This IKEA record storage bench stores 400 vinyls

Bench seating and record storage in one.

Our new pool table room needed some seating that wouldn’t get in the way of a player trying to make the perfect shot!

Our lone pub table only had two pub-height stools and the room didn’t offer much room for more tables. So we decided to put some comfortable bench seating along two of the usable walls.

That left one corner for the pub table and one corner for the stereo turntable system.

Now, where to seat pool players and observers, plus find a place for hundreds of LP record albums my husband had amassed over the years?

IKEA items used: 
kallax 1x4

KALLAX shelf unit | Buy on IKEA.com

Other materials and tools:  
  • 4″ foam cut to size
  • Sewing machine
  • Upholstery fabric
  • Cording
  • Zipper to fit length

IKEA KALLAX Record storage bench

Enter the sturdy KALLAX single bookshelf unit in black, which we assembled, then laid down flat on one long side, topped with a comfortable custom-made upholstered durable foam cushion.

Strong woven baskets easily held around 90 LPs, so we were able to store nearly 400 LPs in one bench unit. All titles were easy to access, too.


Related: DIY home bar built from BILLY bookcases


Upholstery for the bench

For the bench seating, I stopped at a nearby commercial foam shop and they were happy to cut 4″ foam to custom measurements.

process

I was able to select the density of the foam, too, to make sure it was comfortable, yet held up to a lot of use. The foam place also had a limited selection of woven upholstery, one of which worked perfectly for our decor, complementing the felt on the pool table.

Lengths of inexpensive color-matching zippers were also available there. Foam, fabric, zipper–all in one shop.

Since I’ve been sewing for many years, I already had some upholstery cord to create the piping. So using the stash I had I made a box-style cushion cover with a hidden zipper.

record storage bench IKEA KALLAX

It probably took two days to get everything cut, assembled, sewn and fitted.

Each completed bench storage unit cost approximately a total of $85.

With these benches, we increased our seating in the pool table room from two to eight.

record storage bench IKEA KALLAX

We’ve had up to three grown men sitting on these benches at times, without any sagging, creaking or space problems. The KALLAX units are very sturdy and built to hold all that weight!

These bench record storage units were the best solution, at a great price.

~ by Joni Hames