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Filing Cabinet Makeover

Home » Decor » Filing Cabinet Makeover

Published August 6, 2014 Last Updated June 23, 2021 / By Sarah 24 Comments

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filing cabinet makeover! with a little paint, new hardware and a cute wood top you've got a stylish piece instead of an eyesore!

Hiii everyone! I am so excited to finally share this filing cabinet of mine. You may remember a few weeks ago I had posted about my sadness that it wasn’t quite done before my vacation. I hit a little road bump and had to leave it, but it was the first thing I tackled when I got back and I am absolutely in love with how this turned out! Here’s the details on how I fixed mine up. I’m sure many of you have one of these typical, kinda ugly filing cabinets (see below before photo) at your house. Filing cabinets are one of those necessities of adult life, right? I couldn’t handle all that ugly in my office though since I’ve worked so hard to make the rest of the place cute, so something had to be done. 

filing cabinet makeover! with a little paint, new hardware and a cute wood top you've got a stylish piece instead of an eyesore!

The before and after. Here’s what I did: First – I knew I wanted something to go on top. I had this IKEA chopping board that I love and use for all kinds of things, and I looked at it and thought, maybe I could get another one of these (they’re only $10) and cut it down to the right size, then stain it? So that’s what I did. Except I didn’t cut it, I measured the top of my filing cabinet, took the board to Home Depot, and they cut it for me, freebies! So that was easy.

filing cabinet makeover!

I broke into my supply stash and decided to try out these Minwax stain cloths that I got at SNAP! conference back in April. You guys, these are life changing! I have stained a few different things in my day and it’s always somewhat of a chore. The thing I hate most about it is ruining all kinds of rags to do it. With these you don’t have to! What you see below is the entire “mess” I made staining the board. Can you believe it? I am looking to use these for all my staining projects  for the rest of forever.

filing cabinet makeover

I also spray painted the filing cabinet white, and I mentioned already how much I love that nozzle. The bump I hit was right here though. For some reason the paint I used didn’t go on smoothly – so I ended up sanding a bit and painting the cabinet again with regular, flat wall paint.

rustoleum nozzle

After the white paint was on, I almost took pictures and called this project done, but my husband mentioned that it still looked very much like a boring filing cabinet… and I decided he was right. It needed some flavor. I grabbed the painter’s tape and my trusty measuring tape and very carefully taped some v’s onto the drawers. It is so important to take your time when you’re doing something like this!

filing cabinet makeover!

I painted the exposed parts with pink paint and a paint brush, pulled off the tape and was/am in love. I also got some bronze pulls from Lowes and my husband helped me drill some quick holes right above the handles so the boring pulls were mostly covered. Ta da!

Filing cabinet makeover! A little paint and some new hardware make this a beauty instead of a boring eyesore!

I went with the pink v’s because it matches my card catalog cabinet and also – I like pink? Some people were really outraged at my decision to make that thing pink, but I’m still repping for it. Pink is pretty, guys! Don’t they look cute together?

filing cabinet makeover! with a little paint, new hardware and a cute wood top you've got a stylish piece instead of an eyesore!

Who else is about to go paint wild on their filing cabinet!?

sar-sig

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Comments

  1. Megan

    January 16, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    How did you remove the handles on the cabinet? Or did you just carefully paint around them?

    Reply
    • Sarah + Jessica

      January 16, 2018 at 6:51 pm

      The handles that come on the cabinet were really easy to remove, they just pop off!

      [image: Facebook] [image: Twitter] [image: Google Plus Page] [image: pinterest] [image: Instagram]

      Reply
  2. Rachel Matthews

    December 29, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    Flat paint? Did it stay nice in the long run?

    Reply
    • Sarah @ Pretty Providence

      December 29, 2015 at 8:05 pm

      Yes it has stayed really nice! No chips to speak of!

      Reply
  3. Cami

    April 12, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    I love this!! I’m so doing this!!!

    Reply
  4. Kristen

    October 25, 2014 at 9:29 pm

    Can’t wait to do this! Sarah, where did you get the card catalog? My husband has been begging me to get one.

    Reply
  5. Monica

    September 27, 2014 at 2:00 am

    How did you get the v’s to be pink? Stupid question, I’m sure of it but I’m new to the world of remodeling furniture and stuff haha.

    Reply
    • Sarah @ Pretty Providence

      October 01, 2014 at 4:52 am

      After I taped the v-shape I painted the still exposed part with regular wall paint and paintbrush! Oops – I can’t believe I didn’t write that step. i guess I was just too excited writing this tutorial!

      Reply
  6. Melissa Chandler OConnor

    September 06, 2014 at 11:17 am

    I’m redoing one of these. I love the wood top. How did you attach it? Just screws? I just bought the primer and base coat today for mine. I’m moving next weekend and that ugly thing is not going into my apartment as is. I’m still looking for right accent color and design for it, so it might not get finished for a while.

    Reply
    • Sarah @ Pretty Providence

      September 08, 2014 at 8:52 am

      I actually didn’t fully attach the wood to the top, it’s just sitting on there! I was planning on doing it with some wood to metal glue (like Elmers Probond) so if you want to that’s what I’d use. I decided I’d like to have the option of taking the wood off if I ever feel inclined, and it has stayed put pretty well on its own!

      Reply
      • Melissa Chandler OConnor

        September 08, 2014 at 9:20 am

        I started priming and painting mine yesterday. It was buried in my closet for so long, I forgot how bad it was. It has a huge rust spot on the top of it, that even after primer and paint, it still shows through. I’ll try the wood glue since I found a brand new bottle in packing. Currently the color is Valspar Antique white. I’m sure I’ll be adding some Lavender or Pink to it as well. Thank you for the great idea!

  7. Colleen Pastoor

    August 14, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    I’ve been seeing so many filing cabinet revamps (maybe I’m just watching for them now) and can’t get enough! I really love the diamond you put on yours- so much fun! Ours is a nice wood one- but SO boring, maybe I can convince my hubby to let me paint it. It is his after all…

    Reply
    • Jessica @ Pretty Providence

      August 14, 2014 at 2:05 pm

      Haha good luck! Sometimes the hubby’s have had enough projects! Or maybe it’s just mine?! Lol!

      Reply
      • Colleen Pastoor

        August 25, 2014 at 9:44 pm

        Oh, mine too ;) But I’m sure it’s just a tough exterior and deep down inside he loves all the modge podge and glitter that happens in our home. I’m sure.

  8. Kristina

    August 07, 2014 at 12:11 am

    Love it! I did a filing cabinet makeover last year and it still makes me smile every time I look at it!

    Reply
    • Sarah @ Pretty Providence

      August 11, 2014 at 8:43 am

      Thanks! Ah, yay. I know, I still can’t keep staring. It’s so much better than before!

      Reply
  9. Whitney H

    August 06, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    This. is. AWESOME. Seriously. I wish I had only one little tiny bit of your skill!

    Reply
    • Sarah @ Pretty Providence

      August 11, 2014 at 8:44 am

      Thanks Whit! I think you have it in you… you just haven’t brought it out yet! :) Let’s do something like this for your house!

      Reply
  10. Kristine and Brittany

    August 06, 2014 at 2:33 pm

    So cute! They look perfect together and I totally dig the pink card catalog! :) I am most certainly going to get me some of those fancy stain wipes too. Who would have thought?

    Reply
    • Sarah @ Pretty Providence

      August 11, 2014 at 8:45 am

      Thank you! YES – get them. You’ll never look back. They are amazing!

      Reply
  11. Jessica

    August 06, 2014 at 12:55 pm

    They really do look so good together! I love, love, love how this turned out!

    Reply
    • Sarah @ Pretty Providence

      August 11, 2014 at 8:45 am

      Thanks babydoll!

      Reply
  12. Courtney Kincaid

    August 06, 2014 at 11:42 am

    Oh this is really cute! I have a boring black filing cabinet that I would love to make over! I’m actually about to build the desk that you made and this would be a great addition!

    Courtney
    Odds & Ends

    Reply
    • Sarah @ Pretty Providence

      August 11, 2014 at 8:46 am

      Thank you so much! Awesome. I’d love to see your desk when it’s done – and the file cabinet if you end up doing it! Tweet them at me or something! :)

      Reply

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Hey! We're Sarah and Jessica. We're BFF's and have known each other since we were 5 years old. This blog is our place to share all of our best recipes, tips, crafts and DIY projects.

You can read more about us on our about page and find us on instagram! We love making new friends.

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11762 shares