Styles of Antique Free-standing Kitchen Cupboards

Pie Safes

• Pie safes are large free-standing cupboards designed to keep pies and other baked goods safe from rodents and insects without sacrificing the air circulation needed to keep them fresh. Commonly around six feet tall and three feet wide, antique pie safes are mostly simple in design, with legs that are extensions of the cupboard. Others feature crown molding and turned legs. Pie safes commonly have two doors opening onto a number of shelves, usually three or four. Some have drawers above or below the doors. For air circulation, the doors or sides are made of punched-tin panels, some sporting intricate designs. Some early pie safes are crafted of solid wood with air holes drilled into them.

Jelly Cupboards

• Also known as a preserve or canning cupboard, these large cupboards are designed to store jams, jellies and other canned goods, as well as items used for preserving food, such as crocks and jars. Most jelly cupboards are utilitarian in appearance, with one wide door and shelves deep and high enough to accommodate two or three rows of canned goods. These cupboards were often built to fit into a specific space in the kitchen, and for this reason vary in size. They were often painted with milk paint or were whitewashed. Over the years those finishes may have been covered with more modern paint. Some jelly cupboards are more attractively crafted, and finished with furniture wax or stain. These often have decorative elements such as molding and porcelain handles.

Baker's Cupboards

• With its large work surface and numerous drawers and shelves, the baker’s cupboard was designed specifically as a center for baking. Below the wooden table that serves as a work surface, a baker’s cupboard has rounded bins made of tin that pull out to store flour and sugar. Above the work surface are drawers and shelves to store spices, plates and baking utensils. Baker’s tables date to the late 19th century and are forerunners of the Hoosier cabinet manufactured in the early 20th century.