apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

How about the spotlight credenza from Crate and Barrel that was featured on AT awhile ago? It looks like a nice buffet but really has two filing drawers and should be able to hold both the printer and fax machine. Here is the link:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1100&f=12282

We're considering using these in our IKEA Expedit shelves:

http://www.instaoffice.com/X-Rack-File-25.DEFXR206.0.7.htm

Using hanging files in the right color could (we're hoping) look pretty good against the black X. They're not secure or anything, but at $10 a pop, almost unbeatable in price.

There's quite a few different styles if you look on Amazon, that don't look like the generic filing cabinets. Here's one I found for a decent price:
http://www.amazon.com/Stanford-Lateral-Antique-Hansen-Bush/dp/B000EEX6JO/ref=pd_sbs_op_shvl_title_8/103-3854377-2893461

The Ikea Erik is gorgeous in white and red.

ive always managed to find rad vintage file cabinets at St Vincents and on craigslist...they're super heavy, but sometimes worth it if they're good lookin' and free!

I used to have a large lateral file that I purchased at Blueprint. When I outgrew it, I decided to go paperless to add more space to my room rather than lose more space to another file cabinet. I hand scanned everything on a cheap Canon flatbed scanner and it took forever. I don't recommend that but I would suggest getting a sheetfed scanner instead of filedrawers and digitizing all but the most important papers. While a sheetfed scanner will set you back a few hundred dollars up front, it makes quick work of the scanning. The benefits are pretty great: you end up with extra space in your office, radically reduced clutter, infinite storage space that takes up little or no room, plus digitizing makes finding files is as quick as typing a keyword in your computers search. If you need a hardcopy, you simply print one up on your printer. I highly recommend it.

Is the Ikea Erik sturdy (i.e. good Ikea or cheap Ikea)?

This one in chrome.

http://www.topdeq.com/topdeq/product.do?catid=us_2022&prodid=8053

How about painting a metal file cabinet a vibrant color to give it some pop? I just bought a couple of small vintage metal filing cabinets, one off Ebay and another from Craigslist, that I'm planning to spray paint hot pink with Rustoleum's Painter's Touch. It will match my brown/pink home office and I'm hoping will look stylish for a fraction of the cost of any filing cabinet I could get out there, even Ikea. Anyone out there have experience with this type of painting project? If so, I welcome any tips!

homedecorators.com has a ton of cheap options, and different styles.

CB2 has a really cute one available in silver or orange
http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=302&f=1979