on other devices and often even furniture, as many TV sets actually supported themselves at a comfortable viewing level.

The introduction of Betamax and VHS during the mid to late 1970s would have a profound effect on how Americans watched TV. Aside from letting them record movies and begin to control their own viewing habits, the video player became another electronic device commonly found in American living rooms. Video players were not supposed to be stored on the floor, as they would suffer abuse from feet and and dust, so many people had to start using a different piece of furniture to keep their VCRs off the ground. TV manufacturers came up with a workaround to this problem by creating combination TV/VCRs. It wasn’t long however, until companies like Nintendo and Sega started to make video game consoles, creating yet another electronic gadget for the American living room. Soon, wooden TV stands became a popular way of organizing electronics in the living room.

Built with great care and attention to quality out of solid wood, the Contemporary Media Stand can support flat screen televisions up to 50 inches in size.

Obviously, the trend in television has been toward multiple, specialized devices. Today, TVs, cable and satellite boxes, gaming consoles, DVD players and even computers work in concert to give us multimedia entertainment in our living rooms. Having so many different components means that organizing our home entertainment systems is more important than ever. We have a number of excellent solid wood TV standsthat blend the classic appeal of hardwood furniture with modern day functionality.

Some of our highlights include the Hanover Media Stand, which can hold over 500 pounds and features ample shelving and cabinet space, all with an open back for easy wiring. Another wooden TV stand option is our Contemporary Media Stand. It features a distinctive, minimalistic design that does not sacrifice practicality. With its broad, open shelves, it has plenty of space for all of your needs.

There is no reason why your 21st century home entertainment system should be held back by a 20th century piece of furniture. Our solid wood TV stands will keep your living room looking organized and stylish, all while maximizing your viewing experience.

Solid Wood Bookshelves at Manchester Wood

Manchester Wood’s solid wood bookcases are second to none.  From the Mission Underwindow Bookshelf to our Mission and Cottage Bookshelves and all the other types of bookcases we sell, we pride ourselves on the quality of our handcrafted American made furniture.  We back this up with a 100% quality guarantee on all products.

The Mission Underwindow Bookshelf with Adjustable Shelf  is small in size, but big on books. Although originally designed to sit under a window, its compact profile means it can fit in any number of tight spaces and the adjustable shelf allows maximum book storage regardless of size.

All of the solid wood bookshelves in our Mission Collection are produced from classically inspired modern designs to create solid wood furniture that offers ample storage space with three, four, or five shelves. These stylish solid wood bookcases also feature adjustable shelves to allow for items of varying heights, inspired from our “underwindow” design.

Our Cottage Bookshelf is another solid wood furniture piece that fits into small spaces but offers a lot of storage. It’s made of solid maple and is available in milk white, sage, or black lacquer finish. The Cottage Bookshelf is a solid wood bookcase that is ideal for a child’s playroom.

Manchester Wood proudly manufactures all of our solid wood furniture, including these solid wood bookshelves and solid wood bookcases, in the USA. All our items are held to the highest quality standards during production. The solid wood that we use for our eco-friendly furniture comes from sustainably managed forests in the Northeast of America.

To view our solid wood bookshelves, please click here.