Filing Cabinet Makeover

I wanted a small storage piece for my office, but I didnโ€™t want to spend too much moola, so a thrift store flip was in order. :art:

  1. Find a filing cabinet at thrift for your base. I found one at Goodwill with minimal dents and scratches for just $6.79. :raised_hands:

  1. Find a friend to keep you company while you craft. :dog:

  1. Remove drawers & handles. Give the entire filing cabinet a quick, even sanding with fine sandpaper. Start applying your contact paper (or paint). Take your time and be sure to smooth out the air bubbles as you go.

  2. Take intermittent breaks as the seams of the contact paper enrage and annoy you.

  1. Reassemble partway through to admire your progress and regain a smidgen of sanity.

  1. Dig through your stash to see if you have some knobs you can repurpose on this piece. Touch up paint where necessary.

  2. Randomly decide you dislike the old locking mechanism and rip it off the drawer. :hammer_and_wrench: Cover the now-ridiculous-looking hole with a random pendant from your stash. :smile:

  1. Find joy. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Brilliant. Absolutely gorgeous end result and I never would have guessed that was contact paper!

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Thank you!! :heart:

I usually use them to line drawers [when I get on my Marie Kondo kicks :laughing:].

Looks great! I love the floral pattern on the front.

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Thank you, endy!

Brilliant makeover! Love how you matched the floral pattern seams perfectly!

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That came out so pretty!

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Wow! Beautiful transformation!! Do you buy your contact paper from somewhere specific? I know Iโ€™ve never seen anything that pretty at the local stores.

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Great job! Iโ€™ve been meaning to makeover my filing cabinet for ages. Thanks for the inspiration.

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Gorgeous! Iโ€™m amazed at how you were able to match the floral โ€œseamsโ€ so well between the drawers! Contact paper can be finicky! Awesome!

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I was going to say the same thing! A little effort to make the patterns match gave it a push over the top!

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The matching of the paper is swoon worthy! If you wouldโ€™ve just shown me the after picture I would never know it started as a filing cabinet

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Looks great!
Iโ€™d try tackling giving our filing cabinet a makeover, but it lives in our closet so wouldnโ€™t be able to see the pretty anyway.

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That floral on the mustard just makes it so amazing! I canโ€™t believe how patient you were with the contact paper. Iโ€™ve had so many issues in the past with bubbles that just seeing this makes me have hives.
Great job! Brilliant execution!

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Wow wow WOW! This looks like something from a fancy shop! I think Iโ€™d find myself looking for excused to file things.

Can you share your source for that amazing contact paper?

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Itโ€™s gorgeous!
You did such a great job on adhering the contact paper.
And I love how you lined it up for the drawer fronts.

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And mr.sweets said no one would notice! :laughing:

I told him I would notice. Every single day of my life. :laughing:

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This turned out so pretty! :blush:

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Iโ€™ve gotten some from thrift stores, but both of these were from Amazon.

The white one I use often for adding a little something to the back of cubbies or Ikea shelves. It has a little shimmer to it and the wood grain pattern is textured.

Hereโ€™s the yellow one:

And this is probably my all-time favorite pattern. I looooove it inside drawers. Itโ€™s such a surprising pop of color and now that the drawers are so pretty, we donโ€™t clutter or junk them any longer (over a year strong now!).

Here it is in-person.

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:rofl: Best description of contact papering ever.