Two Twenty One

Stenciled File Cabinet

I’ve been working on my home office makeover for, oh, over a year now. To say that it’s slowly coming together is an understatement. But high five me because I finished one more project on my to-do list the other day– stenciling my file cabinet.

 

Psst, my home office makeover is finished! See the big reveal here!


I started with a dull, greenish/tan file cabinet, which I scored for free.


Then I painted it white… and it sat for a year, waiting for more to happen to it. But recently, the great people at Royal Design Studio got in touch with me and asked if I wanted to review one of their stencils. The file cabinet was the first thing that popped into my head. I had been eyeing their Rockin’ Roses Damask Stencil for some time, and I knew it would look great on the file cabinet. So Rockin’ Roses it was.

The stencil was pretty easy to use. It probably helped that I was able to roll the file cabinet over so whatever side I was working on was face upward. I started by taping the stencil in the middle of the the long sides. Adhesive spray wasn’t necessary with this project. In addition to the stencil, I used a paper plate covered in foil (super classy and professional), foam roller, and a sample of latex paint (Valspar’s Gravity)– all things I already had on hand.

I used the smaller stencil to finish one end and the large stencil to finish the other end of the tall sides. The stencil registration system made it easy to match up the pattern. The large stencil was all I needed for the top of the file cabinet.


I wanted the handles to stand out a little, so I covered them with painters tape before stenciling.


The stenciling itself didn’t take very long. I found that the key was using just enough paint. It’s better to go with too little paint and do a second coat than go with too much paint on the first go. The most time consuming aspect, for me, was cleaning the stencil. It may have had something to do with the intricate pattern of the stencil I chose. Ultimately, I found it best to soak the stencil in hot water with some dish soap and scrub the stencil with the green side of a Scotch Brite sponge.
Altogether, this project probably took about 3-4 hours (that includes prep, stenciling, cleaning the stencil, clean-up).

 

 

I love how the file cabinet turned out. Now having to file paperwork won’t be as boring because I’ll be looking at this pretty little thing.

 

Tadah! A stenciled file cabinet.

 

Check out more about my home office, including the makeover and a bunch of DIYs, below!

Home office / craft room update. How to store and neatly organize ribbon. Tip for storing gift wrap paper, and where to buy quality wrapping paper.
Home Office – Gift Wrap & Ribbon Storage

DIY State Cork Board

Quick And Easy Office Organization

Home Office Update

Dry Erase Board and Desktop Tray

Everyday I’m Hustlin’ Desktop Wallpaper

Home Office Details

Home Office Makeover Reveal

Home Office: Before

Home Office Gallery Wall {Decorating Ideas}

Glitter State Art {DIY}

Greeting Card Organizer

Stenciled File Cabinet

Faux Nail Head Trimmed Cork Board {Cork Board Makeover}

Sewing Cabinet Makeover {How to Paint Laminate Furniture}

Drab to fab! File cabinet makeover!
Have you used a wall stencil? What did you stencil?
Do you have a less-than-pretty piece of furniture you’d like to stencil?

I received my wall stencil for free. I was not compensated to review this product.
As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

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Comments

  6. Erin says

    October 24, 2012 at 1:11 PM

    Looks great! I have a black file cabinet, and I never even thought about stenciling it, let alone painting it! What kind of paint did you use??

    Reply

  17. Megan says

    October 25, 2012 at 12:21 AM

    I love it, I’ve got plans to do that to our filing cabinet just have to change it from a laminated cabinet to a metal one and then try to get a stencil. I’ll have to just order one from America and hope the postage to Australia is good lol.

    Reply

  25. Less Is More says

    October 26, 2012 at 3:00 AM

    I have been dying to redo my filing cabinet somehow. This gives me HOPE. Ours is so ugly.

    I just asked someone yesterday at work if they had ever painted with stencils before because a friend of mine is painting a nursery tomorrow using stencils. I think I was meant to find your site. : )

    Reply

  26. Heather SettingforFour says

    October 26, 2012 at 12:34 PM

    Love this makeover Chelsea! You picked a beautiful stencil and the Valspar color is perfect with the other colors in your space! I have a similar filing cabinet that has been waiting forever for a makeover like this one! You’ve inspired me to get my game on and just do it!! I would love it if you would share this at “It’s Party Time” Linky party at my blog here: http://www.settingforfour.com/2012/10/ive-got-big-announcement-today.html

    Hope to see you there! Have a fab weekend 🙂 Heather

    Reply

    • Chelsea @ two twenty one says

      October 31, 2012 at 8:08 PM

      No ma’am. I primed it and painted it with white latex paint (and let it sit for over a year, so there was more than enough curing time) before I stenciled it. I’m letting it sit untouched for a month so the grey paint can cure.

      Reply

  46. Jelli says

    November 1, 2012 at 2:19 AM

    This looks great! I can’t believe your stencil job looks so perfect. I’ll have to re-read this a few hundred times before I pick up my next paintbrush. Love it! Found you from house of hepworths.

    Reply

  47. Liz Fourez says

    November 1, 2012 at 11:05 AM

    Beautiful! I love the gray and white and the rose stencil is so pretty! My filing cabinet is getting a makeover soon as well : )

    Love Always,
    Liz – Love Grows Wild

    Reply

  48. Courtney says

    November 2, 2012 at 1:28 PM

    Beautiful!! Love the girly touches. You’ve given me some inspiration for my home office.
    I work for a vinyl graphics company so I actually had mine wrapped in a floral/paisley design. I will be showing pictures on my blog soon. Who knew filing cabinets could look so cute!

    Reply

  49. Lori Green says

    November 6, 2012 at 2:12 PM

    I love it!! I have some craft maid cube shelving in my craft room I would like to do this to. Just wondering if you had any experience painting that cheap laminated board? Thanks!

    Reply

  52. Wendy says

    January 28, 2013 at 3:46 PM

    Your file cabinet is beautiful! I’ve been wanting to install a small under desk cabinet in my home office, but didn’t like the plain dull look of the metal shelves. Now THIS is an idea to solve that design dilemma. Thanks for sharing your idea!

    Reply

  55. Dragonfly Diva says

    March 11, 2013 at 7:28 AM

    Love this! I have a 4 drawer cabinet that is screaming for this sort of thing! It was a $25 purchase from a previous employer of mine who didn’t want to pay shipping to have it brought back from my home office. My Grad School Graduation present to myself is to redo my office and this project is going to be on that list. Love the whole office redo – my creative juices are flowing!

    Reply

  56. Michelle says

    May 9, 2013 at 7:52 AM

    Hi there,

    I love this but i really love your vintage alarm clock, could you please tell me where you got it?

    Michelle

    Reply

  58. Dakota says

    August 12, 2013 at 2:53 PM

    Thanks for sharing! I’m glad that you posted the website that you got the stencil from! They are great 🙂 You did such a great job on this file cabinet. This DIY is perfect for me. Thanks again! <3

    Reply

  63. Marijke says

    May 29, 2014 at 2:27 PM

    I have a file cabinet just like this one which I also got for free…. what a great idea. Love it !!!

    Reply

  64. Marijke says

    May 29, 2014 at 2:27 PM

    I have a file cabinet just like this one which I also got for free…. what a great idea. Love it !!!

    Reply

  65. Theresa Marie says

    June 8, 2014 at 11:33 AM

    Absolutely wonderful! I cannot wait to try this on a cabinet I was about to throw out. Love it!

    Reply

  66. Sarah F says

    August 6, 2014 at 7:17 PM

    SO CUTE!

    Where did you get the stencil from? I am currently working on a project and that pattern is perfect for it

    Reply

  67. Irina says

    October 17, 2014 at 11:48 PM

    I love what you did to the file cabinet, and Ys! I love the stencil. I actually purchased it from RD, it cost me BIG $80. My husband thought I was crazy, but I had so much fun with that design 🙂

    Reply

  70. Julie says

    December 28, 2015 at 7:29 AM

    We have some horrendous looking old filing cabinets at work and I’m threatening to give them a makeover, I’m interested to know what paint worked, and how well it stands up to wear and tear. It looks so pretty, I know my colleagues would appreciate looking at a bank of pretty cabinets instead of the awful mix of grey and beige we have now!

    Reply

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