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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Fancy File Cabinet Fix Up: Bold, Bright, Beautiful!

I picked up two free file cabinets through Craigslist last week. I find a lot of free stuff, but I usually have to work for it. Often times I have to carry heavy pieces up or down several flights of stairs on my own. That's the price I pay to get it for free! These people just want their "junk" taken away, and they don't usually want to do it themselves.


So Mike and I carried these file cabinets down two long flights of stairs and brought them back to the house for some fixing up. I literally had to take a hammer to these guys to bang the drawers back into shape so they could open and shut properly.

Then my well-rehearsed file cabinet revamp got underway: I removed the drawers and popped the hardware off to give it a good shine. Then I cleaned the cabinets with a rag and spray painted them a deep red to cover up the scratches and minimal rust spots.

I cut up the fabric only to find that I only had enough fabric to cover one set of drawers... the other cabinet is still sitting in the living room waiting patiently for its spruced up drawers. (Stay tuned to find out what I end up doing to it!)

I spread Mod Podge on the front surface of the drawers with a cheap brush and smoothed the fabric down and around the front. I cut out a circle so the key hole could pop through.

I let the drawers dry overnight. In the morning I took an exacto knife and cut the fabric through from the back to make holes for the hardware.


The fabric and the color is so bold and bright!






What do you think about this fix up? I really enjoy sprucing up file cabinets... soon I want to create my own patterns and designs for the front of the drawers! Then I can launch my own "Fancy File Cabinet" business :) Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to check out some of my other fun fix ups I've done:

11 comments:

  1. Ooooo very nice! I have a 2 drawer cabinet here in need of some color and you've inspired me to use fabric on the front! :)

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  2. Wow, what a transformation! You did a brilliant job.

    Thanks for finding me on Facebook! I'm following you there, here and Google+ now!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha in Oz

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  3. Great idea on the cabinet spruce-ups!

    Popped in from Time Travel Thursday.

    thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com

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  4. I am visiting from Katherine's blog hop. Love the file cabinet transformation. I am going to adapt/adopt your idea for a file cabinet in my craft room. What a great idea. Good luck with the business idea.
    I am a new follower so when you become super famous I can say I knew you early on.
    Hugs, Ginger

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  5. Wish I could do that to my file cabinet at work! Really cute!

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  6. I love bright colors so think your makeover is fantastic. Super cheery and cute.

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  7. You do an amazing job with these cabinets - I love the bright, bold fabric! Red is always a favorite too! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  8. Love the new look!!! So much funner and brighter! Thanks for sharing on Fancy This Fridays by the way! We featured this lovely on Truly Lovely today! ;)

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  9. LOVE it! I recently did a similar project {I like yours better.} Thanks so much for linking up on Fabulous Friday at Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust. {Sorry I'm running late, I've been on vacation.}

    Warmly, Michelle

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