Since I am so proud of this project, I decided to make it a post on its own. Currently, this is my pride and joy.
My old filing system was a drawer inside a warped, old, falling apart, broken down, particle board desk. This desk has moved with me several times and was beyond trashed. When we moved into the new house, we took the desk with us but it is currently sitting in the garage waiting to be taken to the dump. The drawer also wasn't very big and I constantly had to struggle with stuffing files in and pulling them out.
Moving into this new house I was without desk, however I was also without filing cabinet. My important papers are all over the house. I constantly feel scatter brained, never knowing when bills are due or where statements are.
While I was in Salvation Army last Friday (per my last post), I spotted this brown metal filing cabinet for $10.00.
My old filing system was a drawer inside a warped, old, falling apart, broken down, particle board desk. This desk has moved with me several times and was beyond trashed. When we moved into the new house, we took the desk with us but it is currently sitting in the garage waiting to be taken to the dump. The drawer also wasn't very big and I constantly had to struggle with stuffing files in and pulling them out.
Moving into this new house I was without desk, however I was also without filing cabinet. My important papers are all over the house. I constantly feel scatter brained, never knowing when bills are due or where statements are.
While I was in Salvation Army last Friday (per my last post), I spotted this brown metal filing cabinet for $10.00.
It was very dirty and had a few tiny rust spots on the bottom drawer.
I have had this project in my mind for a while. Once I bought the filing cabinet, I knew I couldn't wait much longer. I searched frantically for some awesome contact paper. I searched Wal-Mart. I searched K-Mart in the hopes that there would be something there in the Martha Stewart collection. Everything was really drab and ugly. I searched online. The only thing that caught my eye was this Water Dance contact paper by the Kittrich Corporation for $10.99 (before shipping and handling). At the time, they were out of stock and I was out of luck.
Finally I decided to check out Target. I should have started there to begin with. I finally found a nice looking contact paper for only $5.00 and some change.
Immediately I rushed home and went to work. This is my hard work paid off.
I have had this project in my mind for a while. Once I bought the filing cabinet, I knew I couldn't wait much longer. I searched frantically for some awesome contact paper. I searched Wal-Mart. I searched K-Mart in the hopes that there would be something there in the Martha Stewart collection. Everything was really drab and ugly. I searched online. The only thing that caught my eye was this Water Dance contact paper by the Kittrich Corporation for $10.99 (before shipping and handling). At the time, they were out of stock and I was out of luck.
Finally I decided to check out Target. I should have started there to begin with. I finally found a nice looking contact paper for only $5.00 and some change.
Immediately I rushed home and went to work. This is my hard work paid off.
I am extremely pleased with the results. I spent a few hours working on it by myself and had only gotten two and a half sides done. Matt came in and offered to help and everything immediately went smoother and faster. If you are going to tackle a project like this, I seriously recommend two people. With another person, it was a lot easier to line up the paper straight and without wrinkles/bubbles. One person would slowly unroll it and the other person would straighten it out and flatten it down.
The contact paper was more forgivable than I originally thought it would be. I was able to pull it up and re-stick it multiple times. We used the flat edge of a dustpan to help smooth the paper down. Also, any bubbles that were there we poked with a pin or the tip of the exacto knife and pushed out. The holes are so tiny you can't even tell they are there.
I originally had the idea to add four casters to the bottom of it as there is plenty of room and a lot of my house is tile. However, I wasn't sure if the filing cabinet could take it without more of a sturdy support on the bottom and also the four casters and the hardware would have ended up costing me more than the cabinet is worth. I also had the idea to paint or somehow fix up the handle and such but then decided I liked the look of it as is.
The contact paper was more forgivable than I originally thought it would be. I was able to pull it up and re-stick it multiple times. We used the flat edge of a dustpan to help smooth the paper down. Also, any bubbles that were there we poked with a pin or the tip of the exacto knife and pushed out. The holes are so tiny you can't even tell they are there.
I originally had the idea to add four casters to the bottom of it as there is plenty of room and a lot of my house is tile. However, I wasn't sure if the filing cabinet could take it without more of a sturdy support on the bottom and also the four casters and the hardware would have ended up costing me more than the cabinet is worth. I also had the idea to paint or somehow fix up the handle and such but then decided I liked the look of it as is.
