Are you an LP enthusiast? Have you always been a collector, or are you new to the world of vinyl? If you need somewhere to store and play your records but want to stick to a budget, here’s a quick and easy DIY to turn an old set of shelves into a handy LP storage unit…
When I saw this rather dowdy melamine shelf in the charity shop, I almost walked straight past it. But the curved chrome edges caught my eye and sparked an idea. What if I could turn this unit into a cool vinyl-playing station? Would a record player fit on top? Could I store LPs on the shelves? 
Luckily, the charity shop also sold records, so I picked one up to try the shelves for size. It fits! The bottom shelf was just deep enough to store LPs upright, which is the best way to store vinyl to keep it in good condition. So I snapped up the unit for just £8 and set about making it a little more jazzy.
As a bit of an enthusiast, I have two record players at home, so I debated for a long time about which player would be stored on the unit and, therefore, what colour to paint the shelves. I knew I wanted to keep the chrome – even though it was tarnished, I knew a quick scrub would bring it up to scratch. So it was just a case of deciding whether to go mid-century retro with my colour choice or try something a little more exciting.
If you can’t guess from the photos, I went for an 80s/90s neon paint effect. The shelves now look like something I would have loved to have in my teenage bedroom. In fact, it’s that sense of nostalgia that makes me love the unit so much now! DIYing with abandon was such fun – check out more of my photos and the step-by-step guide ‘How to create a storage unit for your vinyl’ on the Safestore blog to find out how I did it and to recreate this project for yourself. 
What do you think of this colour combination? I know it’s a bit of a ‘statement’ piece now that it’s covered in day-glow paint! With my monochrome living room as a backdrop, it gives a touch of colour to the room. But, of course, you could paint your own shelving unit any colours you want and match your own decor perfectly. Let me know if you give it a go yourself by leaving me a comment below.
One Response
great idea!