Filing cabinets: can they be stylish and functional?

I find that one challenge to running a neat (oh, who am I kidding - not totally cluttered) household is the amount of paper we receive in the mail.

Even though Rob and I get paperless statements for everything we can, we still find ourselves on the receiving end of bills, statements and pay stubs.

Those papers tend to pile up, because instead of a filing cabinet, I thought it would be  good idea to save space and get a filing drawer. Now that drawer is so full that I can hardly open it. The papers are piling up. Plus, I'm pretty sure I stub my toe on it every single time I go into our guest room.

I have resolved to make this summer the one in which we stop drowning in paper.

[3]This means, we need to shred papers we don't need, including statements we could otherwise access online and old pay stubs. I am sad to admit that I still have neatly organized pay stubs dating back from my first real job (lifeguarding) as a 15-year-old. Yeah, that's just not necessary.

We also are going to have to break down and get a normal-sized filing cabinet, even if it's just a two- or three-drawer model.

But because of the size of our house (small), it's probably going to have to live in our dining room, in this little corner with the mirror.

That means it has to be cute. Plus, I'm looking for some summer DIY projects, and this fits the bill perfectly.

So of course, I've been hunting down DIY-able ways to make file cabinets not look so ... unappealing.

Other people have decorated them with paper [4], a faux finish to look like a blueprint [5] (cool, but not really fitting with the look of our home) and even chalkboard paint [6].

My favorite filing cabinet find, though, is this cute little galvanized thing. It's too small, though, so I'm wondering if I can get a regular-sized cabinet, some galvanized spray paint and [7]a couple card catalog label holders [8] to recreate this.

[9]

What do you think - is it possible to DIY a filing cabinet to make something cute? And have any of you ever used galvanized spray paint? Does the finish actually look galvanized? (I've also seen a faux finish technique [13] to make things look galvanized, but not sure my faux finish skills are up to par.)

#1 [14]

kellettlynn [15] wrote on May 25, 2012 at 4:05 pm

This is super timely for me-- I just picked up a filing cabinet at ReStore today! It's could use a coat of paint but really only because the top is scuffed and a bit rusted in one corner. I was surprised to find one that I thought is actually cute and has feet instead of just the plain base. They have a bunch (in a variety of conditions) for cheap if you decide to take the leap!

 

-Kristin

#2 [16]

Meg Dickinson [1] wrote on May 29, 2012 at 8:05 am

[1]

We actually found an amazingly cool file cabinet at the Restore last Saturday. It's a little bigger than I'd wanted, but my husband promised to tackle a space-saving project (more coming on that later) to make it fit in our spare room. I am so excited. Thanks!