Upcycled Pallets into Pie Safe

Theresa and I are big fans of upcycling old, antique or what is usually considered throw-away material into new and cool things.

We love our wedding photo frame made from old studs and material like window weights that become art as we come across them in our home improvements.

And it’s cool when we find out we’re not alone in treasuring our trash, which we discovered while having dinner with Chris and Peyton Lambton of HGTV’s Going Yard. It turns out Chris’s lead carpenter Derek is an upcycle furniture-maker with some serious skills. Even though he tricked out an uber-arbor from Western Red Cedar on Going Yard’s Wedding Reception Makeover, the gift he gave Chris and Peyton personally for their nuptials was a pie-safe he built in his shop on Martha’s Vineyard.

Pie-safes (or jelly cabinets) were traditionally built to store pies and jellies “safed” away from critters like mice and flies. The perforated tin door allows air to circulate and helps keep the pie from going stale. More modern uses include a pantry or place to store collectibles.

Derek used some Shaker-style lines and a simple frame-and-panel door, creating a striking piece for the Lambton home. But what’s really cool is that everything he built it from is recycled. The lumber is from pallets (looks like he planed, sanded and jointed them into furniture-making shape while retaining their “naily,” rustic look) and the “tin” (the door panel) is from a ceiling torn down in a Boston renovation. Even the hinges are rusted and re-used.

(Note: pallets are an easy find but if the hardware is vexing you, check D. Lawless Hardware for a nice assortment.)

And that’s the way we like it: Gifts from the hands and the heart, friendship and new life from old stuff. Now I’m not sure it can measure up to Mom’s apple pie, but there better be a pie in there. We brought ice-cream.