February 11, 2025

Designing for the Record: Small Homes That Make Room for Music

Record players and vinyl collections aren’t just accessories – they’re integral to a home’s personality and function.

Record players and vinyl collections aren’t just accessories – they’re integral to a home’s personality and function. With clever storage and multifunctional design, these homes prove that no space is too small to house a big love of analogue sound.

Writing:

Emma Sharpe

Photography:

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Built-in Storage

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Design Inspiration

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GET HANDS DIRTY content creator Cristiana Felgueiras designed this **43sqm/463sqft Porto home** for herself and her partner with customization top of mind. A work desk to the right of a large storage unit cleverly stows the couple’s keyboard in a pull-out drawer for easy access and seamless storage.

A custom-built media console acts as a sleek divider for the main space thanks to streamlined hidden storage and ingenious features – like a pop-out shelf dedicated solely to the record player.

“We wanted to live in a fully equipped and functional space that could fit our musical instruments and many other important objects, while maintaining an airy central space.”

—Cristiana Felgueiras on GET HANDS DIRTY / Tiny House

Architect Taïna Pichon prioritized natural light and the client’s love of music while designing this **42sqm/452sqft apartment in Jourdain, Paris**. A turntable and cherished record collection became the focal point of the living room, illuminated by large windows overlooking the balcony.

Wall-mounted lights and floating shelves seamlessly blend into the surrounding walls, allowing the records to stand out against a neutral backdrop.

“The client loves listening to music, and he has a great record collection, so we made this the central part of the living room.”

—Taïna Pichon on Renovation D’un Appartement À Jourdain, Paris

This **19sqm/194sqft compact home in Tokyo** has been meticulously designed by owner Takeshi Hosaka to ensure sufficient space and amenities for the habits and hobbies he and his wife enjoy most, including listening to records.

Some 300 records greet Hosaka and his wife as they enter the home, stored on simple wooden shelves embedded in the concrete walls.

Wooden shelves above the washing machine house the owner’s amp, speakers, and record player, while display slots in the adjacent concrete wall allow the record sleeves to double as wall art.

The meticulous, “down to the last millimetre” design, explained designer Arts Serrano, allowed the 24 square metres of **Quezon City’s Unit B612** to feel much more expansive and functional, offering client JP a personalised space that honours his creative interests.

“We played around with geometries to create custom built elements that maximize pretty much all odd corners into storage and display for his collections.”

– Arts Serrano on Unit B612

The living area is both spacious and compact, featuring a custom floor-to-ceiling unit divided into three vertical sections for JP’s record player, a large television, and a fold-out desk.

“The custom joinery is zoned into three sections: one for a record player, another which integrates the tv and media storage, and at the end, a fold-out desk for a cozy home office.”

– Arts Serrano on Unit B612

For interior designer Mara Manalo, the **35sqm/377sqft home in Manila’s busiest city** needed to be a creative refuge for its film director owner. Careful planning and attention to detail created a warm, cozy retreat that simultaneously echoes the aesthetics of a modern art museum.

The living area doubles as the entertainment area, prominently displaying a record player, records, and speakers under the 65” television.

HEIMAT studio designed countless functional storage elements of the **55sqm/592sqft Seville home** into a custom birch unit that runs the length of the wall, ensuring a more adaptable and open environment for the rest of the apartment to help highlight the client’s musical accoutrements.

“Next to the balcony door, we have a long storage unit. It’s an old piece of wardrobe that the owner upcycled and turned into a storage unit where the client plays their record player and record collection.”

—Javier Salvador and Yago García on Furniture House

The owner upcycled an old wardrobe into a punchy red storage unit that displays a beloved vinyl collection and record player.

“The clients were looking for a flexible space to use as a home office, to do yoga and exercise, to play the keyboard, and at the same time, to be able to host guests when they come to visit.”

—Javier Salvador and Yago García on Furniture House

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Small Homes That Make Room for Music

Let’s be real – true music lovers aren’t always logical. Despite their convenience, music streaming and wireless speakers haven’t diminished the analogue aficionado's preference for vinyl. If anything, digital technology has only deepened a reverence for tactile, intentional listening experiences. But a taste for nostalgia can present a challenge when dealing with limited space. With meticulous design and creative solutions, however, a home’s record player can become more than a tool for playing music – it can become a ritual, a centrepiece, and a statement. Even in small homes, music lovers are finding ways to honour their collections while maintaining functional, clutter-free living spaces.

Designing for the Record

When space is at a premium, storage becomes a trade-off, forcing homeowners to pare down possessions or risk clutter. But for those unwilling to sacrifice their vinyl collections, innovative solutions are a must. In Porto, content creator Cristiana Felgueiras of GET HANDS DIRTY designed her 43sqm/463sqft home to seamlessly integrate music into daily life. A custom-built media console features a pop-out record player that can be discreetly stowed away, while a slide-out drawer in an adjacent workspace keeps a keyboard plugged in and ready to play whenever the mood strikes.

Similarly, Furniture House (55sqm/592sqft) in Seville embraces storage as both an aesthetic and functional choice. Architects Javier Salvador and Yago García of HEIMAT studio designed a built-in birch unit that incorporates storage for everything from clothing to kitchenware, allowing for the rest of the home to maintain an open, minimal feel. Balancing efficiency with personality, the design created space to showcase the owner’s most beloved possessions – a red upcycled wardrobe housing their record player and vinyl collection, for one.

Living in Stereo

For creatives with small spaces in big cities, home isn’t just a place to sleep – it’s a retreat, a workspace, and a refuge for artistic interests. Unit B612 in Quezon City, Manila, is one such space. Designed by architect Arts Serrano of one/zero, the 24sqm/258sqft home is a compact yet expansive-feeling space that centres its film director’s creative lifestyle. A custom-built floor-to-ceiling unit divides the lower section into three parts: one for the record player, another a niche for a large television, and the third a fold-out desk for at-home work. Just a short distance away in the very same neighbourhood, Avida Sola (35sqm/377sqft) offers a cozy yet modern escape from the city’s hustle. Interior designer Mara Manalo designed the open living area as an entertainment sanctuary, prominently displaying a record player, records, and speakers beneath a 65-inch TV, blending function with visual harmony.

The Art of the Album

Even though it's all about the sound – it's not actually all about the sound. Records and players are beautiful objects in their own right, yet showcasing them still requires careful aesthetic balance to avoid visual clutter. In Paris, Renovation D’un Appartement (42sqm/452sqft) by Taïna Pichon of Meraki Architects treats the client’s cherished record collection as the centrepiece of the living room. Shelves and wall-mounted lights blend seamlessly into the neutral backdrop, allowing the record sleeves to double as wall art. On an even smaller scale, Takeshi Hosaka’s Love2 House (19sqm/194sqft) thoughtfully accommodates the couple’s passions – including listening to records. Around 300 vinyls are stored at the entrance, while wooden shelves above the washing machine house the amplifier, speakers, and record player. Subtle slots in the concrete wall allow for the display of album covers, treating them as visual elements in the home’s overall design.

Prioritizing music stations in small homes means weighing display against storage, visual efficiency against aesthetic maximalism. But these compact creative refuges demonstrate that with clever design, a record collection doesn’t have to compete with daily life – it can be the heartbeat of a home.

Writing:

Emma Sharpe

Photography:

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