Filing cabinets have always been in demand as individuals want to manage their businesses and homes while keeping vital papers secure. As the home office has become a cornerstone in the contemporary business, demand for unusual file cabinets has soared in the last two years. Filing cabinets are no longer only practical but also a creative expression of personal style in the house.
Old, rusted file cabinets are plentiful since the structures are made to survive and typically outlive their intended use. Upcycling old file cabinets are still a popular DIY project, and talented individuals have turned their repurposing passions into successful small companies.
Upcycled file cabinets continue to fill a need in the market as people seek useful storage that complements their home decor. Filing cabinet repurposing doesn’t stop at a makeover; the structures may be transformed into additional roles and styles.
What Can an Old Filing Cabinet Be Used For?
Are you prepared to launch a small company selling repurposed file cabinets? At flea markets and garage sales, you may locate a vintage file cabinet for almost no money, or you can purchase new filing cabinets for a low price at many large merchants that provide office storage equipment.
You may start reusing and upcycling your file cabinet inventory after obtaining craft supplies like paint and glue. Once you’ve learned how to establish a small company on Etsy and sell on Amazon Handmade, you may sell your finished creations at local craft centres and online marketplaces.
Are you looking for ideas for repurposed filing cabinet projects? You may give an old metal file cabinet a new lease on life with a one-of-a-kind design, or you can repurpose existing office furniture into new structures such as tables, desks, and alternative storage solutions ideal for any workplace setting.
Ideas for Repurposing Metal Filing Cabinets
Are you prepared to sell your recycled office furniture? Metal file cabinets that have been used before are resilient and abundant, and they may be used in a variety of creative applications. You may get started with the following repurposed metal file cabinet ideas:
1. Convert a filing cabinet into a storage end table.
An antique metal cabinet may be used for much more than just storing and organising documents. House Beautiful shows how to turn a metal file cabinet into a fashionable end table with storage in this example. Even novice artisans can accomplish upcycling projects like this one. Reused office furniture may be sold for a handsome profit, particularly if you know where to sell handcrafted things locally.
2. Make a coffee table out of an old file cabinet.
A fresh coat of paint might work wonders if the old metal cabinet needs a makeover to ready it for its new life as furniture. By simply turning an old metal file cabinet on its side, it may be reused in several ways. A metal file cabinet was changed into a coffee table with minimal effort in the above example from Oh Louise Designs.
3. Convert filing cabinets into a children’s playhouse
Want to set up a pleasant play area for the kids while Mom or Dad works from home? Parents may make a secure but interesting playhouse for their children with a pair of metal file cabinets and a curtain. The recycled file cabinets may be painted to complement any décor plan with a simple coat of paint. The playroom’s structure also serves as a useful storage area.
4. Make a Laundry Bin out of a Filing Cabinet
By removing the drawers from old metal file cabinets, they may be reused to serve several other purposes. The drawers of a metal file cabinet were replaced with laundry baskets in this example from Prodigal Pieces, and a beautiful motif was stencilled and painted on the side. The ultimate product is a one-of-a-kind bathroom storage container that would be ideal as a housewarming present.
5. Repurpose a Metal Filing Cabinet with a Fresh Coat of Paint
Changing the use of a metal file cabinet does not have to be the same as upcycling it. Simple file cabinets customized to complement the home and workplace décor has a huge market. Giving an old metal file cabinet a fresh coat of paint and selling your trendy filing cabinet makeover to customers looking for distinctive office storage furniture may give it a new lease of life.
6. Make a Kitchen Storage Cabinet Out of a Metal Filing Cabinet
You’d be amazed what you can make from dismantled file cabinets. Parts of a metal file cabinet are used to create creative kitchen storage in the following example from A Few Pennies. The little kitchen pantry was stencilled and painted to match any kitchen design style.
7. Turn a file cabinet into chic bar storage.
Filing cabinets can store a lot more than just papers. Try transforming a reused metal file cabinet into a storage space for other household things for a unique spin. Home Talk shows how to turn a metal filing cabinet into functional and beautiful bar storage in the video above.
8. Make a Storage Bench Out of a Metal File Cabinet
How can you make upcycled file cabinets hold more items? Confluence Architecture refurbished rusted old file cabinets in a way that is likely to sell on Etsy or at a local craft retailer by removing the drawers and adding a single cover atop the filing cabinets. Combine several metal file cabinets to make a useful storage bench for indoor or outdoor usage.
9. Make a Planter out of a Filing Cabinet
Any container, even an old file cabinet, may be used as a planter. A file cabinet may be transformed into the ideal home for garden plants and flowers by removing the drawers and filling the cabinet with earth. With a new coat of paint on the file cabinet, the repurposed planter will go with any kind of interior or outdoor design.
10. Use wrapping paper to make a filing cabinet seem new.
More than a new coat of paint may be used to upcycle a file cabinet. Cover the drawers with coloured wrapping paper to add stunning decorations to an antique file cabinet makeover. The paper will change the appearance of the file cabinet with the right craft items, creating a one-of-a-kind design that is guaranteed to be a hit.
Products from Filing Cabinets that have been repurposed Wooden construction
Adding wooden elements and accents to an existing file cabinet to give it a new appearance or new use is one of the most common methods to give it a filing cabinet makeover. With boards and frames, you may turn a metal utilitarian into attractive wooden furniture or place a plank over numerous file cabinets to make a one-of-a-kind table. Repurposed furniture is still popular in the furniture industry, and you’ll have no trouble selling your creations in local stores or on the internet.
11. Make a faux wood storage cabinet out of a metal file cabinet.
You can not only remodel a filing cabinet but also turn it into attractive wooden furniture with built-in storage by gluing wooden picture frames to the front of metal file cabinet doors. Nobody would ever suspect that your lovely masterpiece began as a lump of metal.
12. Make a Craft Counter Out of Filing Cabinets
Filing cabinets may be used to make whole pieces of furniture, as seen in this example from Little Gray Table. A handy and elegant craft table was created by aligning multiple file cabinets, giving them a new coat of paint, and attaching a single broad board to the top.
13. Use Stencils and Wood to Repurpose a Metal Filing Cabinet
A rusted old file cabinet may be transformed into appealing office furniture by adding some wooden accents and stencilling elegant motifs. A simple metal filing cabinet was given a thorough makeover using minimal resources in the following example from H2O Bungalow.
14. Use Wood to Make a File Cabinet
Who’d have known the lovely wooden cabinet in the preceding example began life as an outdated metal file cabinet? Brepurposed dramatically transformed the reused file cabinet by covering it with thin pieces of wood.
15. Create an antique-style filing cabinet
Are you looking to sell repurposed furniture that seems to be an antique? By adding the correct wooden embellishments, even an ordinary file cabinet can be converted into a check masterpiece. Scavenger Chic’s inventor recycled an old file cabinet into beautiful furniture that would suit any house like the following example.
How to Begin a Profitable Filing Cabinet Makeover
You are only limited by your ideas regarding filing cabinet makeovers, but you will need inventory to get started. It’s hardly a leap to imagine selling upcycled and recycled furniture for a profit. Begin collecting old file cabinets at flea markets, charity shops, and garage sales in your neighbourhood. Supplies such as basic tools, craft glue, and paints should also be purchased.
When you initially start selling file cabinet makeovers for profit, you may fund your company by using the earnings from your first sales to acquire additional inventory. You can extend your inventory and increase your revenues as your small company grows.
Where Can I Sell My Repurposed Filing Cabinets?
It’s one thing to convert file cabinets into beautiful furniture, but it’s another entirely to sell them. Where are you going to sell your repurposed filing cabinets? Will you sell them locally, or will you look for customers online and ship them? Sure, you could build your shop with a showroom full of repurposed filing cabinets, but most individuals start small, with items like:
- Etsy, a renowned e-commerce site where individuals purchase and sell crafts and handcrafted things, is an example of an online marketplace.
- Artists and crafters sell their one-of-a-kind products on Amazon Handmade, a community inside the e-commerce giant’s platform.
- Locally Flea markets, old furniture stores, consignment shops, and crafts fairs and festivals are all good places to look.
- eBay and Facebook Marketplace are examples of other online markets.
Image: Depositphotos
This article, “15 Upcycled Filing Cabinet Projects to Make and Sell” was first published on Small Business Trends
