Create A Vinyl Album Accent Wall With An IKEA Home Decor Staple

For years, vinyl dominated the music scene as the easiest way to take your favorite recordings home. While they saw a significant downturn in popularity as more accessible and lower-cost music formats like CDs and digital downloads took over, nostalgic music lovers are responsible for a vinyl renaissance over the last few years. So, whether you're still creating a starter set of your favorite artists' records or picking your favorites from a collection built over decades, it's worth showing off. Thankfully, this simple IKEA picture ledge hack can allow you to easily display and swap out your records as wall décor.

One of the most appealing parts of collecting vinyl is the fact that it can double as a highly personal décor piece. Instead of having to buy prints or posters that showcase your favorite musicians, you can just display your vinyl collection on the wall to both decorate and keep them easily accessible. Unfortunately, however, it's incredibly easy to damage vinyl, so it's important to choose a display method that's safe. Simple IKEA ledges are a great choice for the job, and are sure to keep your records in pristine condition wherever you choose to create your display.

If you're not familiar, picture ledges are essentially a specialized kind of floating shelf that's meant to securely hold onto frames and other art. While normal floating shelves can do the job in a pinch, picture ledges have a slight lip at the front that helps to keep your items from slipping off. This clever vinyl storage solution allows you to display your records without damaging the cover with pins.

IKEA has a few different options for wood picture ledges available online in multiple different sizes. The MOSSLANDA picture ledge is the lowest-cost option at just $9.99, but also the smallest. It's a little under 22 inches wide, so it can hold one standard-sized record with several inches of room on either side. This is great to create a shelf to show what album is currently playing, but you can also pair several of these together to create a custom gallery wall. There's also the MÅLERÅS picture ledge for $16.99. It's a very similar style, but it's made of solid bamboo and slightly longer at 29 1/2 inches wide. This option can hold two records comfortably, but, of course, you can hang multiple shelves to show off your full collection if desired.

IKEA also has other options to fit the style of your space if wood is too rustic. For a sleek and modern look, the LINDÅSEN display shelf comes in black metal. Or, for a material that blends with a gamut of design styles, the retailer's MELLÖSA Picture ledge is transparent, allowing you to see your covers from top to bottom.

The most logical spot for a record gallery wall is right above your record player, but this unique décor can also work in just about any other space in your house. Stagger a few picture ledges upward to decorate your staircase wall, hang them vertically in a narrow space, or mount them above the mantle to make the most of those awkward areas. Your display can be as large or as small as you want, so don't be afraid to get creative with your placement.

Once you've decided on the layout, there's also the chance to add some more personal touches to really make your display shine. You can paint the shelves if there isn't a color that matches your space, install illumination like these HitLights LED Strip Lights to highlight the display, or bring in other small décor items to break things up. The possibilities are truly limitless, so let the ideas flow until you've created the perfect setup for your space.