Name: Spreading the Feast Gathering
Start: 2025-07-11T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-07-12T23:59:59-05:00
Location: LaGrange, KY

Tagged: diy, organizing

This topic has 18 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 9 months ago by hesmine.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)

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Author
Posts
September 4, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Kayla
Participant
So I searched and searched for something to replace the buffet I had in my kitchen/dining area other than a china cabinet. What I came up with was to buy 4-5 tall filing cabinets (at our local Habitat for Humanity Restore) and paint them and line them all up next to each other.
What I found was 4 LEAGAL, not letter, sized filing cabinet with 5 drawers each for $35 a piece. That is the same price I was seeing 2 drawer letter sized cabinets at all our thrift stores.
So after a lot of coats of yellow paint and some chalk board paint on the end this, http://pinterest.com/pin/240168592601587746/
Is what’s finished product looks like.
I am filing it with books, school supplies, movies. It is like having a giant card catalog, I love it! We have a calendar on the chalk board on the end and we will write our memory verse, composer name, artist and things that last for 6 weeks on it.
Just thought it might inspire some of you ladies who need some more storage, it really utilizes some vertical space.
September 4, 2013 at 2:32 pm
ruth
Participant
Thank you for sharing. I finially now what to do to hide all my husbands mountaineering and hunting gear that is piled up in the little alcove of our school room/office/storage for everything else that didn’t have a place in the rest of the house. Plus I can store all our paperwork and extra cables and stuff.
September 4, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Phobo
Participant
Very clever! I can hardly believe how lovely you got them to look!
Rachel
September 4, 2013 at 3:22 pm
JenniferM
Participant
Kayla, your solution is very pretty! And clean! Are you truly able to keep stuff from piling up on top? I know I would end up placing papers and such “temporarily” on top!!
September 4, 2013 at 4:21 pm
Kayla
Participant
Ha! We are terrible about surfaces getting piles. But excuse these are so tall I think they are not as convenient to set stuff on and I have my husband the very first top drawer. So when he comes home from work his stuff all goes in there instead of on top 🙂 and because you have to push the button them pull the drawer they kids haven’t figured out how to open them yet!
September 4, 2013 at 4:33 pm
LindseyD
Participant
Love it! It’s very similar to something I pinned several months ago. I’ve been keeping an eye out at the thrift stores for these ever since. I like the shorter look for our school room so that the top wood piece can be our nature shelf.
http://pinterest.com/pin/230528074648689299/
September 4, 2013 at 4:47 pm
TailorMade
Participant
Looks awesome! Patience is always worth it!
September 4, 2013 at 7:42 pm
Phobo
Participant
Love the wood shelf idea!
Rachel
September 4, 2013 at 7:51 pm
bethanna
Participant
Wow! I was about to get rid of two tall file cabinets like that! Not now… What kind of primer & paint did you use?
September 4, 2013 at 7:55 pm
Rebekahy
Participant
One of my friends said that if you take the filing cabinet to a car painting place they can also do a good job for a fairly reasonable price – not sure what that price is, but I LOVE the idea of painting them… just not having to paint them myself! LOL!

September 4, 2013 at 8:20 pm
Kayla
Participant
Painting…I initially bought kilz primer and rustoleum spray paint. But I live in Florida and it rains everyday, and is hot. Spray paint does not like high temps or to get rained on. Since they weigh a ton my husband would have had to roll them onto the drive way for me to paint and i would not have been able to bring them back inside.
So, I returned all the spray paint and I bought kilz primer, did 2 coats. And just a basic Valspar paint and rolled/brushed on 3 more coats of the yellow.
We put a drop cloth down and then put them on it and I just painted inside during naps. I did not paint the sides in between and the tops are slpotchy because we will eventually do a butcher clock top like in Lindsey’s link.

September 5, 2013 at 6:52 pm
easybrizy
Participant
That is amazing! So, so pretty and practical! (And I do love that combination.) I do want to add one thought. A couple of years ago, I read a horrific story of a child who was killed by a piece of furniture that fell on them. I had absolutely no idea how common that was until that time. I’m in the process of securing everything in our house, and looking at that piece makes me think it needs to be secured. It’s got to be incredibly heavy, and those drawers are perfect for climbing (when they do figure out how to open them). Just a thought. 🙂
September 5, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Benita
Participant
Lovely. I love seeing people using homeschooling spaces in a practical way and still making it pretty.
September 6, 2013 at 10:38 am
jeaninpa
Participant
OOh, I like that alot. Nicely done.
September 6, 2013 at 11:16 am
Kayla
Participant
Easybrizy they are incredibly heavy! I have not attached them to the wall yet, but I was sure to fill the bottom drawers with all my fashion design books from college, and all my husbands fishing, hunting, plant, guns books. So they basically have balast in them 🙂 thank you. For the warning. My kids are not climbers but we can never be too careful.