Monday, July 16, 2012

DIY: Chic Filing Cabinet

Finding enough storage space in our homes is always a challenge! Finding an old, ugly filing cabinet at a thrift store never is! Here are some fun ways to spruce up a not-so-cute filing cabinet for your home-office, or maybe even your office-office! 

 

This is a graphic take on the filing cabinet makeover. Simply find some bits of wallpaper that you may have leftover, or even purchased remnants from a wallpaper store. Using your own leftovers are a great way to tie in the pattern from your own decor, bringing the spaces together overall.  The easiest (and stickiest!) way to affix the wallpaper to the outside of the cabinet is spray mount.  Trim your pieces of paper to fit the area you would like to decorate, then spray the actual cabinet in those areas.  (If the entire cabinet won’t be decorated, them mask off the areas you would like to keep as-is). Spray the backside of the wallpaper, and smooth it carefully onto the surface of the cabinet.  Using a credit card as a smoothing tool is so helpful! 

After you have applied the paper to the surface, brush on a clear poly-acrylic or mod podge to seal and protect the paper, and to keep it from peeling off. 

This happens to be an example where the outer portion of the cabinet was painted before application of the wallpaper. The best type of paint to use is a spray enamel (spray paint!), because it will bond with the already painted metal. 

Another cute idea is to totally paint the cabinet with spray paint.  In the example above, the cabinet has been painted to look like a blueprint. Use a bright, royal blue spray paint.  Make sure you remove the hardware, as it looks best when they remain silver.  Also, make sure you use goo gone or soapy water to clean up the surface of the cabinet before you paint.  If the original surface is scratched or marred, use a spray automotive primer before painting.  This will ensure an even finish. Then use a white paint pen to draw the blueprint details around the edges and hardware.  

Be creative and come up with your own ways to decorate what would be an ugly, old filing cabinet!  See you next Monday for another DWD DIY idea…