The vinyl revival is well and truly here. But as your record collection grows, so does the eternal problem: where do you store them all?
While standard wooden pine crates from the hardware store are the perfect dimensions for 12-inch LPs, let’s be honest—they look a bit lifeless. If you’ve spent years curating a collection of your favourite albums, your storage should reflect that same passion for music.
This weekend, skip the boring storage bins and try out this music-themed decoupage project. By upcycling an ordinary wooden crate using vintage gig posters, old band flyers, or classic sheet music, you can create a bespoke piece of music room décor.
Here is our step-by-step guide to building the ultimate, roadie-worthy record crate, complete with a few professional finishing tips to make it look truly high-end.
What You’ll Need:
-
A sturdy wooden crate (ensure the interior is at least 13x13 inches to comfortably fit vinyl records)
-
Fine-grit sandpaper
-
A collection of paper ephemera (old NME magazines, gig posters, concert flyers, or sheet music)
-
Decoupage medium (like Mod Podge) and a wide, flat brush
-
A brayer or an old credit card (for smoothing)
-
A high-quality aerosol spray paint (more on this in Step 2!)
-
A clear polyurethane or lacquer topcoat
Step 1: Prep and Prime
Before you start gluing anything, take your fine-grit sandpaper and smooth out the entire crate. Pay special attention to the interior edges and handles. The last thing you want is a rogue wood splinter scratching the sleeve of your pristine pressing of Abbey Road! Once sanded, wipe the crate down with a damp cloth to remove all the dust.
Step 2: Create an Interior "Pop" of Colour
Here is the secret that separates amateur craft projects from boutique, professional-looking furniture: don't ignore the inside of the crate.
Leaving the inside raw wood while the outside is heavily decorated can look unfinished. Instead, paint the interior a bold, solid colour that contrasts with the paper collage on the outside. Brushing on cheap acrylic craft paint can leave streaky brush marks on raw pine. For a smooth, vibrant, factory-quality finish, we recommend using a professional aerosol.
Because we specialise in custom instrument finishes here at Rothko & Frost, we always reach for our premium aerosol spray paints for projects like this. Our nitrocellulose and acrylic aerosols are highly pigmented, level out beautifully on wood, and dry incredibly fast.
Pro Tip: Try painting the inside of your crate a classic vintage guitar colour! A vibrant [Fiesta Red] or a cool [Daphne Blue] interior looks absolutely stunning peeking out from behind your record sleeves. Mask off the outside edges of your crate, give the inside two even coats of aerosol spray, and let it dry.
Step 3: Curate and Cut
While your interior paint is drying, prep your paper. If you’re going for a messy, punk-rock dive bar aesthetic, tear your gig posters and flyers into random, jagged shapes. If you want a cleaner, more vintage look (like classical sheet music), use a craft knife and ruler to cut straight, precise squares and rectangles.
Note: If you are printing out your own posters from the internet to use, make sure you print them on a laser printer. Inkjet printer ink will smear when it gets wet with decoupage glue!
Step 4: The Decoupage Process
Once the interior paint is fully dry, it’s time to tackle the outside.
-
Work in small sections. Apply a thin, even layer of your decoupage glue directly onto the wood.
-
Lay down your paper, and immediately use your brayer (or the edge of an old credit card) to smooth it out from the centre to the edges. This pushes out air bubbles and prevents wrinkling.
-
Overlap your flyers and posters to create a seamless, chaotic collage effect. Wrap the paper carefully around the outside corners.
Step 5: Seal for the Long Haul
Vinyl records are heavy, and sliding them in and out of a crate will eventually cause friction on the edges. To protect your beautiful decoupage work from peeling or scratching, you need a tough topcoat.
Once your decoupage glue is 100% dry, seal the outside of the crate. You can brush on a few layers of hard-wearing polyurethane, or, for an ultra-smooth, glass-like finish, you can hit the outside with a professional clear gloss lacquer spray.
The Final Result
Pop on your favourite record, step back, and admire your work. For a final functional upgrade, you can even screw four small caster wheels to the bottom of the crate so you can easily roll your heavy collection around the room.
Decoupage is a fantastic way to pay homage to the bands you love, and by taking the time to properly paint the interior and seal the exterior, you've created a piece of functional art that will last for years.
Ready to start building? Head over to Rothko & Frost to browse our vast selection of custom aerosol colours to find the perfect interior shade for your new record crate!
