Once you have your mid mod mad pad up and running, it’s time for some tunes. We’re guessing that most lovers of vintage homes also have a hankering to hear musical favorites the old fashioned way, too — on incomparable, scratchy vinyl. Good news: Vintage LPs can generally be found very inexpensively at thrift stores and estate sales. And more good news: The album cover art may be as good as — or better than — the music. Yes: Displaying album covers as art on your walls can make for a wonderful wall display that reflects your unique vibe. Even more so, because you can periodically swapped out the LP covers to suit your mood. Above: Readers Drew and Eric have used their record collection fill a wall in their cozy reading nook — and add some hip color to the space. Read on to see how seven more Retro Renovation readers have used records in their decor.
Above: Reader MidCenturyThriftyGal has grouped her collection of framed records over the fireplace — and also around the corner. When you hang your album covers tightly together like this, the grouping reads as one large piece of art. The options for making groupings of records are endless. Since records are all uniform squares — it is easy to arrange them in patterns — which can create a variety of looks for your walls. The variety of colors, designs and subject matters on vintage album covers vary widely too — so no matter your taste, you can curate a collection that will complement — or stand out from — your surrounding decor.
Readers Rob and Julie have allowed a little more space in between record frames in their grouping. Combined with the more subdued color schemes of the records they chose to display — they achieve a somewhat calmer “piece of art” — their little pup looks like he is ready to take a nap.
Reader Jill used a similar amount of space between her records — all Beatles — in her Beatles themed gray and pink bathroom. Note, we’d guess that the humidity in a bathroom might do damage to album covers, even when they are encased in glass — or especially when they are encased in glass — over time. So, best to check the market value of your album covers first. Album cover art is a collectible, and some are very valuable!
Reader Uncle Atom tacked up his records on the wood paneling in his rec room — with a vintage turntable close at hand. His colorful and kitschy arrangement of records goes well with the pattern on his floor tiles — and the subject matter of the albums he chose to display add a youthful energy to the space.
This reader has used albums to add color to their otherwise neutral space. The wider spacing allows them to fill more wall space and spread the color around for maximum impact.
Above: Reader Andrea’s album art display has a theme — it’s a “bongo wall”. Very clever!
Instead of hanging multiple record albums together in a group to display as art — reader Tina has selected a favorite record to display — letting it stand alone.
Whether you choose your records to exhibit based on your favorite genre or artist, or simply for the color of decorative nature of the cover design — hanging framed vintage record albums make a great piece of art in a mid century styled home.
Jessica says
What a great post. I love the albums in the bathroom. I never would have thought to put them there. Just a tip, you can also get the album frames at AC Moore or Michaels, and use a 40 percent off coupon and get a pretty good deal.
We do our albums by color group, so right now its yellows and oranges. Its led zepplin, marvin gaye live, and judas priest, which are quite the combination. Someday I’d love to do a whole wall of them around my basement fireplace. This website is a nonstop spot for inspiration.
Frances G. says
We have tons of albums and do listen to many of them, but have a section of Hawaiian LPs hung in our Eichler kitchen. There’s a dozen hanging on skinny wall spaces between the long windows looking into our atrium and they are always a conversation piece. The covers are so fun we *had* to display them!
Maryanna says
I agree that hanging them on the wall means you can’t listen to them! That’s no fun. My husband and I have a large collection of vinyl and a fantastic turntable. We created a comfortable listening nook in the corner of our den, with a chaise longue and comfy pillows.
I suppose if you’ve got an extremely rare or valuable record, it could be frame-worthy. Or perhaps if you only had the jacket and the record was damaged or missing. Otherwise, I’d have to leave it on the shelf with the others.
Mark Reynolds says
Maryanna, Why would one leave the vinyl inside the album cover, if framing the cover? It would be easy enough to store the albums in the inner sleeve(or buy extra sleeves to store them in. one could even keep more records by the turntable that way, as there would be less space taken up by the cardboard covers…It seems ideal, and actually more functional, for playing the music!
Uncle Atom says
I do play mine on the old blonde record player. The plastic holders makr it easy to swap them out, so in December I put up the Christmas albums, then swap them out. I’ve got themes – old TV shows, old teenage dance covers (I almost have enough twist variations to fill the wall of 43), and I’m working on covers featuring a flower power/psychedelic theme, cars, boats, trains and planes, mid century furnishings and more. Gives me something to look for at sales. 🙂
Dan says
Back when I was in college in the mid 80’s, I used to do decorate my various apartments with vintage album covers. I went mostly for the “lifestyle” records – covers showing fabulous furniture, clothes, etc.
As for nowadays, I have a USB turntable and like to pick up albums that look interesting and convert them to digital. But I use a “catch and release” – one they’re done, it’s back to the thrift store – I spent too many years lugging albums around to hold onto them 🙂
metalcabinetsdontburn says
I like that ‘catch ‘n release’ idea. – had a laugh when I read it. And unlike the poof fish, little or no harm is done to the record!
Lynne says
Oh, yeah, go to the thrift stores. I volunteer at my local store, and our LP’s are sold for 10 cents each. Some of the Christmas ones have fabulous vintage graphics. You could swap out the everyday ones for Christmas ones at the holidays! We just has a fabulous Elvis Christmas album donated.
BlueJay says
I don’t hang the cover art, but I do play them. We’ve switched almost exclusively to vinyl. If stored and maintained properly, vinyl (even vintage vinyl), should sound fantastic for years. Our record collection only seems to expand though, along with our books… 😀
Allycat says
Ikea has cheap album frames for sale, perfectly sized! If you live near a store, they are in the Home Decoration Dept. 🙂
Just another Pam says
Thanks for the tip Allycat! I’ve got a couple of covers I want to display, including one called After the Dance showing all the couples in a 50’s kitchen that’s adorable.
Uncle Atom says
Thanks for including our display, Kate and Pam. I use a transparent vinyl plastic hanger shaped like an upside-down Y. I buy them from ebay seller “dsmyser.”
Kate says
Thanks for the tip Uncle Atom — I’ll have to check those out.
AD says
Tip: I use special album frames that I found at Rejuvenation Hardware.
KarenD says
Target also has album frames sold individually or in sets of 4.
http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-record-album-frame-black-12×12/-/A-10353617#prodSlot=medium_1_2&term=record+album+frames
bryantm3 says
i don’t know— i’m young so maybe older folks don’t know, but vinyl records are back now, and we actually listen to them. hanging them on the wall like they’re some anachronistic reminder of a bygone era… just seems weird. i wouldn’t hang a record unless it was a signed copy or very rare or something like that. i mean, i have 200 albums easily. it would be like hanging DVDs on the wall. why would i do that? i couldn’t ever watch them!
do you remember back to the future 2, when he went in the “80s cafe” in the future and it was hilarious because looked nothing like the 80s? that was a very clever satire of the “50s style diners” that started popping up in the late 80s, that were so exaggerated and overdone that they looked little to nothing like a diner in the 1950s would. i call that the “faux-50s” look. one of the staples of these “50s diners” was gluing records on the wall. but really think about it, do you really think people in the 50s hung records on the wall? i know it’s the artwork, so it’s a bit different, but to me it just feels phony.
laurella says
I was born in the 50s, and my parents had albums displayed on the wall in our basement rec room.
Jeff says
It’s just a kitschy thing to do. It’s not because this was done back in the ’50s. Yes, “younger” people are listening to vinyl these days and have been for a long while (I was one of them and still am). Also, you don’t need to actually hang the cover WITH the record inside it. Maybe you mentioned this because you’re trolling the site for some reason, but you just hang the record cover and leave the record in its liner sleeve.
Album artwork can be appreciated as actual artwork for hanging in the home. And it doesn’t have to be retro ’50s records. I personally will be hanging my favorite album artwork regardless of era.