Vinyl is a bathroom collection designed by Gianluca Paludi for the Italian sanitaryware maker Olympia Ceramica. It turns the washbasin into a turntable: round basins sit in a wooden console like record decks, the tap is shaped like a tonearm, the knobs look like volume dials, and a Bluetooth amplifier with hidden speakers lets you actually play music while you brush your teeth. The design mixes the look of 1970s hi-fi consoles with a modern DJ setup.
Here is what the collection includes, how each detail borrows from a real record player, a look at every image in the set, and a few practical thoughts for anyone planning a music-themed bathroom.
What is in the Vinyl collection?
Design Milk and the hi-fi site StereoNET both covered the collection in spring 2018. Based on their descriptions, it includes:
- Basins that look like turntables. Available as a single basin or as a twin-basin console for couples. The bottom of each bowl is printed to resemble the grooves of an LP, and the drain sits in the middle where the record label would be.
- A tonearm tap. The faucet is modelled on a turntable’s tonearm, complete with a counterweight at the back and a front end shaped like the headshell that holds the stylus.
- Console-style knobs. Two dials on the counter, styled like volume and balance controls, set the water pressure and temperature.
- Built-in sound. The wooden base holds a drawer and a Bluetooth amplifier, with small speakers behind perforations on the front panel.
- Accessories. A tempered glass shelf, a towel bar and a leather bag for personal items, plus an LED mirror whose lights look like the bars of an audio equaliser.
Why a turntable works as a sink
The idea is cleverer than it first looks. A turntable and a round basin already share the same basic shape, a circle set into a flat surface. Paludi keeps that resemblance and then adds the details that make the brain say “record player”: the arm, the label, the dials. The result is a fixture that is still a normal washbasin but tells a story about the owner’s taste.
It also arrived at the right moment. The LP record, introduced by Columbia Records in 1948 and played at 33⅓ revolutions per minute, was pushed aside by cassettes and CDs in the 1980s. Since the late 1990s vinyl has made a steady comeback; by 2022, US vinyl sales passed CD sales for the first time since 1987. Designs like this one tap into that nostalgia.
The Vinyl collection in pictures
1. The twin-basin console seen from above. Two round white basins sit in a walnut-toned top like a pair of decks, each with a chrome tap shaped like a tonearm, and an LED mirror behind them glows with bars that resemble a graphic equaliser.
2. The same double console in an all-black finish on a slim black frame, with the backlit equaliser mirror above. The darker version looks more like professional DJ equipment than a vintage hi-fi.
3. A single-basin unit with a dark wood top on a white steel frame. The control knobs on the left, shaped like volume and balance dials, actually set water pressure and temperature, and a black leather bag hangs from the frame for toiletries.
4. A lighter wood top with white fittings. At the bottom of the basin you can see the printed “record” with its central label, where the plug sits exactly where the label of an LP would be.
5. The same layout with black knobs, a black tonearm tap and a black frame. A phone lies on the counter, a hint that music is meant to stream from it to the amplifier hidden inside.
6. A compact single unit on a bright red frame, a playful option that fits the retro theme. The perforations on the front of the wooden box hide small speakers.
7. A long black double console on a polished metal frame, shown without the mirror. With the room stripped away, the resemblance to a two-turntable DJ setup is at its clearest.
8. The red-framed unit styled in a room with a framed gold record on the wall and a bold pop-art mural of a singer. It shows how the collection is pitched: as a statement piece for a music lover’s bathroom.
See it in action
Olympia Ceramica shared a short video of the collection on its Facebook page.
Planning a music-themed bathroom
- Think about water and electronics. Any bathroom with built-in audio needs proper installation. Ask a qualified electrician and plumber about the safety rules for electrical equipment near water where you live.
- Check practicality. A round basin set into a counter is easy to use, but ask the supplier about dimensions, cleaning and spare parts before choosing any statement fixture.
- Keep the theme light. One strong piece, like a turntable sink, usually works better than covering every wall in records. A framed record or a single print is enough to tie the room together.
- Look for availability. Design collections are sometimes made in limited runs or changed over time, so check with the manufacturer or a local dealer for what is currently offered.
A bathroom for record lovers
Gianluca Paludi’s Vinyl collection is a playful example of how design can borrow from one part of life and reuse it somewhere unexpected. It will not suit every home, but for music fans who miss the ritual of dropping a needle on a record, it turns the most ordinary room in the house into a small tribute to analogue sound.
Explore a related story: 12 Everyday Objects Reimagined Through Design.
Sources: images and video by Olympia Ceramica; Design Milk: Vinyl-inspired bathroom sinks by Gianluca Paludi; StereoNET: The vinyl-inspired bathroom has arrived; Wikipedia: LP record.
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