WHEN THE ROOM BREATHES – AND SO DO WE
What does it mean to maintain order? It’s not about striving for perfection or control, but something softer: a gentle structure to rest in.
A rhythm that carries our days, our home, our thoughts. Since Norrgavel was founded in 1993, the simple and honest design language of the Shaker tradition has been a guiding inspiration for Nirvan Richter – a reminder that order itself can be a form of serenity.
In the Shaker tradition, order was not an end in itself but a kind of spirituality — a way of living close to what is essential, and letting the superfluous fall away. Every object should have a purpose, a place, a context. One of their guiding expressions was:
“A place for everything, and everything in its place.”
The peg rail as principle — not just furniture
This was not minimalism as style, but simplicity as a way of living — letting the essential be visible, and allowing everything else a quiet place close at hand.
Storage and spatial calm
“If the last century was bent on accumulating, we are (now) equally insistent on getting rid of the clutter. (…) Our appreciation of space is one reason for our appreciation of the airiness and roominess of the Shaker style.”
— Curator and author June Sprigg in By Shaker Hands
Shaker homes were built with storage that followed the lines of the architecture and walls. Objects could rest behind doors — close at hand, but without dominating the room. The result was an unusual stillness, a palpable calm.
Here, order was not about hiding or removing, but about letting things have their lovingly designated place. Cabinets, shelves and chests carried not only things, but spatial presence — proportions that let the eye rest, materials that age with dignity. Storage became part of the architecture itself, and the room felt lighter to inhabit.
Utility before ornament
At Norrgavel, these questions and thoughts have occupied us for a long time. Not as a style, but as a mindset. To shape objects that feel necessary rather than numerous. To let natural materials speak, and to create furniture and everyday objects carried by function, resonant proportions, and honesty in construction.
Like the Shaker tradition, we believe that beauty arises when something is made with care and for a reason. That an object used every day should be easy to like — and easy to live with.
Order as presence
More designs from Norrgavel:
Order as a Form of Calm: Norrgavel’s Shaker-Influenced Design
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Norrgavel’s design furniture is designed and manufactured without compromise. Always with great care for details, function and beauty of form. We combine traditional furniture joinery with modern techniques and choose sustainable, eco-friendly natural materials. Pure materials derived from nature, which can return there as soil and compost when the time comes. Our decision to work with natural materials means our furniture will age beautifully and naturally. The materials we use like to be used. The materials we use benefit from use. Many of the pieces can be restored to their original condition by sanding and oiling, for example. The furniture is designed to be able to be reupholstered, painted and repaired easily. Norrgavel makes furniture and interior design details to last generations. Timeless Scandinavian classics that feel just as right today as in 5, 20 or 50 years time.