DIY Filing Cabinet Redo

Have you ever bought a filing cabinet? 

If you have, you KNOW how incredibly expensive they can get! 

We have been using a little pitiful excuse for a filing cabinet that I bought while I was in college. it is a little two drawer, vertical cabinet that is so awesome that when I try to open the top drawer, the metal bends like a piece of card stock. Seriously it sucks. I'm sure it doesn't help that I have STUFFED it full...

I was talking to Jackie one day about wanting to get one but how expensive they are - she suggested I check a Habitat for Humanity Re-store. I did and was pleasantly surprised to find that I had a choice from three different cabinets. I'll admit, none of them LOOKED great but two of three were in good condition as far as functionality is concerned.  All I had to do was pick one.... I went with a four drawer brown vertical cabinet.... If I would have purchased one at an office supply store, I would have easily paid over $150.  I paid $20 ... yes TWENTY for one at the Re-store. 

I knew I could make it prettier with some paint and new drawer pulls. So I bought it on the spot - and let The Husband know we had one! I was VERY excited; probably more than I should admit =) Once my parents picked it up for me - THANKS MOM AND DAD! - I went about making it look nicer. Enter some pretty pretty spray paint of choice and some time...have you figured out yet that I am willing to spray paint JUST about anything?! 

Here is the before and after:

To achieve the after, we bought 2 cans of black spray paint and 1 can of 'Tiffany Blue'; I already had the metallic silver for the hardware from a previous project. 

  

I pulled out all the drawers and removed the hardware.  After wiping down the entire cabinet and all the drawers, I sprayed the body of the cabinet with the black and the drawers with the blue. Yes - it was that easy. 

After removing the drawer pulls, I realized those needed to be replaced in a bad kind of way.  I took a pull and one of the bolts with me to the home improvement store and picked out four pulls that were the same length and matching bolts. 

 

I am so happy with the way it turned out! Now we have a 'custom' filing cabinet for under $40!!!  We are so happy with it and as 'nerdy' as this may or may not sound, I can't wait to get organized and have it all set up!!!