Recipe for a kitchen classic

Back when baking meant chopping wood for the stove and an “ice box” was literally that, almost every kitchen had a pie safe. A simple, free-standing cabinet, a pie safe held baked goods behind punched-tin panels that allowed air to circulate while keeping pests at bay.

Today pie safes—like wood-fired stoves and oak ice boxes—have become sought-after antiques. Unlike their more utilitarian cousins, however, pie safes often have elaborate and whimsical designs punched in the tin panels of their doors, a feature that has elevated these humble objects to folk-art status.

You don’t have to be an art or antiques collector (or even a baker) to appreciate this do-it-yourself version of a classic pie safe. It features three shelves behind a single door, and its convenient size and simple styling make it a good match for almost any decor.

Simple enough for a beginner, the project features simple construction techniques and full-size patterns. The plan also includes two traceable designs for the punched-tin panels, but original designs are a popular option.

The pie safe measures about 40 inches tall by 21 inches wide by 13 inches deep.

The Pie Safe plan, No. 886, is $9.95 and includes step-by-step directions with photos, full-size traceable patterns, construction diagrams, a shopping list and cutting schedule and a toll-free help line for project questions. The plan also includes a mail-order source for tin blanks.

If you’re looking for other antique reproductions, a package of oak ice box projects, No. C58, is $21.95 and includes three other plans. A catalog picturing hundreds of do-it-yourself projects is $2. Please include $4 for postage and handling (except catalog-only orders) and allow about two weeks for delivery.

To order by mail, clip this article and send it with a check or money order to U-Bild Features, c/o (insert name of publication here), 15241 Stagg St., Van Nuys, CA 91405.

To order by credit card, call (800) 828-2453. Visit U-Bild on the Web at u-bild.com.