Hack the Akurum into a filing cabinet

A few months back, my husband and I found a 3-drawer 15″ Akurum base cabinet in the As-Is department for about $45. It was missing a top, so we just grabbed a $3 scrap piece that would match & fit.  Hubby screwed the top on and added Capita legs to lift it off the ground.  *Note*  If you don’t add the legs, the bottom drawer hits the ground.

The cabinet was initially used in our small laundry room to store soaps, cleaners, & rags.

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It worked well for a time…until I decided I wanted my washer/dryer to be side by side.  After we banished it from the laundry room, it made it’s way into the Master Bath, Master Closet, and then ended up in the Master Bedroom as a place to store sweaters and other folded items.  It was just SO big and awkward, I couldn’t think of where to put it and I refused to have this beautiful piece put into the garage.  ::faint::

After Christmas I decided to move some things around and get better organized.  I had been looking for a filing cabinet, but didn’t want an extra piece of furniture in our  “office” (which is actually a nook in our living room).  We decided it would look good next to our white desk (which happens to be an Antonius table top we had leftover) and I would research how to hack it into a filing cabinet.  There was absolutely nothing on the internet.  Nothing that was simple and wouldn’t be a big project.  I even went to Ikea to see if the kitchen & office departments had any ideas for me.  Nothing.  I thought it was a lost cause, so I researched making several of my Kassett boxes into filing boxes.  At least things would be neat and tidy…right?

So, Hubby and I went to Staples with a Kassett box in hand.  I opened all of the filing frames they had and tried them out.  Nothing in the $4-6 range was working and I was so frustrated.  I decided to try this frame…even though it was $13.

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At home I put it together by folding the long bars inward at the hinge.  (This actually works and fits inside the Kassett boxes without sawing the bar) At this point I was a bit disgruntled.  $13 for ONE frame and I would need at least two more.  I just couldn’t justify the expense, so I decided to see if the frame would fit in the bottom drawer of the Akurum cabinet.  VOILA!  All hubby had to do was clip off a small length on each of the bars and it fit perfectly!!!

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I love my new filing cabinet and this post proves it can be done!!