These 15 filing cabinet makeovers take that ordinary, not very attractive (but necessary!) piece of the organizing puzzle and make them awesome. Not just tolerable, not just "not ugly"... but awesome. Give these easy and fast DIY projects a try!
I found a filing cabinet at Goodwill awhile back for just .99 cents, so of course I brought it home. Functionally, it was exactly what I needed. Aesthetically, not so much. Last week, it was
DIY File cabinet makeover with peel and stick wallpaper for the win! See how I transformed an ugly filing cabinet in under two hours!
Here's a genius use for your file cabinet (not for papers) - It really looks that good!
These 15 filing cabinet makeovers take that ordinary, not very attractive (but necessary!) piece of the organizing puzzle and make them awesome. Not just tolerable, not just "not ugly"... but awesome. Give these easy and fast DIY projects a try!
DIY File cabinet makeover with peel and stick wallpaper for the win! See how I transformed an ugly filing cabinet in under two hours!
I’m excited to be sharing my wood trimmed filing cabinet makeover today because it fixed a problem I think many of us face. The practical vs pretty challenge. I have a problem with being practical, especially when it’s not pretty. Take filing cabinets, for example. I needed one. They are useful, but metal filing cabinets...Read More »
Check out my easy filing cabinet makeover with paint! Learn how I added a simple picture frame and paint to make this metal cabinet look new.
Personalize that eye sore with one of these fresh ideas.
CHALK/MINERAL-PAINTED FILING CABINET | DO IT YOURSELF OFFICE PROJECT | AFFORDABLE DIY OFFICE DECOR I found a filing cabinet at Goodwill awhile back for just .99 cents, so of course I brought it home. Functionally, it was exactly what I needed. Aesthetically, not so much. Last week, it was finally time to give the cabinet #thefroscheffect. I removed the hardware before I took a before picture, but it basically looked like every single other metal filing cabinet you’ve ever seen--you get the idea. I washed scuff marks with a sponge and Pine-sol, but that was the only prep work I did. As I always do, I made my own chalk/mineral paint with BB Frösch Paint Transformer. I had my local Home Depot paint guy mix a sample jar of Behr paint in Benjamin Moore’s “Pacific Grove Pink.” Most Home Depot paint counters have the color formulas for other paint brands, which makes it super convenient to get whatever color chalk/mineral paint I want! I also used a can of leftover Rustoleum Metallic gold spray paint. I also used four table legs I found at Home Depot for this project. They cost about $3 each. I marked and drilled holes on the underside of the cabinet so I could screw the legs in after everything was painted. After removing the hardware and drilling the holes, I painted one thin coat using cross-hatch strokes. Cross-hatch strokes help with the self-leveling properties of the paint so that the subsequent coat(s) will settle in for a nice, smooth finish. The first coat should be thin and won’t look like awesome coverage, but it is important when painting metal (or other less-porous surfaces) to simply get a thin coat of paint on and not overwork your brush. Overworking your brush or trying to paint too thick of a coat will lift your paint as you go. After I painted the first coat, it occurred to me that it would be easier to paint without the drawers in place, so I looked up a video on youtube. Turns out, removing filing cabinet drawers is embarrassingly simple! Just press up on the bar on the underside of the drawer as you pull the drawer out, and it will slide out easily! Even though paint transformer helps your paint dry super quickly, when it comes to painting metal, it helps to give extra dry time so the paint can fully cure. So, while waiting for the paint to bond and cure, I painted the legs and hardware with a coat of the paint I'd mixed for the filing cabinet. This acts as a bonding coat for the spray paint that could otherwise easily peel off. Once the layer of paint on the legs and hardware was dry, I sprayed one coat of gold spray paint over everything. I did not seal the gold pieces with finishing wax because using a wax brush can dull the sheen. Instead, I applied two thin coats of Minwax polyacrylic. I painted the second coat after about an hour and decided to wait until the next morning to touch up any areas that needed a third coat. Waiting the extra day made a huge difference for the paint to bond! I gave a quick pass over the whole cabinet with 400 grit sandpaper to give it a nice, smooth finish.Then, I waxed with BB Frösch Premium Clear Premium Finishing Wax. And, just like that, I have a super cute new filing cabinet to go with the sign in my office! If you are like me and prefer a video tutorial, hop over to youtube and watch the process here. The whole project cost less than $20--filing cabinet and legs included! Definitely one of my quickest, most affordable and all-around favorite makeovers to-date!
Today I am going to share with you the best filing cabinet makeover idea! I know I’m a little biased on this one (because this is a project I did myself). But I have a lot of information to share that you will find helpful. When I took on this project, I made A LOT
Transform a boring filing cabinet with spray paint, new hardware and wood legs. See our DIY Filing Cabinet Makeover project!
Personalize that eye sore with one of these fresh ideas.
File cabinets don't have to be boring! Quickly and easily give your boring cabinet a makeover with chalk paint for a gorgeous new look!
DIY File cabinet makeover with peel and stick wallpaper for the win! See how I transformed an ugly filing cabinet in under two hours!
DIY File cabinet makeover with peel and stick wallpaper for the win! See how I transformed an ugly filing cabinet in under two hours!
Check out my easy filing cabinet makeover with paint! Learn how I added a simple picture frame and paint to make this metal cabinet look new.
Beyond just storage, here are some upcycle filing cabinet projects to make and sell so you can increase the inventory of your handmade business.
PAINTED FILING CABINET | AFFORDABLE OFFICE MAKEOVER | HOW TO USE CHALK PAINT IN A SPRAYER We scored this filing cabinet for free from someone who was moving. It’s great storage for the office but “Ma’s Files” and the boring color needed to go. Make sure you have a super sweet professional set up like ours with drop cloths hanging from the garage doors you plan to paint in front of, haha! Before any painting began we numbered the drawers on the back. I recommend doing this for anything with drawers, because they can often be slightly different, and you don’t want them to get mixed up when you go to put them back. We also wiped down the filing cabinet. Any good household cleaner will do. We sprayed the handles with this spray paint. I just had this on hand because we love gold! We love how quickly a paint sprayer makes projects like these, so we used BB Frösch with our favorite Home Right Finish Max sprayer. If you don’t add BB Frösch Paint Transformer, your paint won’t stick, so don’t skip this part! First, we mixed our BB Frösch Paint Transformer with water. The key here is to stir to a doughnut glaze consistency, then add more water after adding your paint (because you will need to thin slightly for use in a sprayer.) We mixed our powder and water in the hopper that comes with the sprayer because it comes with handy-dandy lines showing where to fill the paint to. We planned to mix up half a quart of paint. Note: We would have used less paint had we brushed, but sprayers have overspray and typically use more paint. For half quart of paint, use 4 HEAPING Tablespoons of BB Frösch Paint Transformer with at least 6 Tablespoons of water (add a little more if the mixture is too thick or clumpy.) If you use the Homeright Finishmax, your sprayer should come with a viscosity cup, which makes knowing how much to thin your paint a breeze. You want your paint to run through the entire cup at approximately 35 seconds. If it takes longer, your paint is too thick, so add 1/2 Tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency. Note: Paint brands, sprayers, and your idea of heaping tablespoons all differ, which make it impossible to have a hard and fast rule about exactly how much to thin your paint for use in a sprayer. It helps to refer to the directions that come with your sprayer. You can see here we just poured the paint right into the hopper after mixing the paint transformer and water together. The color we used is a Benjamin Moore “Hale Navy,” but we had our friendly Home Depot paint guy mix it for us using Behr paint. Be sure to mix your paint and powder/water mixture WELL. You may want to run it through a paint strainer. Once your paint, paint transformer, and water are the desired consistency you may begin spraying. PRO TIP: Make sure your first coat is THIN! This will help ensure boning. It will look a little crazy but you will be blown away by just the second coat. Can you see this coverage?! This is the SECOND coat! We’re tellin’ ya, our paint transformer is magic! We went one direction for the first coat the other direction for the second (horizontal then vertical). We really let the paint cure before sealing. We waited about 2 hours. We are in a warm, dry state. If you are anywhere with humidity then wait longer. We always recommend using a water based poly so it won’t yellow. This one was in the clearance bin because the can was dented. So, we gave it a try for this project. Once the filing cabinet was painted, we cleaned out the sprayer and then used it to spray on the poly. We used the same technique we used for painting. Follow the directions on the can to know how many coats to do and how long to wait between coats. Note: You won’t need to thin your poly. Once painted and sealed, Kami put the hardware back on. We are in love, and once again, negotiating over who gets this beauty for their office! Alright, obsessed would be an understatement! This is the perfect touch to our home office. Yup, we love what we do and we have a lot of fun doing it! Be sure to always tag us in your BB Frösch Projects!
I was lucky enough to be gifted a hand-me-down filing cabinet. Recently my craft supplies have just outgrown my craft armoire. I was excited to have a new storage solution but I never imagined myself to have filing cabinet. I knew there had to be a way to spruce this up and give it new life. With a lot of googling I managed to come across a slew of cabinets that had been painted and linen wrapped with fabric. This was exactly what I needed to do and it would actually turn into the accent color and piece I needed for my craft room I am putting together.
Armed with a roll of contact paper, a hammer, and a screwdriver, I got busy. I'll be the first to admit that I manhandled this old filing cabinet. I stuck the screwdriver between the label holder, tugged, and pulled until it popped out. It was somewhat bent up, but I hammered it flat again.
Want to give that old filing cabinet a facelife? We've found 15 fabulous file cabinet makeovers to get your creative juices flowing!
For me, after Christmas is the perfect time for some organization, and this year is no different. Just this weekend I worked on a storage makeover for my studio using an old filing cabinet. Filing cabinets are the perfect storage for many reasons. First, there’s plenty of them for sale on Craigslist, Marketplace, and at…
Are you tired of looking at the same old file cabinet day in and day out? Try a quick and easy filing cabinet makeover with contact paper!
Learn the Dos and Don'ts of upcycling your filing cabinet for your classroom.
If you long to create the home office of your dreams but have been shocked by the price of office storage furniture, today’s DIY project could be the solution. Here’s how to upcycle a r…
PAINTED FILING CABINET | AFFORDABLE OFFICE MAKEOVER | HOW TO USE CHALK PAINT IN A SPRAYER We scored this filing cabinet for free from someone who was moving. It’s great storage for the office but “Ma’s Files” and the boring color needed to go. Make sure you have a super sweet professional set up like ours with drop cloths hanging from the garage doors you plan to paint in front of, haha! Before any painting began we numbered the drawers on the back. I recommend doing this for anything with drawers, because they can often be slightly different, and you don’t want them to get mixed up when you go to put them back. We also wiped down the filing cabinet. Any good household cleaner will do. We sprayed the handles with this spray paint. I just had this on hand because we love gold! We love how quickly a paint sprayer makes projects like these, so we used BB Frösch with our favorite Home Right Finish Max sprayer. If you don’t add BB Frösch Paint Transformer, your paint won’t stick, so don’t skip this part! First, we mixed our BB Frösch Paint Transformer with water. The key here is to stir to a doughnut glaze consistency, then add more water after adding your paint (because you will need to thin slightly for use in a sprayer.) We mixed our powder and water in the hopper that comes with the sprayer because it comes with handy-dandy lines showing where to fill the paint to. We planned to mix up half a quart of paint. Note: We would have used less paint had we brushed, but sprayers have overspray and typically use more paint. For half quart of paint, use 4 HEAPING Tablespoons of BB Frösch Paint Transformer with at least 6 Tablespoons of water (add a little more if the mixture is too thick or clumpy.) If you use the Homeright Finishmax, your sprayer should come with a viscosity cup, which makes knowing how much to thin your paint a breeze. You want your paint to run through the entire cup at approximately 35 seconds. If it takes longer, your paint is too thick, so add 1/2 Tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency. Note: Paint brands, sprayers, and your idea of heaping tablespoons all differ, which make it impossible to have a hard and fast rule about exactly how much to thin your paint for use in a sprayer. It helps to refer to the directions that come with your sprayer. You can see here we just poured the paint right into the hopper after mixing the paint transformer and water together. The color we used is a Benjamin Moore “Hale Navy,” but we had our friendly Home Depot paint guy mix it for us using Behr paint. Be sure to mix your paint and powder/water mixture WELL. You may want to run it through a paint strainer. Once your paint, paint transformer, and water are the desired consistency you may begin spraying. PRO TIP: Make sure your first coat is THIN! This will help ensure boning. It will look a little crazy but you will be blown away by just the second coat. Can you see this coverage?! This is the SECOND coat! We’re tellin’ ya, our paint transformer is magic! We went one direction for the first coat the other direction for the second (horizontal then vertical). We really let the paint cure before sealing. We waited about 2 hours. We are in a warm, dry state. If you are anywhere with humidity then wait longer. We always recommend using a water based poly so it won’t yellow. This one was in the clearance bin because the can was dented. So, we gave it a try for this project. Once the filing cabinet was painted, we cleaned out the sprayer and then used it to spray on the poly. We used the same technique we used for painting. Follow the directions on the can to know how many coats to do and how long to wait between coats. Note: You won’t need to thin your poly. Once painted and sealed, Kami put the hardware back on. We are in love, and once again, negotiating over who gets this beauty for their office! Alright, obsessed would be an understatement! This is the perfect touch to our home office. Yup, we love what we do and we have a lot of fun doing it! Be sure to always tag us in your BB Frösch Projects!
We renovated our home office last year. Prior to the renovation, we had an orangey-oak file cabinet where we stored documents. We wanted to keep the file c…
A guest blog post. Hi Sarah here! I have had such great feedback from the last guest blog post we are having a little run of them! I'm so pleased to be able to highlight
I found a filing cabinet at Goodwill awhile back for just .99 cents, so of course I brought it home. Functionally, it was exactly what I needed. Aesthetically, not so much. Last week, it was
Personalize that eye sore with one of these fresh ideas.
Update your style with paint and a paintbrush with our easy-to-do painted furniture ideas and painted fabric projects. It's amazing what color can do!
These 15 filing cabinet makeovers take that ordinary, not very attractive (but necessary!) piece of the organizing puzzle and make them awesome. Not just tolerable, not just "not ugly"... but awesome. Give these easy and fast DIY projects a try!
Matching up two mismatched metal file cabinets is not quite as hard as you will think. File cabinets get a complete makeover with this easy to follow diy.
Hey Everyone. Crazy 2 here! Hope you all had a good holiday! Soooo... Filing cabinets. They're ugly. Period. My husband has been saying for ...
Back in April, my employer sent out an email that they were selling old filing cabinets for $5 each. Can you believe it?? What a bargain! ...
Update an old file cabinet with this inexpensive trick! Create an industrial brushed steel look using paint and wax with this easy-to-follow tutorial.
See this beauty? It's had a home in our office/"Boone's room" (as you can see from the crate in the background) since we moved in and has ...