Wood

Not sure if everyone has the volume of paperwork that we do, but no matter how much I try to simplify, I cannot escape the continual influx of random paperwork.  Maybe I could do a better job of purging, but at least once it is all filed neatly away, well…….. out of sight, out of mind!  And why is it that whenever I do need something that I know I filed away….I can’t find it for the life of me????  But that’s another story entirely!!

Keeping with the scheme of things, I wanted to do something a little different in my office.  Something to add a little playfulness to a room that could potentially be a room of dread!  (think bill paying)  Our space is fairly small, but definitely large enough to house an efficient, functional office.  A while back I found an antique postal desk (at least that is what we think it is).  I wasn’t in the market for one, as designing the office at that point in time was not even on the radar.  We were heading to DisneyWorld for a much needed little vacay with the whole family.  We hadn’t even gotten 2 hours from home when we came across a nice looking antique store.  We decided to pop in and then grab a quick lunch before getting on the road for good.  So, turns out the 8′ pine desk was the foundation for the rest of the room.  Which by the way is still not complete.  But more on that later.  I NEEDED  file cabinets.  I needed somewhere to stash the deluge of paperwork that continues to flow through our house.

DIY File Cabinets Before Paint

I picked up (3)  2 drawer locking metal file cabinets second hand.  I brought them home and cleaned them up good and roughed up the surface of them up a bit with a fine grit sandpaper, so my spray paint would stick.  I removed all the drawers and taped around the drawer pulls with painters tape.

DIY Painted File Cabinets For Home Office

DIY File Cabinets Being Painted For Home Office

I applied 2 or 3 coats of Rustoleum in Sunshine Yellow.  I decided to finish them off with a coat of clearcoat.  I don’t know if this was really necessary but I was hoping to prevent scratches and rusting in the future.  They looked good, but they needed something else.  Some type of top would be nice, giving them a more finished appearance.  Trying my best to keep this as low cost as possible, I was at a loss.  I considered buying a wood countertop and I did eventually give in and order one from amazon.  Thankfully when it arrived, I realized I had inadvertently ordered the wrong size.  Whew!  Cause I really was having buyer’s remorse.  Those bad boys aren’t cheap!  Sent that back and suddenly the lightbulb came on.  I had a brilliant idea.  Why I hadn’t thought of it sooner I don’t know?  I remembered seeing very inexpensive butcher block tables on craigslist in the past.  Maybe I could find one and remove the top and use it as my countertop????  I decided to give it a couple weeks, then I would consider something else.  Well, bingo!  Found one that the seller was practically giving away.  I scooped it up.  I unscrewed the legs and sanded it down with the orbital sander.  Cannot believe my luck!  That table top was the exact length of my three file cabinets sitting side by side.  My husband cut a few inches off the back edge ( the side that would be against the wall).  I’ve thought about putting some industrial wheels on the bottoms, but haven’t as of yet.

DIY File Cabinets With Butcher Block Table Top

I did print out some numbers in bold print.  Cut them out and placed them in the drawer pull slots.  A small detail, but it added just the finishing touch they needed.  This was one of those projects that was so easy, it seemed almost too easy……..I only wish I would have done one or two more!!!!  Be sure to check back and see how we finished out the rest of the office.

DIY File Cabinets For Office With Butcher Block Top

DIY Filing System WIth Wood Countertop