Friday, August 26, 2016

Filing Cabinet DIY Makeover Redo

Where has the summer gone? Schools right around the corner for me. Classes start up at the end of August. Hopefully, the next few weeks go by semi-slowly. It's been quite a while since I have even glanced at my blog, let alone post anything. Time seemed to fly by. 

I have been keeping very busy. In July, I took a vacation to Maine to visit family. It was absolutely amazing. It was my first time flying. It was absolutely beautiful up there. I might just move up there. Maybe. I'll share more about my trip to Maine later. Recently, I have been on redoing furniture kick. It started a year ago with this dresser I had that was badly in need of sand down and paint job. My sister and I sanded it down to it's bare bones, and then we painted it. I kept the handles that were on it, but just spray painted them to go with my newly painted dresser. Ever since, I have sought out pieces of furniture that I think have potential. 
I recently purchased a dowdy oldish filing cabinet that was in need of some TLC. I found it on one of those local swap and shops on Facebook. If you don't belong to any of those, you should! I have found lots of great deals on there. I got a Kitchen Aid that was lightly used and only a year or two old, for $100. Not everything that you see on there is amazing, but sometimes you stumble on some amazing deals.
Back to the filing cabinet, I had seen on Pinterest some posts about filing cabinet redos. They gave me ideas, but none of them really did what I wanted to do with my filing cabinet. Basically, I spray painted my filing cabinet. Then with the drawers, I covered them with some peel-and-stick adhesive laminate (the stuff you stick on cabinet shelves ). The finish product was amazing! It turned out better than I had expected. 
The only problem is that I took before pictures. However, they some how got deleted or corrupted between the time I took them and put them on my computer. 

Before:

This isn't my exact filing cabinet. I don't have before picture. However, this is what it did look like. However, imagine it with a bit more grime and wear. 

DIY filing cabinet makeover redo quick and easy

After:

After some a little elbow grease and paint, it is brand new. A lot easier to look at than before. 

DIY filing cabinet makeover redo quick and easy

Here is what you'll need:

1 can spray paint primer
1-2 cans spray paint, in color of choice
1 roll of peel-and-stick adhesive laminate (I found some at Walmart for like $5)

Note: I used Rust-Oleum clean metal primer and Rust-Oleum  gloss spray paint in 

Maui Blue.


Here's what I did:

First, I cleaned the filing cabinet and the drawer. I used Goof Off to get it all the grime and stickers off. This next next step is optional. I used a sanding block to just rough up the previous paint job and so that the paint will have something to adhere to. I did just a bit of it. 
Basically, just enough to get the shine off. You can skip this step if priming.
I then took the drawers out, and took off the hardware. Next, I primed the whole cabinet including the drawers. I found that precious cabinet color bled through the laminate, so I thought it best to prime it white so you won't have to worry about the previous color to bleed through.
After letting the prime dry thoroughly, I spray painted just cabinet in the color I chose. While that first coat was drying, I very carefully I very carefully peel and stuck on the laminate on the drawers. I cut the laminate larger than the size of the drawers, and then folded extra that ran over the edges. I tapered them over the edges and cut off the extra. I kept the handles silver as that was the color I liked the best, but I spray painted the other piece on the front the same color as the rest of the cabinet. 
After the cabinet dried, I sprayed another coat on. I let that dry. Mine needed only 2 coats, but you may have to do 3 coats. I then put the hardware back and slide the drawers back in. And that's it. All done!  

This project was relatively easy and quick to complete. I am still very happy with my finished product. I have gotten several compliments on my filing cabinet. Someone asked me where I got it. So, don't be afraid to roll up your sleeves and DIY. :)

Thanks,

                                                Andrea 

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