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Thursday, March 27, 2014

From Plastic Bins to Industrial Chic Organization

I just can't get rid of these fleas!--these flea market treasures, that is! And why would I?  Here's the latest and greatest flea market find that I recently updated, a 33-drawer metal cabinet.

Organizing Crafts


At a ginormous flea market held once a month in Southern Californial, I actually passed by this heavy metal piece twice, telling myself that it was too cumbersome to lug home, and I didn't want to pay the asking price.

Fast forward to my third walk-by.  It was still there [obviously, it was calling my name]. I negotiated the price down to an equitable amount for both me and the seller.

metal cabinet with drawers

I brought it home, and here it sat...not for days, not for weeks, but for months.  Until finally, I got into gear and cleaned it.  [That's the not-so-fun part.]  I thoroughly washed every last drawer--and did I mention there are 33 of them?


I knew I was a woman on a mission: to transform my tiny craft cave room from cheap plastic bins into industrial chic organization.

I spray-painted the entire frame with a clean metal primer followed by two coats of Heirloom White.


Then I spray painted each drawer with the metal primer.  It was going to be tedious to tape up each of the 33 drawer pulls--plus I had a vision, so they got sprayed, too.


And then came the fun part:  the splash of color!  Using a foam brush, I painted each drawer, including the sides, in a beautiful sea foam color, being careful to paint just up to the edges of the drawer pulls.


When I removed the drawers from the cabinet, I started to keep them in order to guarantee each fitting into its proper slot when it was time to place them back, as the cabinet had a few dents here and there. However, this plan immediately went out the window.  [Note to self:  next time, number each drawer on its bottom.]  With a little elbow grease, though, I got each drawer to fit into a slot.  


I then sprayed the entire cabinet with a matte sealer to help protect it from nicks and scratches. 
Because, obviously, this piece is going to get frequent usage!


Just for comparison sake, 
here is the BEFORE photo of my plastic bin storage:



And here is the AFTER photo of the 
new [old] industrial chic organization cabinet. 

Organizing Crafts

I typed descriptive labels on my printer, and placed them into the center of the drawer pulls.  I love the fact that the cabinet resembles a library card catalog.

Metal Drawer Cabinet Transformation

I'm still in the process of filling each drawer with my craft stash, keeping only what I have accumulated over the last 30 years plan to use.
And once again, industrial chic organization:


Come back soon and check out the industrial locker transformation I'm currently working on.  Yep, picked up the locker at a flea market, too.  What treasures have you recently bought at the flea market?

Thanks for visiting,

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29 comments:

  1. Gasp!! Wow, what a great transformation. I love this piece and I can see why it was calling your name. A real labor of love here, but well worth it!

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  2. Wow! saw this on twitter...you did an amazing job....green with envy! LOL!

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  3. Love this! Thanks for linking up To the Be. You. Tiful Link party

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  4. LOVE anything with twenty seven million drawers! The green is so charming.

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  5. I love cabinets with little drawers like yours. Love the soft green color and it looks so pretty with the white drawer pulls. Great project!

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  6. What a wonderful piece to find!!! Love what you did with it!

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  7. I love this! I wish I had room for something like this. I make do with colorful photo boxes and lidded baskets to store my supplies. Well done!

    I saw your link on the Be you tiful party.

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  8. Be still my heart! I would kill for a unit like that, you are so lucky and I love the way it turned out.

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  9. Wow I love it, it turned out so beautiful! I would love to find one of these for my craft studio!

    Tania

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  10. I saw this blog post on twitter and decided to stop by. I was intrigued by industrial chic organization. That cabinet is goregous! I love the libray card catalog look.

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  11. Not just very useful but a great make over too. Visiting from Junkin Joe.
    Joy

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  12. Great makeover and wonderful storage!

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  13. Nice makeover. I have sold several of these little cabinets and now I wish I would have kept them for myself after seeing what you did with yours.

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  14. SIGH......I'm so jealous! That cabinet is awesome! You made it gorgeous too! Thank you for sharing on Twirl and Take a Bow. Hope we see you again on Tuesday! ~Tammy

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  15. Amazing job on that cabinet! I love the color you chose.
    Saw your link on Brag About It. Have a great day!

    Val

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  16. It looks wonderful! You did a great job! I laughed at the thought of you getting all the drawers back in order though :)

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  17. Love it! Have fun filling those drawers :)

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  18. Fabulous find and even more fabulous transformation! Featuring this when my link party opens up tonight.

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  19. Yikes, I can't imagine washing out all those drawers! Put it's such a great piece, no wonder you had to have it.

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  20. This looks awesome Doreen!! You did a great job and it looks awesome in your craft room!

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  21. I love that piece. I could sooo use something like that!! You did a great job on it.

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  22. I bought a cabinet just like this, at a garage sale last summer, for $8. I knew it was a great deal. It came from one of the the kids' school. Wanted to use it for my kids' art/scrapbook stuff. I have had it nearly a year & you have just motivated me to pull it out of the garage and paint it! Thanks for sharing...looks amazing!!!!

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  23. Wow, what a beautiful transformation, Doreen. I love the color you chose, and I am jealous of all that storage. Great find and great makeover.

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  24. So much storage potential, luck you!! It was really drab before, I love the new paint color combo, looks fabulous and real handy in that spot!

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  25. Oh I love it...what great inspiration for my piece :)

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  26. You used my favorite color to transform this great storage piece. It looks so great! No flea markets going on here right now, but I did pick up an old wood mirror to redo....I think in aqua!!

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  27. I'm so jealous of your find! I'm glad you decided to snatch it up :)

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  28. Doreen I was reading your other post about the lockers and I just had to pop over to see this. This is gorgeous and I commend you for all of your hard work. I certainly would not have had the patience to paint 33 drawers.

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