Before the ice box, when kitchen cabinets were still more of a luxury than a standard item, a pie safe was considered a prize possession. These unique cupboards were used to store baked goods, flour and other kitchen sundries.

A Pie Safe is a closed cupboard whose door panels are formed from hand-pierced pieces of tin or sometimes wire screening. In addition, the sides may have tin panels and there may be one or more drawers in the top or bottom of the piece.

Fresh-baked berry pies were a seasonal rarity on a pioneer homestead, and they needed protection from small children and other varmints. Cook's answer was a pie safe: a cabinet with tight joints and close-fitting doors to exclude pests and retain enough humidity to keep pies moist, but also featuring tiny, ant and gnat excluding perforations in the door so air could circulate to prevent mold.

Their classic style and design still blends well with many modern kitchen settings.

In recent years pie safes have moved out of the kitchen and found new lives as entertainment centers, armoires and linen cupboards.

A pie safe makes a great place to store blankets, sheets and towels.

Some pie safes are made in the form of step-back cupboards, and others may be very elaborate with a combination of glazed and tin-paneled doors.