Thursday, August 9, 2012

Friggin' File Cabinet...


Yup, I said it…friggin’ file cabinet.  There are so many attractive, don’t-even-look-like-I-belong-
in-an-office options out there…but all of those come with a price tag I hate to even think about.  Heck, even some of the not-so-attractive options can cost a fortune!  But expensive or not, I knew we needed one for our home.  The cheapo cabinet I made due with since I was a single gal was not only broken, but also wouldn’t provide the filing space we will need as our family {God willing} continues to grow in the future.

So what was I to do?  Simple...it’s something I had done a million times before.  I became a Craigslist stalker {in a totally non-creepy, furniture-needing kind of way}.  I scoured the ads daily to find a lateral file cabinet made of wood or wood laminate.  These two qualities would help mask the “hi, I’m a file cabinet” appearance.  This was important to me since we do not have a designated office space in our home.  {We could make one of the guest rooms double as an office, but the truth is, we wouldn’t use it.  We are more casual and tend to sit on the couch or at the dining table to get any necessary work done.  Maybe when we finish our basement a million years from now, we can assign part of that space to be an office….but then again, maybe not. ;)} 

Anywho, after months of searching, I finally stumbled upon a cabinet that fit all of my criteria, was within my budget and was only a couple miles from my house!  Hallelujah!  {Speaking of which, thank gosh it was so close to my house because it BARELY fit in the car, and if I had to get on some sort of highway versus the back roads I was taking, I’m pretty sure it would have fallen out of the trunk and smashed onto the pavement.}

Here is the boring and functional piece of furniture I purchased.  I don’t have any photos of it together because the drawers were out when we got there {to make lifting and transporting easier}.




Once I got it home, it was time to sand, prime and paint.  The sanding I did on the piece was very minimal.  It was laminate, so I just wanted to rough up the surface a bit.  Then a few days later I got around to priming the piece.  Instead of using regular primer, I used my favorite Kilz spray paint primer.  That dried quickly, but it still took me a couple more days to get around to painting the piece.  Whoooops!  

I decided it’d be fun {and economical} to use the leftover yellow paint I had from when I made over the Craigslist’ed nightstands in our guest bedroom.  The happy yellow totally transformed the cabinet!  Originally I thought I would switch out the hardware on the piece, but after it was painted, the original stuff looked perfect!









Anyone else have tackle a furniture makeover lately?  I feel it’s becoming second nature for me to make over Craigslist finds! :)

29 comments:

  1. That looks great!! I got an old black, extremely heavy duty filing cabinet from an old job of mine. It's functional (well, it will be once we finally use it... I use a little one in my desk right now) but ugly. Sooo... we stuck it in my crawl space which is about 10 feet away from my office. Not pretty or anything like yours but it's out of sight at least!

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    1. Thanks Megan! Like you said, at least it's out of sight for now! :)

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  2. Beautimus! The dark looks perfect with the light yellow color! Can't even tell it's a file cabinet now :)

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    1. Thanks Whitney! That was definitely my goal in this process! :)

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  3. CUTE! I would never guess that was a filing cabinet!

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  4. It looks amazing! Love the yellow with the black hardware. I'm not sure why they are so expensive at retail! It's ridiculous!

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    1. Thank you, Emily! I love the contrast too. And you got me...it's crazyyy!

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  5. Looks great! I love that fun yellow!

    Kevin is actually making over 2 cabinets for our new place. I don't know what's come over him but he's actually excited to do it...

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  6. That is the happiest and most stylish filing cabinet I have ever seen! Good find!

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  7. i love it! You would never know its a filing cabinet! I am still dealing with one of those accordion folders that i have had since i was a single gal...which is now ripping because it is busting at the seams. I need to start CL stalking too...

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    1. Thank you, Lyndsay! Oh man...that is tough. Definitely get on that Craigslist! ;)

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  8. That filing cabinet should thank you. Looks awesome.

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  9. I really like it! You did a good job. Every home office space I've ever had has always been my least favorite - I don't know why, but it's hard for me to make them feel homey. Our current office is holding tools and dust. Whoops.

    So this spray kilz. I've never tried it before. You like? It really works well?

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    1. Thanks Amy! Yea, office spaces/pieces aren't usually my favorite...so I was determined to make this work for me haha.

      Yes, I love it! It makes priming super quick and easy. Sometimes when it dries it can be a bit gritty in texture, but I found shaking the can for a full minute or two helps that to not happen. I don't mind the texture because it's something you feel, not see...but I'm sure it'd drive some people nuts. A quick sanding with some fine sand paper would probably do the job too!

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  10. It's perfect. We are in desperate need of a friggin' file cabinet! I was thinking we would just get a big ugly one and stick it in the unfinished basement, but I don't see myself going down there to file. This is a much better option!

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    1. Thank you, Kelly! Exactly...I knew I would have things piling up on tables and counters if I didn't have my cabinet on this floor. With it out in the open, I have access to it, and utilize it much more. Thank gosh because I'm a nerd and <3 organization! :)

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  11. It's so happy looking!! Take that file cabinet!

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  12. This looks fantastic!! I'm in LOVE with that yellow!

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  13. Love the color scheme and stenciling. Trying to find this exact stencil for my bedroom. Can you tell me when you found it? I'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks :)

    -Krystle

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    1. Thank you so much, Krystle! You can check out my whole post on the stenciling project here:

      http://retroranchrenovation.blogspot.com/2012/07/fos-fear-of-stenciling.html

      I used the Moorish Trellis stencil from Royal Design Studio. I hope that helps. And thanks for stopping by! :)

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