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A few weeks back, I revealed the new coffee table in our family room. I’m still obsessed with this round piece and can’t believe I waited so long to pull the trigger. When we discussed my new coffee table, I mentioned that I was now on a hunt for a record console. Our awesome neighbors are big music lovers and have an impressive record collection (over 600 albums!!) that they absolutely adore. When we told them we didn’t even have a record player, they surprised us with one of theirs on our doorstep the next day. Good neighbors are the best, aren’t they?!
Finn and I were pumped…a free record player? Ummm yes, please! We quickly tried to find a spot for it, but it was too deep for our built-ins and we really don’t have any other flat surfaces in our family room. We decided we would ditch our bar cart and replace it with a new piece of furniture specifically designed to be our record console.
So I started looking and looking, and ultimately I ended up finding this awesome wood piece.
Our New Record Console
I had a lot of must-haves for this piece. I needed something that would have secret storage, so I could hide some of the items from our bar cart (wine bottles, accessories, etc.) The piece needed to be deep enough for the record player, short enough to not block too much light from the windows, and the right length to fit next to our fireplace.
I can hardly believe I found something that checked off all of those boxes! Oh, and I adore the style! The light wood with the black metal works well with the other elements in this space.
If you’re trying to figure out exactly where this is in our place, it’s situated behind our large sectional near the front windows. This area has always been an awkward spot for me to decorate because it isn’t the focal point of the room (the built-ins are!), and we don’t really use our fireplace. For the past 2 years, it’s held our bar cart and then our Christmas tree during the holiday season.
Decorating the Record Console
Now let’s talk about styling this beauty because that wasn’t that easy either! Obviously, the record player and big box it comes with (no clue what that’s called…) had to be displayed. I also needed to have the speaker out too.
To make the speaker less of an eyesore, I added a tall plant next to it (from HomeGoods), as well as my cute “Good Vibes Only” sign.
Everyone always asks us if we actually use the glass decanters we display and we truly do! Each one is filled up with different types of liquor and we’re always re-filling them when they get low. Most of the decanters are from antique stores and flea markets from over the years, and we love feeling like grown-ups with our own pretty set of them.
The thin shelves were by far the most difficult to decorate. I kept sending pictures to Bridget as I was arranging things here and there to get her opinion. I ended up trying to keep it kinda simple with coffee table books on one shelf and a stack of record albums on another.
Speaking of which, our record collection is currently puny and we need to work on adding some new music to our household. A few weeks back we were at our local record store (Dusty Groove for you Chicagoans) and I asked you guys on Insta Stories for some recommendations on which albums to buy. We heard some awesome recs…from the Beatles to Bob Dylan. I’m absolutely clueless when it comes to music, so I’d love to hear some of your must-haves too!
On the final shelf, I added our little basket of polaroids. Whenever we have people over I try to whip out the polaroid camera to get some pics for our house. Bridget has actually been doing that too when people come over to visit baby Ben! An easy way to add some thoughtful touches to your home decor.
The only bad part about this spot is that there isn’t an outlet behind the record console. Instead, the only one is on the side wall. We purchased this slim power strip so we wouldn’t have a large outlet head sticking out from the wall. It isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely working for us!
I’ve also filled up the 2 lower cabinets with everything that was on our bar cart (and then some!). This holds wine bottles, extra bottles of alcohol, shakers, and even napkins and paper plates. Basically, this is our little party section of the house! I’m really happy and loving our new record console. Now we just need to get “cooler” when it comes to the actual music part. I’m hoping you guys can help me out with that one. Which albums do we need to add to our small collection?!
Casey
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