Vinyl collections can add warmth and personality to a room. However, quickly, vinyl collections can create a visual mess. The goal is not to hide your collection, but to provide a designated spot for your collection so that you can browse through your records with ease, protect your records, and have an aesthetically pleasing and intentional set-up.
Practical ways to store vinyl collections
There are a few practical ways to protect your vinyl and provide a clean and aesthetically pleasing space. In general, records are best stored vertically (upright) rather than stacked, as stacking creates pressure on the records, causing jacket bends and scratches.
In addition to how you store your vinyl, the placement of your vinyl is important. Areas that are exposed to heat and/or direct sunlight are common areas that can damage your vinyl as well as your printed sleeves. Rather than trying to find a location that provides the ideal temperature and lighting conditions, it is helpful to identify a stable location that is not located near radiators, hot electronics, or sun facing windows.
Selecting furniture that looks intentional and functions in reality
Once you have established your basic principles of storing your vinyl, your furniture selection can become the link between functionality and aesthetics. Most people’s homes end up with records placed on one shelf, the turntable on another surface, and other miscellaneous items scattered about everywhere they will fit. A single piece of furniture that provides both playback and storage typically appears calmer due to its ability to eliminate visual disconnection. This is why people seek out a record player stand with storage in the first place, not because it is fashionable, but because consolidating the setup gives the impression that the room is cohesive.
When selecting a record player stand, console, or cabinet, some functional evaluations may be more valuable than aesthetic labels. The surface height should allow for comfortable cueing, as a lower-than-ideal unit forces every listener to perform a bend-and-reach operation each time they listen. Stability is equally as important, as a wobbly top creates a nuisance for daily usage, and increases the likelihood of unintended contact with the records.
Closed storage is also available to help quiet a visually active room. Doors or drawers reduce the repetitive display of colorful spines, creating a quieter feeling regardless of the size of the collection. Even though doors and drawers are closed, they can still be beneficial for vinyl as long as the internal arrangement supports and holds the records upright, rather than allowing them to slouch.
Cube systems can be visually appealing, but must be restrained. If every cube represents a different type of item, the overall appearance is busy. A more calm approach would be to designate some of the cubes to records, and leave the others simple and uncluttered. Examples include using neutral-colored baskets, or limiting the number of objects displayed to a few that match each other’s color scheme.
Storing vinyl in a way that remains organized throughout the week
Many organizations appear well-organized at first, yet as quickly as people return to a typical daily routine, those organizations deteriorate. Generally, the solution to this problem is not to develop a more complicated organization method, but to create an organization method that duplicates how individuals utilize their files/records.
A “return spot” nearby the turntable can be more efficient than expected to have a record placed into a “temporary return home” (a small bin or a thin section) when the record needs to be placed back onto the shelf or crate after being played. When you do not leave records on chairs or media units, there is less chance of them getting lost or misplaced. As the week progresses, the space will remain tidy and the occasional reset will prevent clutter from taking hold.
Also, organize your vinyl collection in a manner similar to how you browse through your vinyl collection. While alphabetical organization may be ideal for many, it may not work for everyone. If you typically listen to music based upon a specific mood or genre, then organizing the vinyl in large sections based on the genres with minimal internal organization can often seem more natural. The goal is to obtain the vinyl without having to manipulate it excessively; the more difficult it is to put a vinyl away, the more likely it will become part of a stack.
