apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Look!: Record Storage in Non-Working Fireplace

040709record-02.jpgWe were at a friend's apartment this weekend and noticed their record collection tucked away inside the home's non-working fireplace. Not only is it a unique way to store records--it's located in a great spot (right next to the record player). More ways to store records after the jump!

 
 

040709record-01.jpgOur run-in with records continued with a trip to the Grove yesterday which landed us at Barnes & Noble. While we were browsing the magazines, we spotted LPs for sale. While we've been hip to records making a comeback for a little while, we had no idea buying records (again) had gone mainstream. We were quite pleased with the surprise selection at the bookstore and wanted to revisit some great options for storing your record collection.

Alternative Ideas For Storing Records

Tags

Look!, Look!, organizing, storing records

Related Links

Share

Comments (15)

meh. then you gotta deal with people questioning why you have records in the fireplace.

posted by reiskid on April 7th 2009 at 12:18pm
view reiskid's profile

Doesn't work for me visually, and it's sort of low, if you need to find a title. But then, I have 1,000s of LPs, so I'm all about the Expedit.

posted by Palmetto on April 7th 2009 at 12:24pm
view Palmetto's profile

That's a great idea, I love this! I'm sure you've gotten tons of compliments on this! I love the painted brick, too.

It's a lot better to turn the space into something you need rather than pretend like it's still a fireplace and clutter your home with record storage.

I'm sure no one will question why you have this...unless it's your grandmother.

posted by s2k on April 7th 2009 at 12:25pm
view s2k's profile

if you're lucky enough to have a fireplace, working or not, you should play it up, make it the focal point of the room, and enjoy it. Even an ugly fireplace can be dressed up to look good.

posted by cathie on April 7th 2009 at 12:31pm
view cathie's profile

I would put in cluster of candles in the fireplace instead, it's not as if the records are attractive.

posted by Laucus116 on April 7th 2009 at 12:50pm
view Laucus116's profile

I have albums too and use a 2x4 expidet on its side to store them in my dining nook.

Works perfectly except I have a bunch more at Mom's I need to go through and toss those I don't want and bring the rest home, then find room to store them all.

posted by ciddyguy on April 7th 2009 at 12:51pm
view ciddyguy's profile

We turned our unused fireplace into music storage and it turned out brilliantly. We have a CD chimney and a record filled box. I'll have to remember to submit photos. . . .

posted by speck on April 7th 2009 at 1:07pm
view speck's profile

we literally just moved and on saturday i filled the fireplace with all of our records. i think mine looks better, :) but i don't think hers is ugly.

candles in the fireplace is so over done. plus, if you have children or a baby on the way like we do, or pets for that matter, candles on the floor is simply a safety hazard.

also, not everyone wants a huge expedit or even a small one filling their houses or wall space. i prefer to use what i have.

posted by dosergirl on April 7th 2009 at 1:18pm
view dosergirl's profile

I'm a fan of displaying vinyl pretty much anywhere, but I agree that the execution of this is lacking. I like the idea, though - could be a brilliant before-and-after...

posted by firecracker on April 7th 2009 at 1:23pm
view firecracker's profile

sorry, this is terrible looking. proportionally they don't fit. I know not many objects would "look at home" in a fireplace other than well...a fire... but records?

move them out of the fireplace and find a nicer way to display your albums. you should either repaint it with a neutral color to downplay this area or repaint it and add a plant here.

You could also just put fireplace andirons in there and some logs. and make it look like it actually functions. I wouldn't draw attention to this area for any other purpose than what it's designed.

posted by thefink on April 7th 2009 at 1:43pm
view thefink's profile

Horrid. And why is the tile painted (let alone painted hideous colors)? Candle arrangements in fireplaces are also awful.

posted by arroyo on April 7th 2009 at 2:08pm
view arroyo's profile

I would worry less about dealing with why you use the fireplace to store your vinyl, and more about why you painted the fireplace orange and blue. ZOMG.

posted by LBhirise on April 7th 2009 at 2:09pm
view LBhirise's profile

Hmm - I guess I'm mostly surprised that someone who's keeping the vinyl doesn't have more records!

Some more alternative (and definitely more traditional) ways to store records can be found here and here.

posted by Jeri Dansky on April 7th 2009 at 3:11pm
view Jeri Dansky's profile

I think it's okay. I don't care for the colors the fireplace is painted, but that's not really the point.

The thing that bugs me is that I wish the shelf were deeper so that the albums didn't stick out. I don't know why that bothers me, but there you go.

posted by insanity_pepper on April 7th 2009 at 3:36pm
view insanity_pepper's profile

I keep books stacked in my fireplace for lack of shelves. The top is boarded up so I hung a tiny ikea chandelier leftover from a bare bulb in my previous apartment. You can barely see it. I like the element of surprise it adds. I must note I keep books that I have already ready in the fireplace because it's hard to grab one from the stack. And yes, they are color coded. All black and white.

posted by faithcrawford on April 8th 2009 at 4:54pm
view faithcrawford's profile