The short answer: one column, one compartment high, holds around 140 records, and every compartment you stack on top adds about 60. The largest standard size, five wide and five high, holds around 1,900. Below is how we count, the full table, and how to pick a size with room to grow.
How we count
Each compartment holds one sleeve facing the room and around 60 records standing upright behind it, leaning back, so you flip through them from the front. Prefer them spine-out? That works too, and then a compartment takes about 80. Every column also stands on a closed base, where around 80 records fit spine-out, or your box sets. One compartment plus the base makes 140; every extra compartment adds 60.
These numbers are for ordinary single sleeves. Gatefolds, heavy pressings and box sets take more room, so a collection with a lot of them fits fewer per compartment.
The table
Records, roughly, per standard size. Heights are the outside height of the cabinet; widths are approximate and differ by a few millimetres between birch plywood and spray-painted.
| 1 wide about 37 cm |
2 wide about 73 cm |
3 wide about 108 cm |
4 wide about 143 cm |
5 wide about 178 cm |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 high 89 cm |
140 | 280 | 420 | 560 | 700 |
| 2 high 129 cm |
200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1,000 |
| 3 high 169 cm |
260 | 520 | 780 | 1,040 | 1,300 |
| 4 high 209 cm |
320 | 640 | 960 | 1,280 | 1,600 |
| 5 high 249 cm |
380 | 760 | 1,140 | 1,520 | 1,900 |
All sizes are 37.5 cm deep.
Leave room to grow
Collections grow, and a compartment packed to the last record is hard to flip through. We suggest counting what you own and adding about a quarter. Say you have 600 records: plan for around 750. That gives you three good options:
- Three wide, three high: around 780 records in a square block, 108 × 169 cm.
- Two wide, five high: around 760 records on 73 cm of wall, for a narrow spot.
- Four wide, two high: around 800 records at 129 cm, with a long top for a turntable and speakers.
And if you guess too low, it is not a problem: every size is the same element, so you add a column later and it lines up.
A turntable on top
A deck does not fit inside a compartment, so it always goes on top: pick one or two compartments high and at least two columns wide. One high puts the top at 89 cm, a comfortable height to cue a record standing up. More in turntable stands, and a few at home in other people's rooms.
Something other than a rectangle
A wall around a window, steps under a sloping roof, more than five columns: it is all the same parts, and the configurator counts the records for you as you build.