Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Add File Storage To Your Home Office

We haven’t given our office any love in the entire eight months that we’ve lived here (other than deciding that it was no longer the dining room and shifting that into the old formal living room nearby). Pretty much our moving day MO was to: plop old office furniture down, work away, and ignore the fact that the rug’s crazy-off-center and you can bump your head on the old dining room chandelier. Sad times.

OfficeArrange Before From D

But the lack of love given wasn’t for lack of trying. We’ve been keeping our eye out for two similar/identical secondhand filing cabinets for, oh, eight whole months. So we were starting to lose hope after about twenty five visits to all of our favorite local thrift stores without finding two of them:

  1. that were the same height or depth (we ideally wanted to put two of them next to each other to make a square cabinet)
  2. that were even remotely operable (it was crazy how many were so dinged and dented that they hardly opened)

We even checked out online office supply shops and local places like Office Max, but a lot of the filing cabinet options that we found were upwards of $100 a pop – and we wanted two). Then on our recent trip to Ikea (for these shoe cabinets), this piece of furniture caught our eye as we strolled through the upper level:

Effectiv Ikea Showroom

It’s an “Effektiv” (hence the bad pun in the title of this post). And we decided half of it (it was actually two of them pushed together) would be the perfect solution for a little “situation” that we have going on (no not that Situation):

Effektiv Messy Corner Befor

Yes, that’s a printer-paper-camera-bag-shredder pile right on the floor that’s sheepishly tucked out of view behind the sofa (but not completely out of view from a few other angles). And yes, Clara loves to push buttons and throw paper and cause general pile chaos. So something had to be done. Like yesterday.

Even though the Effektiv system has LOTS of customization options, we went for something very similar to what we saw on the showroom floor (just half as wide). I annoyingly lost the receipt (bad blogger) but it was in the neighborhood of $150. Which isn’t too bad considering some of the “heavily discounted office surplus” options would have been $200+ for the double-wide equivalent. Even the cost to build it all myself probably would have been in the $150+ range after getting all the drawer slides and hinges and file fittings (and I worried it wouldn’t have the same durability that I’d get from something made by experts since it would be constantly opened and shut). Oh and that price included one base, two shelf pieces, and the various interior fittings for a double wide file drawer on the bottom and concealed storage for things like our wireless printer and stacks of paper on the top double-doored shelf.

Effektiv Three Boxes

We figured it’d be a good piece to anchor this empty wall (opposite the wall with the desk, next to the doorway to the kitchen) while also adding some functional storage.

Effektiv Corner Before Angl

One by one, I assembled each of the three pieces and screwed them on top of one another. It was a thrilling process I assure you, so forgive me for glossing over it so quickly.

Effektiv One Two Three

Oh and as for the vent on the right of it, luckily it has those angled registers so the air gets directed out at an angle that allows it to flow right out the side and into the room. There’s about a 4″ gap there (even though it looks a lot smaller in pics due to shadows) so it’s great thus far (we can feel the air easily coming out, so it’s not getting trapped or anything). Whew. Otherwise we’d just close that register because there are a few others in the room.

The beauty of this piece is that it slipped right in under the chair rail and fit pretty nicely width-wise too (we didn’t have the wall measurement with us, so we’re beyond relived that it wasn’t an inch too wide or something). It was offered with lots of customizable options – drawers, cabinets, hanging file systems, solid doors, frosted fronts, etc. We knew we wanted the upper shelf to work as a cabinet (to store the wireless printer & reems o’ paper mess) and the lower one to house a ton of hanging files (we have a surprising amount of paperwork due to being “our own business”). For some reason I’ve become addicted to hanging file storage and the two little file boxes slipped under our desk are, well, not doing it for me at all (they’re only about 7″ wide).

Effektiv Bad Files

We went with basic white doors since they were the cheapest option and provide the easiest blank canvas in case we want to paint, wallpaper, stencil, or even O’verlay them with these cool things down the line for a more interesting (read: less Ikea-ish) look.

Effektiv Drawer Covers

When it came to the interior fittings, first I put the file system in the bottom. It consists of a metal drawer/frame, a heavy weight in the back (to keep it from toppling when the drawer is pulled out) and a flat white cabinet face that will attach to the front. We also anchored it to the wall with an Ikea-provided kid-safe anchor system, just to be double safe.

Effektiv File Drawer Insert

Then the top half just consisted of putting on two cabinet doors, so the whole thing went from this…

Effektiv Corner Drawless An

…to this…

Effectiv Corner Drawers Ang

You’re probably wondering about our knob dealio. We decided to skip the ones from Ikea and go for a more homemade handle. We thought something rustic like casual string was a nice contrast to the sleek lines of the rest of the piece.

Effektiv Strings Close

Okay, I’m totally kidding. The string was just temporary (since I learned the hard way that it was impossible to open the doors without prying them open with a flat head screwdriver without it).

I wasn’t kidding about passing on all of the Ikea hardware options though. We tried to like something. Really we did. But nothing was really doing it for us and we thought knobs from somewhere else might give it a little more character and make it work with other things in the room (like our $35 thrifted lattice desk chairs). Note: of course we have about ten million other changes we plan to make in here (slowly by surely) when it comes to the furnishings, lighting, etc.

OfficeArrange Before From D

But back to the hardware. Yeah, we’re hoping that adding some non-Ikea knobs or pulls could help to make the whole thing look a smidge less Ikea-y (as would eventually painting, stenciling, or wallpapering the fronts, sides, top or the whole darn thing). But we’re not gonna do any of that ’til the whole room is further along. Because who knows, once the room is painted (stenciled? wallpapered?) the piece could look best in plain ol’ glossy white (and we’d be kicking ourselves for having jumped the gun). We already found some pretty cool Anthropologie-ish handle options at a place that rhymes with Schlobby Bobby though, so once we make a final decision and screw them in (which always freaks me out by the way- is anyone else totally intimidated to drill right into new furniture?) we’ll be back with updated pics for ya. Hopefully within 24-ish hours.

Has anyone else added some functional office storage recently? Did you have better luck hunting down something secondhand? Do you also have a deeply rooted fear of drilling holes into new furniture to attach hardware? I must measure things fifteen times just to be sure I’m not hanging them an inch off center or something.

Comments

  1. Deborah says

    I love IKEA, and I am so grateful to see how you have taken their pieces and made them less… IKEA. There are rooms in my house that look like an IKEA showroom, and I am tired of it! Thanks for the great ideas!

    Reply

  2. karin says

    I love it! My husband and I have no basement and have a “living room” that is essentially our office/kids playroom that is also a blank slate with a neutral tan carpet, white french doors and the same grellow paint that you just used. We have been hardpressed to come up with a place to put our files and papers and wireless printer etc. and this could be it! I want white yet want to be able to conceal the ugly stuff that shares our room. My one question is this….could you provide a pic of how you placed your printer in the cabinet? Ours is approx. 17″w x 6″h x 11″ d. Is yours much smaller to fit in there? I would love to see the whole interior once you set it up…not to be nosey and into your ‘bidness! Thanks!

    Reply

  3. Rosemary M. says

    I always wonder why people seem to ask questions that are already answered in your posts. For this post there’s alot of concern about covered vents. Do you add these to your post after people ask questions or are your posts the same and people just miss the information? Just curious and I don’t mean to sound rude to any readers :) I’ve always been curious if the posts get edited/updated or if they remain as is.

    Have a great day!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re the first to admit that sometimes we drone on and hide info so sometimes people don’t see things that we mention. But in this case we actually did add that little vent blurb to the actual post after those first few questions came in at around 10:15 (just to have that info there for anyone reading from that time on who might not read the comments, and to keep from having to address it a bunch of times in later comments).

      xo,
      s

  4. Melissa Jackson says

    I searched everywhere for the perfect office furniture and storage. I am talking months and months of foot work and computer work. Ultimately I was hard pressed for one at either Ballard Designs or Pottery Barn, but with the price for each of those and the cost for shipping it was out of my realm. After a few months, my husband and I decided to head out to Pottery Barn (which is 45 minutes from our home) just to look around. And low and behold what would be on sale, the desk we wanted but the model! It was in perfect condition and so we scooped up every piece they had for that design and now we have this amazing desk at an amazing price! Plus we got rewards points which led to the purchase of shelves for our office too (for free!)! To top it all off, we got a Hampton Bay file cabinet with a hutch for only $100.00 because it was the floor model at Office Max. Needless to say our office is complete and it did not break our bank account!

    Reply

  6. Laura Bellamy says

    Cute video. Thanks for sharing.

    FYI. Places like Staples sell hanging file racks to put inside old cabinets to convert them to hanging files. They might work in some old furniture or trunks.

    Reply

  9. HollyG says

    Well, our office turned into a nursery and then the office went down to the basement. I hope to have a “real” office one day. I love that cabinet – I think it’s a smart option for the space. I think you should keep that chandelier in that room too! You plan on that? ;)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re not sure. As is it’s so low we crash our heads into it. So we don’t know if we’ll raise it and spray it/upgrade it or replace it with something more office-ish (just so it doesn’t still feel like the old dining room in there).

      xo,
      s

  10. Jo says

    We just had the same issue of needing more filing storage. Our solution was to use the Ikea Byholma wicker trunk/chest as our file drawer. It holds two 15″ long hanging file racks, side by side. To raise the height of the folders, we used scrap 2×4 boards on edge to make four supports running front to back. We also made two horizontal grooves on the top of the boards to keep the racks from sliding. It’s working perfectly, holds a surprising amount and adds a nice touch to our home office area.

    Reply

  11. EvY says

    Ah! Thanks for satisfying your customers’ needs for an office update.

    I too have an Ikea filing cabinet (an aspvik one) and was debating how to update it since it’s pretty boring. Right now I taped it up with Japanese masking tape but the wallpaper idea is starting to sound good. Funny you guys are thinking the same thing. And I’m also thinking about doing that magnetic primer thing you guys did to the wall of your old home office before I wallpaper. And for painting, Jenny @ Little Green Notebook said painting Ikea furniture is very very difficult. I wish you guys luck.

    I bet that as soon as either of us DIYs it Ikea will come up with some cool pattern or color ’cause they like doing that.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah- I totally agree with Jenny (it’s laminate, which is notoriously bad at not cracking and peeling when painted) so we’d probably front or top it with something first (thin veneer or wood trim or those overlay things) and paint those instead of the laminate!

      xo,
      s

  12. Gloria says

    My nine year old twins heard the video and came to see it saying, “Is that Clara? Is that Clara? Play it again, Mom!” The three year old said, “That a baby momma? Has a lot of hair!” Oh, and yes….love the new filing system. Need to get something like that around here!

    Reply

  13. Sarah @ w30 says

    Clara is adorable!

    I hear you on drilling into new furniture – or anything with new furniture. We bought a new couch from a furniture store that went out of business. We couldn’t pass it up – it was in the color we wanted (gray) and we got it waaaayyy below cost. But, it had those awful pillow arms. Gross. I am in the process of reshaping them, but that first cut – directly into the couch – was scary! :)

    Reply

  15. Bryn says

    As for the drilling: Always go outside to inside…I learned this the hard way when I added knobs to my Malm dresser…yikes. But, I do love how you can customize any furniture by just adding hardware! Good luck on your search!

    Reply

  17. elaine says

    Hey guys!
    I JUST came across this site and had to share incase you had not heard of this before. They are cool ‘overlays’ to dress up Ikea units and they even make something for your new storage solution! Thought you may want to take a peek and file this in the ol’ brain (aka,pintrest)
    :). Love your site!
    http://www.danikacheryle.com/#!

    Reply

  18. Heidi says

    I totally needed this post! My son is constantly opening our side table/filing drawer and taking everything out as well as taking apart our printer while our dog shreds the printer paper! Ugh! I not only need help with figuring out how to get this stuff out of our little one’s reach but also where in the house to put such things! How do you plug your printer in with that Ikea cabinet? Can you show a picture of everything in it with the drawers/doors open? Thanks for all your genius ideas!:)

    Reply

  19. Shannon R says

    Check out World Market/Cost Plus for some cheap Anthropologie-esque knobs too. And you can use their $10 off a $30 purchase coupons to make them an even better deal and/or get something else “free”!

    Reply

  21. Andrea says

    Ok, so I have a question. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, just curious here… do yall worry about all the press-board in Ikea products (and pretty much every other kind of furniture these days)? I know you guys always make an effort to use green/healthy products, so here’s hoping you know something I don’t, and I can stop worrying about all the MDF in our house.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We just do our best and try to maintain some semblance of balance. The chairs in the office are secondhand, as are the chairs in our dining room, Clara’s dresser and chair, a chair in our sunroom, etc. We also do our best to build things out of solid wood when we think that’s the best way to go (our console table, shelves in Clara’s room, our desk, shelving in the laundry room, etc). And we buy things out of solid wood when we can afford them or think they’re particularly important (Clara’s crib, our dining table, etc). We also compost, cloth diaper, only have one small car, and use no-VOC paint in an effort to be green. So I guess we just do our best to keep a nice mix of old and new and go for as much solid wood as we can afford knowing that solid wood everything just isn’t in the budget. Does that make sense?

      We also have a lot of air purifying plants in the house and like to open doors and windows to air things out (as well as have a radon system that operates 24/7) so we hope those things keep the air clean too!

      xo,
      s

    • Andrea says

      Your approach definitely makes sense! We’re a small-car family (although we’ve got two of ’em – Texas isn’t known for being public transportation friendly!) and I always try to pick the greener alternative – when it won’t break the bank. We live in a newer house, which I am pretty sure is made from 98% MDF, so I try to avoid pressed boards since I figure we’ve got plenty.

  24. Nat says

    Hello YHL! I’ve been lurking around for about a year now and love your website. I’ve emerged from my surfing incognito bliss today because I felt I have to say something – I see that yout new filing cabinet is blocking the HVAC vent…this will make your furnace work harder..or may be it doesnt matter because your house is fairly large ;-)

    Reply

  25. Jen @ The Decor Scene says

    Great addition to your office. Ikea almost always has the solution for homes….well at least I feel that way. ;)
    Did you guys buy one of those orange Ikea cabinet guides? We used it on the Ikea cabinets in our Laundry room and it worked great. It’s always scary to put holes into furniture….that is why we still don’t have knobs on our kitchen cabinets. We are scared to drill into the wood doors and mess them up. Yikes!

    I can’t wait to see what color you pick for the walls in the office. It’s really a blank slate for your guys to work your magic on. ;)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      John totally picked up that guide and put it back down! He worried that non-Ikea hardware might not work with the measurements. So he’s planning to make his own template. Gulp.

      x

  26. Jenn says

    Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! We just moved, and I have been looking for storage, for our ridiculous amount of school and office supplies. This will be perfect! Yay!

    Reply

  28. Kelly says

    I bet there were some hilarious directions to go along with that cabinet! I just opened up a bathroom mirror that I bought from IKEA a few weeks ago and in the directions was a picture of sun streaming through the window, hitting the mirror, and catching the curtains on fire!

    Reply

  30. GreenInOC says

    I live in a postage stamp sized abode with barely an envelope of storage so I am always on the hunt for pieces that do double duty.

    I have 2 Cado units – the kind with the angled dowels that hang on wall mounted rails. I was inspired by the “Fauxdenza” over at http://www.DoorSixteen.com and wanted something similar for under my wall mounted TV. I tried really hard to like the Ikea option and I did, I just wasn’t sure it would look right here.

    I really wanted a Cado cabinet. The problem was finding a singular cabinet, then tack on shipping and I was looking at nearly a $400 solution. That was pretty hard to swallow. I had found a couple and nearly pulled the trigger but I would have had to saw off those dowels to attach it directly to the wall and I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. If you haven’t seen them, well they make you really admire well built furniture. The other option was to find a singular rail, ship than and then cut that in half. Either way, a beautiful piece would be ruined.

    Anyway, back and forth and many hours wasted looking and pining! I found one on Craigslist in Portland. Bonus: it was only $135 and it wasn’t Cado but a Cado type meaning it was more narrow (yeah in my tiny home) and it didn’t have the dowel and rail system which meant I didn’t have to ruin it. Non-bonus: the seller didn’t want to ship it.

    I sulked for days. I had family that home driven through Portland less than 2 weeks prior. Talk about bad timing.

    Then I was inspired to look at the ride share section of Craigslist and found someone in Portland headed my way who would go pick-up the piece, bring it with them and meet me here for $40!!

    Now I just have to install it! I am very excited!!

    Reply

  31. Jenny F. says

    K, so this may have been mentioned already (no way I could read through 235 comments! not sure how you guys do it!) but did you know there’s a line of O’verlays designed for Effektiv furniture?? I discovered them a couple of weeks ago on Pinterest and plan to use them on my Malm dresser. :)

    http://www.danikacheryle.com/#!products

    Hope this helps you spruce them up a bit!

    Reply

  32. Jaimie says

    I have an Effektiv in my office. That thing was expensive! I’ve managed to completely fill the filing drawer on the bottom already, but I have no intention of running out to by another any time soon. Not that I don’t like it, but I’d rather cut down on paperwork.

    I think the handles we picked up were these: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80153659#/80153659/

    I wanted something similar to the hardware on my desk. They look pretty nice, IMO. Here’s a photo, if you’re curious: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14616672@N00/5849861713/

    Of course, it’s a different look than your Effektiv. Handles seem to be the easiest way to make IKEA look a little less IKEA.

    Reply

  33. Karla says

    I just love your office chairs! City wide garage sales are going on in my town this weekend and I’m feeling optimistic! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s so funny because we actually linked to them in this post too (when we listed all the things we could do like paint, stencil, paper, etc). Love it!

      xo,
      s

  36. Valerie says

    I don’t know if anyone suggested Overstock.com for knobs too. I found quite a variety of knobs to choose from.

    I am an newby to your posts, but I don’t miss reading a post now. The ideas are so wonderful!

    Clara is adorable and its great watching her grow up!

    Reply

  38. Jillian says

    Love love love your site…makes me want to go home & DIY!! I noticed in this post that when sitting at your desk…your backs are to the entrance!! I think turning the desk so you are facing the opening and maybe adding some lovely guest chairs or a funky bench to the other side of the desk would be a great update {and better chi ;)}

    Cheers!

    Reply

  39. ashlee says

    okay….that frame + that storage system look AWESOME together. you guys totally know how to pair things together. it’s amazing. the frame is the absolute perfect size.

    can you guys give me your opinion on something? you do a lot of painting. A LOT. haha. my floors are honey stained. now, honey stained is rather 1990s (when my house was built) and the likelihood of me replacing my honey stained somewhat knotty flooring is slim to none (there’s a TON of floor in this house). how do i work wall colors with honey floors? i find a lot of colors make the room look even more yellow-ish.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Soft greens like celery and sage and artichoke can look really pretty with warm honey wood. You can also always do cream or soft tans or even rich chocolate colors (and a bunch of crisp white) to add some dimension and depth without yellow-washing the room. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

    • ashlee says

      we have a pale green in one of our girls’ rooms right now…but i just chose a really awful shade. it looked great next to her bedding and accessories..but on the wall – the entire room glows nasty neon lime against the yellowish flooring. big mistake. the folks at benjamin moore told me to go with greens and blues and greys that have neutral undertones…then they gave me a ton of swatches..so i felt more like they were trying to sell a product :)

    • ashlee says

      what colour is on your office walls? it looks clean & crisp like white but it has a beautiful creamy tone, if that makes any sense! ps. i personally love that chandelier :)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I wish we knew! That creamy white was inherited with the house and there’s no labeled paint can in the basement or anything with hints. Maybe it’s close to “Antique White” of “Linen White” by Benjamin Moore?

      xo,
      s

  40. Roberta says

    I have had many desks and over time I go back to my DEEP 25-inch, two drawer metal filing cabinets with a piece of glass placed on top ;) I just love all the room the files offer and I tend to file everything in hanging file folders and three-prong folders for all my projects…once a geek, always a geek. Because I don’t like the looks of the metal drawers…I’ve always sewn fabric covers…I have photos if you’re in need of visual aides…lol

    Reply

  41. Angela B says

    I just checked out the price to buy the same thing at my nearby Ikea here in Australia – $460!!! Oh my lord.

    Reply

    • Caitlin says

      Unless you needed a place to store dead flies. I had a bat in my house and read I should catch it and bring it somewhere to get tested for rabies, but I couldn’t think of anywhere to keep the bat. I needed functional bat storage.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, not sure I can help ya there. Anyone have functional bat storage ideas? Would you be able to put it into a large tupperware bin (like the ones people store christmas stuff in the attic) and punch a bunch of breathing holes? I have no idea.

      xo,
      s

    • Caitlin says

      LOL, I never planned to actually capture the bat (no thanks) I just set it free and pray it never comes back.

  44. SarahK says

    After redoing our office, I really wanted a white Pottery Barn Bedford corner desk that goes for @ $800 bucks. I took a quick look on Craig’s List and scored the exact one I wanted for $200!

    Reply

  45. Hilary says

    I knew when I saw title this would be re: an Ikea item ;)

    Quick [random] question because I saw someone commented about ORB spraypaint… did you ever ending up spraying your door knobs? If so, any tips or comments on durability of commonly used ones?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I have yet to tackle that since it’s such a big task (we probably have over a dozen doors when you count closets) but I solemnly vow to share every last detail when I do!

      xo,
      s

  47. katie says

    Ooohhh something else that might make those doors less “ikea-ish” would be an overlay. (Which I just happened upon today so I’m anxious to find something to try them on!) Like these –http://www.danikacheryle.com/ you could even do some fun colors??

    Reply

  49. Jenny says

    Thank you so much for sharing! I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in desperate need of some streamlined storage for my work corner! The O’verlays! I had not seen those previously! LOL I’m way to excited for 6am!

    Reply

  50. Erin in NoVA says

    I read this post yesterday, but I just had a crazy thought. What if, in times like these where you can’t make a decision, you ask your readers for input? Just a simple “this or that” type survey, and do what the readers tell you? Can’t decide on a knob? Ask the readers! Torn between 2 paint colors? Ask the readers! Can’t decide what to feed Clara for lunch? Ask the readers! (Well, maybe not that last one, but you get the point.) It could be a fun way of letting “us” have influence, but it’s not like we would be able to tell you to paint your ceilings red, because you would never give us that option, only options that you’re seriously considering. Just a thought, feel free to laugh at me and ignore. :) Happy Friday!

    Reply

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