S. Timberlake
Made to Order
Shaker & Custom furniture
shipping fine furniture world wide since 1974
Order, info, or make an appointment
to visit our Bethel,Maine showroom
(207) 593-6882
Custom Chairs
made in maine by s.timberlake
We started our business in 1974 as Shaker chairmakers. It took us more than a few months to understand and execute the joinery of a rung constructed chair so that it would hold together for centuries, like the original Shaker chairs made two hundred years ago. It was a natural progression for us to be curious and appreciate the designs of other makers and styles. We have always liked the simple, yet elegant appearance of many of the mid-century Scandinavian chairs. The comfort and construction of these chairs reminded us of the thoughtful tilt the Shakers incorporated in their ladderback chairs. We frequently receive requests to make chairs for clients and designers who are looking for something different than what is available in the mass marketplace. If you have a chair idea you'd like to see built for your home or business, give us a call.
Sam Timberlake was mulling over a list of items one of his Cumberland, Maine customers had left with him when his son Ross walked in. He had just been to the town dump and while he was there he noticed a chair leg sticking out of a pile of debris. When he retrieved it he immediately recognized it as the back leg of a Scandinavian style chair.
Sam looked up and saw the leg Ross was holding and asked, "What's that?" Ross, half-kidding said, "Our next chair." Little did he know how right he was. A week later Sam had made the prototype of the chair to present to his customer who promptly ordered eight of them.
Sam's Chairs
Sam's Side Chair
PRICE - $650.00
Standard Stain & Checkerboard Seat
Outside Dimensions:
Back Leg Ht: 40 7/8”
Seat Ht.: 17 3/4”
Width of seat: 21 3/4”
Depth of seat: 16”
Sam's Arm Chair
PRICE - $825.00
Standard Stain & Checkerboard Seat
Outside Dimensions:
Back Leg Ht: 40 7/8”
Seat Ht.: 17 3/4”
Width of seat: 21 3/4”
Depth of seat: 16”
The Alex Chair was designed for another Maine customer and friend who wanted a Sam's Chair look but with a different back style. The result was a modified, traditional "library" chair with a pronounced concave curve and a 7/8" thick scooped seat.
These chairs are incredibly rugged and heavy too!
The Alex Chair
Maple Alex Side Chair
PRICE - $650.00
Standard Stain & Checkerboard Seat
Outside Dimensions:
Back Leg Ht: 40 7/8”
Seat Ht.: 17 3/4”
Width of seat: 21 3/4”
Depth of seat: 16”
Walnut Alex Side Chair
PRICE - $900.00
Standard Stain & Checkerboard Seat
Outside Dimensions:
Back Leg Ht: 40 7/8”
Seat Ht.: 17 3/4”
Width of seat: 21 3/4”
Depth of seat: 16”
The Vignes Chair was made for a lady who wanted the unencumbered look of our Shaker-style "No Finial" chair but with a little button-like finial that we saw turned on a Mt. Lebanon, NY Shaker chair. We used graduated slats on the back and the back height of 38" is just right for comfort .
The Vignes Chair
Maple Vignes Side Chair
PRICE - $325.00
Standard Stain & Checkerboard Seat
Outside Dimensions:
Back Leg Ht: 38”
Seat Ht.: 17 3/4”
Width of seat: 19 3/4”
Depth of seat: 15”
.Shaker Custom Chairs Gallery.
We received an inquiry from New Hampshire with a picture of a chair attached and a request for pricing if we could "reproduce" the chair in the photo. Though we are certainly capable of reproducing many styles of chairs, doing so is something we don't do. When we make a custom chair for a customer we may borrow some element of the chair that suggests the original, but we will not reproduce the details and hard work of the original maker and designer. In the case of the Shaker chairs we make, the designs are in the "public domain" and our interpretation of the "originals" may be altered to be more useful and comfortable for our current customers.
An eclectic take on shaker
One of our Alexandria, Va. customers has a collection of chairs around her dining table that could easily be found in an exhibition of classic chair designs.
This Shaker style chair is based on her specs and features the highest back we've ever made for a chair - 48"
We have always built variations of the shaker chair and welcome your ideas for an adaptation that would work with your taste in furniture style. Why not try something different? We'll help!
Cafe Chair - $210.00
Our Cafe Chair has a 30" back and a broad 3 1/2" slat
and the beauty, besides the price, is it weighs only 15lbs.
Shaker Arm Chair Times two
Around 1980 Ross asked his good friend Fred to help him put together S.Timberlake's new brochure. Fred did a great job writing the copy and capturing the essence of our work, our philosophy, and our character in a straight forth, simple manner. He is, by craft, a gifted writer and we were pleasantly surprised how little he borrowed from science fiction, his preferred genre, to tell our story. He liked our work too which probably lessened the toil of the task at hand. Some years later, perhaps after he'd gone back to his science fiction writing, he came up with a little project we had not yet considered.....a double chair. Leave it to fred to come up with something that would be both unique, challenging, and aesthetically delightful. His double chair's seat is woven from nearly seventy yards of shaker tape.
Item# - 22A (Select Back Style Prefix)
Outside Dimensions:
Back Leg Ht: 40 7/8”
Seat Ht.: 17 3/4”
Width of seat: 42 1/4"
Depth of seat: 16”
Price: $950.00 (plus shipping)
makers of fine shaker & custom furniture
shipping furniture of exceptional value worldwide since 1974
copyright 2001 s.timberlake