Dutch designer Rik ten Velden is targeting home DJs with the Selectors Cabinet – a wooden DJ booth, room divider and record storage unit that he will showcase at Milan design week.
Surrounded by a black steel frame, the wooden Selectors Cabinet combines cabinets and open shelves, with space on top to fit two turntables. Its clean lines are preserved by internal wiring for the cabinet's audio equipment.
"Creating a perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality was the main goal," said ten Velden, who was motivated to create the Selectors Cabinet after noting a lack of furniture designed specifically for vinyl collectors.
"Sadly IKEA seems to be the sole purveyor among DJs, record collectors and audio heads with the omnipresent IKEA Kallax," he said. "The Selectors Cabinet [is] a true piece of DJ design for the music lover."
Made up of seven cabinets that can be taken out for transportation, the Selectors Cabinet has room for 450 records. The units include hinged cabinets, open cubby holes and drawers for record and equipment storage.
Colours and wood grains can be changed on request, as can the composition of cabinets.
Vinyl's comeback has prompted innovation in the design and music industries. Yves Béhar recently released a smartphone-connected compact turntable that plays music by spinning on top of a still vinyl record, while Will.i.am's latest foray into the design world echoed the shape of vinyl records with his Bluetooth headphones.
Rik ten Velden's studio is based in Leiden, The Netherlands, and focuses on furniture and product design. Ten Velden's best-known work is the Knotted Collection, a series of chairs and lamps each made from a single rope.
The studio was among 14 Dutch designers to showcase at Ventura New York last year.
It will present the Selectors Cabinet at Milan design week's international design exhibition Design Language, which runs from 4 to 9 April at Via Francesco Carchidio 2. Other furniture to be shown in Milan this year includes tables by Paul Cocksedge made from material excavated from the floor of his studio and a modular sofa by Tom Dixon and IKEA that is intended to be future-proof.