Antique Pie Safe

When I first spied this pie safe at a local antique store, it was upside down.

As I was figuring out how it was supposed to be properly oriented, the owner of the booth came over and helped me in my confusion. She explained that the posts with holes face up and were used to suspend the pie safe from the ceiling, kind of like this:

Photos via Pinterest

The antique booth owner was incredibly sweet, and she worked with me on the price of the pie safe. It wasn't too long before it was loaded up into The Marshmallow and down in my workshop. It sat for a little bit because I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do with it. It was pretty the way it was, but it didn't have any vibrance and it was kind of...

well...

boring.

My first instinct was to go for a chippy white makeover, but I was getting tripped up on the original screening. It was wrapped around the outside of the piece instead of the inside, so I wasn't sure what it would look like if I just painted the exposed wood.

And so the pie safe sat.

And sat.

Aaaaaand sat.

It wasn't until a few days ago that I finally decided to go with my gut and give it a chippy white makeover. One of my pieces sold at Morgantown Market, and I had a vacant spot to fill so I set to work mixing up some Farmhouse White Milk Paint.

Because the pie safe was practically raw wood, I needed to force the Milk Paint to chip using some Beeswax Finish to create a resist. Milk Paint soaks into raw wood like a stain, so without the beeswax, there would be no chipping.

Using a small wax brush, I applied the beeswax everywhere I wanted the paint to chip off. I applied it randomly over the pie safe and then painted over it with the Farmhouse White Milk Paint. As the paint dried, it started to lift away from the places where I applied the beeswax. Using a medium grit piece of sandpaper, I distressed the pie safe to simulate age and make it not look like it had just been painted.

The results were gorgeous.

The random forced chipping looked so authentic, and it made me fall in love with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint all over again.

As I painted, I was careful not to cover the original screening. (That white blob in the corner of the screen was there already from its previous life!)

I was also careful to avoid painting on the original hardware as much as I could.

The latches on the door were pretty dull so I shined them up with some Hemp Oil. While the one on the left is crooked, I didn't adjust it because I thought it was perfect just the way it was. The door still closes easily and the latch lines up with the catch. Plus, this is an old antique piece so a crooked little door fits with its charm!

I sealed all of the chippy Milk Paint with Tough Coat. This water-based sealer is ideal for chippy finishes and high-traffic pieces.

After some staging, I grabbed one of my Christmas presents and did my first photo shoot with my new Canon 6D DSLR camera!

I'm still getting used to it, and I need to practice a bit more, but boy did I have fun photographing the finished pie safe!

Isn't it so sweet?

I'm so glad I went with my gut decision of a chippy white finish. The pie safe has a fresh new look and it still looks authentically old. Winner winner!

I even love the sweet slightly crooked left door. That's character right there.

The wood on the inside was dry and dirty, so I gave it a good scrubbing and a healthy "slathering" of Hemp Oil.

I applied it with my designated Hemp Oil paintbrush and wiped away the excess with a clean cloth.

The wood woke up instantly and its natural beauty and richness is much more noticeable now.

It provides a lovely contrast against the bright white Milk Paint.

The beauty of the wood speaks for itself.

I staged this piece with neutral decor. I picked up this sweet ironstone bowl during my last antique outing.

This cow bust and cotton wreath were the perfect duo to overlook the pie safe.

I kept the rest of the decor neutral and tried to incorporate pieces with the same type of contrast as the safe.

If you're totally in love with this pie safe, it's available at Morgantown Market for $345 plus tax. It measures 36 in long, 17 in deep, and 38 in tall to the top of the hanging posts. It's a unique piece that will add the perfect essence of farmhouse style to your home.

If you love this look, you can shop for all of the Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint products I used in my Milk Paint displays at Morgantown Market and Painted Table Designs!

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