Filing Cabinet Planter

I have a little spot in my yard that’d be perfect for a planter. But the problem is, planters are expensive! So instead of buying a big fancy one, we’re going to thrift a filing cabinet and repurpose it to be a planter- yay for sustainability! Plus I’m going to tile it to make it even fancier. I have a whole tutorial for you on this filing cabinet planter that is such a high impact with a low price.

Want to see another hand painted tile planter? Check out this file cabinet planter.

how to make a filing cabinet planter

Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:

If the video doesn’t work here, you can watch it on YouTube here. It’d mean so much if you’d watch the video! I’m trying to get better at my video skills so I can grow my YouTube channel. If you have a few minutes to watch this and/or subscribe, I’d so appreciate it.

SUPPLIES

120 Square 4×4 Tiles
2- Corner Tile
22- Bullnose Tile
4 Drawer File Cabinet
Porcelain Paint Kit (I also used the color Tender Pink)
Artist Paint Brushes
5 Bottles- Construction Adhesive
White Grout
Rit Dye in the colors- Petal Pink, Sunshine Orange, Golden Yellow, Apple Green, and Aquamarine

Tools

overview- how to make a file cabinet planter

Begin by taking out all the drawers and glides
Clean out the inside of the file cabinet if needed
Lay it on it’s side so that the drawer openings are facing up in your yard
Fill with gardening soil. If you’d like, put the bottom with cardboard and twigs to use less soil and help with drainage
Plant the planter
Paint or tile the metal portions of the file cabinet
If the cabinet is tiled, grout the tile. If painted, let the paint dry

Prep

To begin this project, buy the supplies that are needed.

Where to find a file cabinet to make into a planter? Look at the thrift shop, Facebook Marketplace or Habitat for Humanity to find a used file cabinet. This will be the most affordable way to go and then you can up-cycle an item which is great for the environment. Keep your eye out on the side of the road for a free one too! Mine cost $15.

Once you have your file cabinet, remove the drawers and the tracks.

What to do with them? Well, we took them to by recycled- we have a place locally where we can recycle metal. Another option is to make small planters from the drawers.

Put the file cabinet in place as a planter with the drawer openings pointed up.

Drill holes in the bottom of the planter so that excess water can drain out of it.

To fill the planter, I suggest layering some cardboard on the bottom. Then layer that with twigs and branches. This will help with drainage.

On top of that, I put in some compost from our compost pile. This fills the cabinet 3/4 of the way with recycled or yard waste- which is all free! To finish up, I bought a bag of garden soil from the store for the top.

step 1- hand paint tile

Start by figuring out a design for how the tile will be painted. I drew out my ideas. I’m wanting to have the tiles go in rainbow order. For the style, I’m thinking of a vintage Delft pattern done in the rainbow colors. I sketched out my ideas to put my ideas on paper. Instead of painting each tile, I’m going to do a checkerboard pattern.

Next, use rubbing alcohol and a cotton rag to clean the tiles before painting. This will remove any dirt that could make the paint not stick.

To prep for painting, lay a drop cloth on a table, grab the Porcelain paints, some paint brushes, and 10-12 tiles.

And now, I’m painting tiles one color at a time. Since I’m going for the Delft look, I’m using only one color at a time. A fine tip paint brush is best for getting all the details in.

Some of the colors need to be mixed. For example, I bought the Porcelain paint kit, but it doesn’t have an orange color so I mixed red, yellow, and white to get a color I like.

I’m continuing one paint color at a time. Each round of painting takes about an hour.

I’m doing 5 colors so this will take up most of the day.

Once I was done painting, I let the tiles dry for 24 hours.

step 2- bake tile

Once dry, bake the tiles in the oven on 300 degrees for 35 minutes. This sets the tiles so the paint won’t scratch off. I put my tiles on a baking sheet so I didn’t break them during the process of taking them in and out of the oven.

Note, since I’ve hand painted tiles before I’m confident that they’ll stand up if done correctly. I painted dishes with this same paint 8 years ago and the dishes go through the dishwasher daily and still look great. Since I’m experienced doing this, I know that once the paint is set it won’t come off when grouted, caulked, or after lots of use.

step 3- tile the planter

And now, it’s time to tile! To begin, we’re cutting some plywood for the bottom of the planter. Ours was completely open so we need a surface to tile onto.

Attach it to the planter with construction adhesive and screws.

One thing I did a lot of research on for this project is what to use for tile adhesive? This is a tricky question because it needs to work outside with metal and tile. After looking at many products, I choose Gorilla Glue Construction adhesive because its rated to work on those items. I bought 3 bottles. Spoiler alert, that was the perfect amount and the glue works great!

Then begin to tile. We choose to start in the top corner of the filing cabinet. Since the top of the bullnose tile goes at the top of the filing cabinet and the bottom tiles need to be cut, this is the best spot.

Apply the construction adhesive to the back of each tile. Then put it in place and place it firmly on the filing cabinet.

The construction adhesive is so good that it’ll hold the tile firmly in the right place while working over and down.

For the bottom and a few of the bullnose tiles, those need to be cut. Use a tile saw for that. Let the tile dry before adhering it onto the file cabinet.

Once the planter is all tiled, let it sit for 24 hours so the adhesive can set.

OMG- isn’t the planter looking so good?!

step 4- rainbow grout for the filing cabinet planter

Finally, the tile on the file cabinet planter needs to be grouted. I’m using white grout for this plus I’m adding some dye to make it a fun color!

To get a custom grout color, add a little dye (probably a Tablespoon) to the grout. Then add some water until it’s the right consistency. If the color isn’t bright enough, add more dye.

Since I’m doing a rainbow grout look, I’m grouting one section at a time.

Once the grout has been applied for 15-20 minutes, use a wet sponge to wipe off the excess grout. While doing that, make sure there’s no spaces where the grout has been missed. If it has, use excess grout to fill in the spaces.

Repeat for each color of grout. I’m doing 5 colors- pink, orange, yellow, green and blue to coordinate with the tile.

Mix the grout, let it sit for 5 minutes, mix it again, and then apply it to the planter. Once it’s dried 15 minutes, wipe it off. While waiting for it to dry, mix the next color.

To be honest, the rainbow grout added a lot of time- probably 2 hours to the grouting. It’s worth the look, but just a heads up. If I was to have all the grout one custom color, it’d maybe add 2-4 minutes to mix the grout with the dye. So that’d be much faster!

After grouting, I let the grout dry for a few hours. Then I went in with a microfiber towel to wipe off any haze.

Since the top of the file cabinet had a row edge of wood from filling in the bottom, I covered the top of it with outdoor caulk to protect it from the elements.

after

Here is the finished planter. I love how whimsical and sweet it is!

The rainbow grout is so fun! It is subtle since the grout lines are small, but it’s really cute with the rainbow tile.

Do filing cabinets make good planters? Yes! They are the perfect size to fit lots of plants for a low price tag. It’s a very easy project- especially if you just paint it. It doesn’t take much time, the supplies are affordable- mine came out to $71, and it makes a huge impact for your garden and yard! Plus you’re probably saving something from a landfill.

Are you worried about the metal rusting? I have heard from lots of people who have made a file cabinet planter and haven’t have a problem with rust. I live in dry Utah so that’ll also help. I made a file cabinet planter last year and have no problems with rust so far.

price breakdown

So how much did this project cost? The filing cabinet came to $15 at Habitat for Humanity. For tiling supplies, I bought a box of the square tile for $12. The bullnose and corner tile cost $20. I already had all of the paint on hand from the last time I hand painted tiles besides one bottle which cost $12. Construction adhesive is $10 a bottle and I bought 4.

To make the file cabinet planter box it cost a total of $99

I think $100 is a great price for the big impact that the planter gives!

I’m very happy with how this project turned out! I love the painting and the vibe of the tile. I’d definitely recommend this project if you need a big garden planter. Let me know if you have any questions about this project in the comments!

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