Give a boring filing cabinet an amazing makeover with tin tiles and PAINT! This DIY file cabinet makeover is an amazing thrift shop makeover!

Who doesn’t love a good thrift shop makeover!? You can find these old filing cabinets at pretty much any thrift store of they’ll always be in those surplus office supply places. I actually got mine for FREE! So I decided to use tin tiles to really dress mine up and give it a makeover!

DIY File Cabinet Makeover

Now this project can be a little dangerous. Not to sound dramatic but like with any project I share here you should ALWAYS take proper safety precautions. That means always wearing safety glasses, using proper ventilation, using ear plugs when needed, and in this case wearing gloves.

DIY File Cabinet Makeover

Give a boring filing cabinet an amazing makeover with tin tiles and PAINT! This DIY file cabinet makeover is an amazing thrift shop makeover!

Materials

Old Filing Cabinet
Tin Ceiling Tiles
Strong Adhesive
Paint

Tools

Tin Snips
Caulk Gun
Screw Driver
Drill and drill bits

Instructions

Remove all the hardware on the drawers of the cabinet.
Measure drawer fronts
Mark the measurements on the tin tiles
Use tin snips to cut out the tin for the drawer front.
Using a strong adhesive, glue the tin to the drawer fronts.
Using a drill bit, make a hole through the tin for the drawer pull holes.
Sand down or cover any sharp edges.
Paint your cabinet however you want!
Reattach the drawer pulls and other hardware.

Notes

Always wear appropriate safety gear!

The tin tiles can be incredibly sharp so be very careful when cutting them! I used rubber coated gloves for my metal filing cabinet makeover. You may also need to cover the rough edges of your cabinet. You can also use a different material – like these PVC tiles!

beautiful file cabinet makeover with paint and tin tiles

Before painting, I recommend sanding any of the rough areas of the tin tile. Another idea is to use caulk or glue along the cut edge of the tile where it meets the drawer. You want to try to cover that sharp edge so you won’t hurt yourself opening the drawer. Once you add paint, you won’t see anything!

file cabinet makeover with blue paint and tin tiles

After finishing this project, I realized another great idea! Instead of the tin tiles, you could use textured wallpaper! The main thing is to find something with an awesome texture and something that will really pop under your paint! I think the tin tiles are what made this file cabinet makeover SO GOOD but totally get if you want to go the easier route!