diff --git a/spec/pane-container-spec.coffee b/spec/pane-container-spec.coffee
index b32868d8e..58e159279 100644
--- a/spec/pane-container-spec.coffee
+++ b/spec/pane-container-spec.coffee
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ describe "PaneContainer", ->
     it "preserves the focused pane across serialization", ->
       expect(pane3A.focused).toBe true
 
-      containerB = containerA.testSerialization()
+      containerB = PaneContainer.deserialize(containerA.serialize())
       [pane1B, pane2B, pane3B] = containerB.getPanes()
       expect(pane3B.focused).toBe true
 
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ describe "PaneContainer", ->
       pane3A.activate()
       expect(containerA.getActivePane()).toBe pane3A
 
-      containerB = containerA.testSerialization()
+      containerB = PaneContainer.deserialize(containerA.serialize())
       [pane1B, pane2B, pane3B] = containerB.getPanes()
       expect(containerB.getActivePane()).toBe pane3B
 
diff --git a/src/pane-container.coffee b/src/pane-container.coffee
index 603be6ced..9fbf14519 100644
--- a/src/pane-container.coffee
+++ b/src/pane-container.coffee
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 {find, flatten} = require 'underscore-plus'
 {Emitter, CompositeDisposable} = require 'event-kit'
-Serializable = require 'serializable'
 Gutter = require './gutter'
 Model = require './model'
 Pane = require './pane'
@@ -9,12 +8,19 @@ ItemRegistry = require './item-registry'
 module.exports =
 class PaneContainer extends Model
   atom.deserializers.add(this)
-  Serializable.includeInto(this)
 
   @version: 1
 
   root: null
 
+  @deserialize: (state) ->
+    container = Object.create(@prototype) # allows us to pass a self reference to our child before invoking constructor
+    state.root = atom.deserializers.deserialize(state.root, {container})
+    state.destroyEmptyPanes = atom.config.get('core.destroyEmptyPanes')
+    state.activePane = find state.root.getPanes(), (pane) -> pane.id is state.activePaneId
+    @call(container, state) # run constructor
+    container
+
   constructor: (params) ->
     super
 
@@ -33,13 +39,9 @@ class PaneContainer extends Model
     @monitorActivePaneItem()
     @monitorPaneItems()
 
-  deserializeParams: (params) ->
-    params.root = atom.deserializers.deserialize(params.root, container: this)
-    params.destroyEmptyPanes = atom.config.get('core.destroyEmptyPanes')
-    params.activePane = find params.root.getPanes(), (pane) -> pane.id is params.activePaneId
-    params
-
-  serializeParams: (params) ->
+  serialize: (params) ->
+    deserializer: 'PaneContainer'
+    version: @constructor.version
     root: @root?.serialize()
     activePaneId: @activePane.id