Creative Ways To Display A Vinyl Record Collection
The beauty of LPs is their appeal is as auditory as it is visual.
The beauty of LPs is their appeal is as auditory as it is visual.
Maybe you’ve been amassing a pile of vinyl since “Thriller” was released, or perhaps you’re continuing to add to an inherited stack handed down through generations—or maybe you’re new to the scene altogether.
The beauty of LPs is their appeal is as auditory as it is visual. “Vinyl records are to an audiophile what trophies are to an athlete: a symbol of passion,” says Amy Vroom owner of The Residency Bureau design studio in Seattle.
Part of the joy in having them is how they’re displayed. Here, ideas from the design pros to maximize your collection for your listening and viewing pleasure.
Curate the Experience
“Displaying a record collection is an opportunity to create visual interest or a curated immersive experience. A shelf full of records alone is a study in texture, whether organized randomly or arranged by colour. An entire room can be transformed into a visual and auditory experience with a fluid temporal component as memories are triggered by navigating the soundtracks of time past.
“It is important to give the user the space and furnishings that facilitate lingering. Absorbing an entire LP is an opportunity for escape. The optimal record experience includes a cozy chair, a good sound system and room to rearrange the collection for a curated experience. Room should be considered for a small collection on heavy rotation in close proximity to the turntable and lounge chair(s).
“The most alluring presentation of a record collection includes a combination of albums displayed with cover art in view and the majority of the collection arranged side by side, inviting the viewer to dig deeper into the collection. Presenting records facing the viewer at counter-top height is a convenient way to allow users to thumb through a collection.”
Give It prominence
“A record display serves as a constant reminder of your love of music and sound. Any time I can design with my client’s interests in mind, I create more meaningful spaces for them. Finding subtle but imaginative ways to echo a passion for music is an amazing way to integrate vinyl and record players into a space without going over the top.
“One idea is to use a box-like shelf that has the width of a record and sufficient depth to store many albums at a time. You can flip through them like you would in a record shop. Then you can always swap out the first in the group as an ever-changing display. For one project, I selected a credenza with a pattern carved in wood that evokes the lines of a sound frequency. It’s something you might not notice consciously but creates an overall sense of cohesion.
“If someone is a true audiophile, the record player needs to be front and centre. It becomes the heart of the room—whether it’s a night in or a conversation point when entertaining. I always advise people not to put a record player behind closed doors if they want to listen to albums.
— Amy Vroom owner of The Residency Bureau design studio in Seattle
Make It Part of the Décor
“You can learn so much about someone by their musical taste, so why not let that shine through in a home. A record display is another way of telling your story to family and friends, adding a very personal element to any room.
“Instead of covering the walls of your living room in art, try a display of record jackets that can rotate as your mood, preferences and décor changes. Many record jackets are quite beautiful, with quite a bit of creative effort put into making them. For a recent project, I installed thin, arrow ledge-like shelves on the walls to exhibit different album jackets. Each one is fun and colourful, and all together they make a bold impact.
“In addition to the main living room, a smaller library or office is a great place to spotlight a record collection. No matter where you put your record player and vinyls, find a beautiful cabinet with open shelves for records below and place the player on top.
“Elevating the equipment, as well as the record jackets, makes it feel special. For a recent project, instead of hiding stereo equipment in a cabinet, we put them on display. This client has a turntable that is so well crafted, it’s truly a work of art, and I am turning their former wet bar into a chic DJ booth.”.
— Phillip Thomas, founder and principal of Phillip Thomas Inc. in New York City
Let Guests Help Themselves
“Vinyl records add a cool factor to a room. For a pre-teen client, for example, we displayed her small collection on her dresser—we didn’t want this display to be too forced.
“Adding a record player in a living room console invites guests to pick a record and keep the party going. Keeping the record player accessible to guests means the music never gets stale. Vinyl has a sound of its own, and letting guests feel free to pick a song is a great way to set the tempo of the evening.
“The record player is a hot spot for entertaining; make sure your guests help themselves to your collection.”
Reprinted by permission of Mansion Global. Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: August 4, 2021.
Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Concern about electric vehicles’ appeal is mounting as some customers show a reluctance to switch
Auto dealers across many parts of the country say electric vehicles are becoming too hard a sell for buyers worried about the range, reliability and price of these models.
When Paul LaRochelle heard Ford Motor was coming out with an electric pickup truck, the dealer was excited about the prospects for his business.
“We thought we could build a million of them and sell them,” said LaRochelle, a vice president at Sheehy Auto Stores, which sells vehicles from a dozen brands in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
The reality has been less positive. On Sheehy’s car lots, LaRochelle says there is a six- to 12-month supply of EVs, compared with a month of gasoline-powered vehicles.
With automakers set to release a barrage of new electric models in the coming years, concerns are mounting among auto retailers about whether the technology will have broader appeal given that many customers are still reluctant to make the switch.
Battery-powered models have been piling up on car lots, dealers say, as EV sales growth has slowed in the U.S. this year. Car companies have been offering a combination of discounts and lower interest-rate deals in an effort to juice demand. But it hasn’t been enough, because buyer reticence extends beyond the price tag, dealers say.
“I’m not hearing the consumer confidence in the technology,” said Mary Rice, dealer principal at Toyota of Greensboro in North Carolina. “People aren’t beating down the door to buy these things, and they all have a different excuse why they aren’t buying one.”
Customers cite concerns about vehicles burning through a battery charge faster in cold weather or not being able to travel as far as they expected on a single charge, dealers say. Potential buyers also worry that chargers aren’t as readily accessible as gas stations or might be broken.
Franchise dealerships fear that the push to roll out new models will inundate them with hard-to-sell vehicles. Research firm S&P Global Mobility said there are 56 EV models for sale in the U.S. this year, and the number is expected to nearly double to 100 next year.
“I start to think, you know maybe we should just all pump the brakes a little bit,” Rice said.
A group of dealers expressed their concerns about the government’s role in pushing electric vehicles in a letter last month to President Biden.
A Toyota Motor spokesman said the majority of dealers have become “increasingly more confident in their ability to sell Toyota EV products.”
At Ford, the company’s electric-vehicle sales are rising, including for its F-150 Lightning pickup, but demand isn’t evenly spread across the country, according to a spokesman.
Dealers say that after selling an EV, they sometimes hear complaints about charging and the vehicles not always meeting their advertised range. In some cases, customers seek to return them to the dealer shortly after buying them.
“We have a steady number of clients that have attempted to or flat out returned their car,” said Sheehy’s LaRochelle.
While EVs remain a small but rapidly expanding part of the new-car market, the pace of growth has slowed this year. Electric-vehicle sales increased 48% in the first 11 months, compared with a 69% jump during the same period in 2022, according to Motor Intelligence. Sales remain concentrated in a few states, with California accounting for the largest chunk, S&P Global Mobility data found.
The cooling growth has raised broader questions in the industry about whether car companies face a temporary hurdle or a longer-term demand challenge. Automakers have invested billions of dollars to bring more EV models to the market, and many analysts and car executives say they remain optimistic that sales will continue to expand.
“Although the rate of growth has slowed recently, EV demand is clearly moving in the right direction,” said General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra on a recent conference call with analysts. A combination of more affordable model options and better charging infrastructure would help encourage more people to buy electric vehicles, she said.
There are also varying views within the dealer community about how quickly buyers will adopt the technology.In hot spots for electric-vehicle demand, such as Los Angeles, dealers say their battery-powered models are some of their top sellers. Those popular EV markets also tend to have more mature public charging networks.
Selling an electric car or truck outside of those demand centres is proving more difficult.
Longtime EV owner Carmella Roehrig thought she was ready to go full-electric and sold her backup gasoline vehicle. But after the 62-year-old North Carolina resident found herself stranded last year in a rural area of South Carolina, she changed her mind. Roehrig’s Tesla Model S got a flat tire, but none of the stores in the area carried tires for a Tesla. She ended up paying a worker at a nearby shop to drive her home.
Roehrig still has her Tesla but bought a pickup truck for long road trips.
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“I have these conversations with people who say we’ll all be in EVs in 15 years. I say: ‘I’m not so sure. I’ve tried to do it,’” Roehrig said. “I think you need a gas backup.”
Customers who want to ditch their gas vehicle for environmental reasons are sometimes hesitant, said Mickey Anderson, president of Baxter Auto Group, which owns dealerships in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.
“We’re in the Colorado Springs market. If this is your sole mode of transportation, and you’re in a market in extremes of elevation and temperature, the actual range is very limited,” Anderson said. “It makes it extremely impractical.”
Dealers representing around 4,000 stores across the U.S. signed the letter in November addressed to Biden, saying the administration’s proposed auto-emissions regulations designed to promote electric-vehicle sales are unrealistic. The signatories ranged from stores owned by family businesses to publicly held giants such as AutoNation and Lithia Motors.
“Some customers are in the market for electric vehicles, and we are thrilled to sell them. But the majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change,” the letter said.
Some carmakers are pushing back EV-rollout plans. GM said in mid-October that it would delay the opening of an electric pickup plant by a year to late 2025. In response to weaker-than-expected consumer demand, Ford said in late October that it would defer $12 billion of planned spending on electric-vehicle investment.
Since September, dealers on average took more than two months to sell an EV, compared with 40 days for all vehicles, according to car-shopping website Edmunds.
While discounts have helped boost sales of some electric vehicles, they also have led to repercussions for some current owners because it reduces the value of their vehicles, dealers say.
“Most people don’t have the confidence to buy an EV and know what it will be worth in 10-15 years,” said Rice from the Toyota dealership.
It may take some time for the industry to adjust because it is still in an early stage of switching to electric vehicles, Sheehy’s LaRochelle said.
“We’re asking for this market to grow organically,” he said.
Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’