dusty land had more to think about than how to arrange their dining room furniture. As they settled their homes, they often had to build furniture to outfit their new lives. Lorena Mushinski, owner of Southern Grace Antique Store in Bryan, TX, specializes in this primitive furniture, as she's been a collector herself for many years. Her initial draw to the furniture came from their trademark quality and history: "Primitive pieces were so well made that I could tell they...would last probably another 100 years, and they always had such character that it really made you wonder what all they had been through, witnessed." challenge of keeping food stored and pest-free. A common piece of furniture was a pie safe, a wooden cabinet with hinged doors and decorative punched tins that allowed for ventilation and as a bug screen. Holding food and basic kitchen staples, the cabinet often had tall legs or was rested on bricks to keep it well off the ground and away from bugs. different from current manufacturing. "Primitive furniture was made using quality woods, by skilled people that simply took their time building a piece, making sure it was sturdy, would last, would be worth the investment," explains Lorena. "It wasn't rushed. There wasn't an assembly line. It was one piece at a time." utilitarian in purpose, but the craftsmanship in these pieces alludes to the care and artistry of the carpenters. "Most of the time these needs they had whether it be storing food, clothing, or other household storage," says Lorena, who points out that though "function was the priority, the handcraft workmanship stands out as the beauty." the influences of primitive furniture on modern design. "The simplistic and clean lines of the old wonderful pie safes, cupboards, chests, [and] farm tables are being copied by designers and manufactures," she says, "but as hard as they try, the quality is still nowhere close to the old standards." the furniture in her store. Whereas she once saw the wear, the distressed and peeling paint, and the old-fashioned look as something to be altered and updated, she now honors the history in the furniture. If she does anything, it's to preserve a piece: a protective finish to save the peeling paint, or wax old, stained wood that needs moisturizer--"just like the rest of us as we age!" |