Decorative skin for a filing cabinet drawer

Abstract

Planar sheets or “skins” are attachable to the outwardly facing vertical surfaces of filing cabinet drawers. These skins may fully or partially cover the outwardly facing surface of the filing cabinet drawers. Also, the skins may be textured or smooth, and they may be colored in one or more different colors. Further, the skins may have one or more design features that are visible in the workplace. These design features may include, but are not limited to, patterns, graphics, pictures, photos, drawings, icons, paintings, illustrations, symbols, calendars, quotes, holiday specific design features, exchangeable head-torso-feet images, text, or the like. For multiple drawer filing cabinets, multiple skins may be provided where each skin includes a portion of a design feature that is visibly revealed in the workplace when they are attached to the outwardly facing surfaces of the drawers in a predetermined or random arrangement.

1 . An apparatus for decorating an external and outwardly facing surface of a drawer in a filing cabinet, comprising:
 a skin that is substantially planar and sized to cover at least a portion of the external and outwardly facing surface of the drawer, wherein the skin includes at least one decorative design feature that is visible to a user of the drawer;   a port that passes through the skin for enabling access to at least one of a lock, a handle, and a display bracket; and   an attacher for attaching the skin to the external outwardly facing surface of the drawer.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the attacher comprises at least one of a magnet, bracket, adhesive, mechanical hook, clip, tape, fabric hook and loop, snap, screw, nail, post, or rivet. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the design feature includes at least one of a pattern, graphic, picture, photo, drawing, image, icon, painting, illustration, symbol, calendar, quote, holiday specific design feature, exchangeable head-torso-feet image, advertisement, logo, or text. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising separate ports for at least the display bracket, handle, or lock. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the port is sized so that the planar sides of the skin are reversible. 
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one decorative design feature is revealed by the attachment of a plurality of skins to the external outwardly facing surfaces of a plurality of filing cabinet drawers. 
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the planar surface of the skin is writable. 
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a sleeve frame that is directly attachable to the external outwardly facing surface of the drawer by the attacher, wherein the sleeve frame is arranged to hold the skin in a removable position against the external outwardly facing surface of the drawer. 
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one manual tool for physically editing at least one decorative design feature for one or more skins, wherein the at least one manual tool includes at least one of a pen, pencil, marker, paint, sticker, tape, hook, magnet, picture frame, cut-out text, or pin. 
   
   
       10 . A method for decoratively covering an external outwardly facing surface of office furniture, comprising:
 enabling the provision of a design feature for a skin;   enabling the editing of the design feature for the skin;   producing the skin with the at least one design feature; and   attaching the skin to the external outwardly facing surface of the drawer.   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising providing a template for one or more design features for the skin. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising selecting a predetermined design feature for use with the skin. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising enabling physical editing with at least one manual tool for at least one decorative design feature for one or more skins, wherein the at least one manual tool includes at least one of a pen, pencil, marker, paint, sticker, tape, hook, magnet, picture frame, cut-out text, or pin. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the skin is produced at least one of remotely and shipped to the user, or locally with a printer. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the office furniture includes at least one of a filing cabinet, bank cabinet, storage cabinet, or bookcase. 
   
   
       16 . A system for providing a decorative skin for office furniture, comprising:
 a network;   a server; and   a client that performs actions, including:
 enabling the provision of a design feature for a skin; 
 enabling the editing of the design feature for the skin; 
 enabling the production of the skin with the at least one design feature; and 
 enabling the attachment of the skin to an external outwardly facing surface of the office furniture. 
   
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the client is operative with a mobile device that communicates with the server over a wireless network. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising a printer for producing the skin with the design feature locally. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the client is operative with a computing device that communicates with the server over a wired network. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the office furniture is at least one of a filing cabinet, bank cabinet, storage cabinet, or bookcase.