Everyone Owned One In The '60s — Now It's Begging To Become Your Bar Cabinet

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Some of the best decor pieces are repurposed furniture with a rich history. There are a variety of brilliant thrift store flips to add stylish storage to your home. Instead of turning your nose up at scuffed-up items or writing off furniture that isn't as popular in modern day homes, consider breathing new life into it for a stunning, custom look. One piece of popular '60s decor you can find at the thrift is an old-school record player.

Record players have been around since the 1800s. At first, music was recorded on cylindrical wax forms. We saw the first iterations of the vinyls we know and love a bit later in the early 1900s, and record players became more commonplace in homes around the 1960s and 1970s. It wasn't until the '80s and '90s that records started to decline in popularity due to newer types of physical media. Even though physical records have started to make a comeback with younger generations, there are still plenty of defunct record players collecting dust at thrift stores and antique shops.

While you could restore a record player to use for its intended purpose, a lot of the pieces you'll find at a thrift store aren't functional or they're missing key components such as the turntable. However, these beauties still have the potential to serve a purpose in your home. Floor-standing record player cabinets make for excellent bar cabinets with a bit of TLC. For this project, you'll need a degreaser, paint or stain, and new hardware amongst other parts to update the piece. Of course, each record player will be slightly different, so you'll need to adjust your approach based on what you're working with. However, there are some general steps to take regardless of the configuration of your piece.

Start by cleaning the furniture piece thoroughly. Use a soft rag and a diluted degreaser like La's Totally Awesome All-Purpose Cleaner for especially grimy cabinets. Next, gut the inside of the record player cabinet. Depending on your piece's unique structure, you may be left with a few shelves or a completely empty vessel. From here you have two options: strip the finish and start over or restore the previous finish.

If your piece only has minor scratches, consider using a product like Restor-a-finish to buff out the imperfections. If you want to start fresh with a new paint or stain, sand the old stain off and apply the new color. You could opt for a two-toned look, pairing natural wood with a beautiful paint color. Earth tones are another popular '60s decor trend that's making a comeback, so consider painting your cabinet olive, taupe, or even burnt orange. You can also add some funky flare by incorporating a loud pattern on part of the cabinet exterior.

If you have a hole at the top of your record player where the actual device used to sit, you may need to create a custom insert to fill that space. You can do so by selecting or building a tray with a lip that nests inside the hole. This space can be used to store bar tools, shot glasses, or even ice and canned drinks. Pick out new modern hardware or use a gilding wax to restore the hardware you can't remove. You can install accessories like a built-in bottle opener or wine opener. Inside the cabinet, install shelving or a wine rack. If you have space, you can even squeeze in a mini fridge to make it your own.