Case study · 2022
Cafe Vinyl Wall
De Plaat wanted a feature wall behind the counter that could change with the seasons without ripping out hardware — and that referenced their original identity as a record shop before the espresso machine arrived.
- Place
- Antwerp, BE
- Scale
- 420 discs
- Lead
- 3–5 business days
Client
Café De Plaat · Antwerp · independent specialty coffee bar
- Discs
- 420
- Wall
- 4.8 × 2.6 m
- Panels
- 12 modular
- Seasonal swaps
- 4 per year
The work
The challenge
Commercial install: the wall sits behind the espresso machine, gets steam and the occasional milk splash, and had to survive a daily wipe-down. The owners also wanted four 'seasonal panels' they could swap themselves without a contractor.
Our approach
420 discs printed with the café's house illustrations — coffee plants, brewing diagrams, neighbourhood map fragments — arranged in a dense full-wall mosaic. The composition is built on twelve modular Dibond panels that hang from French cleats. Four of the panels are duplicated in alternate seasonal artworks so staff can swap a quarter of the wall in under an hour.
The outcome
Opened with the spring set. The café reports the wall is the most-photographed surface in the venue and was featured in a local design weekly the month after install.
In their words
Customers ask if it's vinyl. We tell them it used to be — every disc came out of someone's attic. It's the first thing people talk about at the counter.
Materials & build
What's in the piece.
Dimensions
4.8 × 2.6 m · 12 modular panels (4 swappable)
- 01Salvaged discs, all sourced within 50 km of Antwerp
- 02UV-cured ink + extra gloss seal for wipe-down resistance
- 0312 × 3 mm Dibond panels on French cleats
- 04Spare panel set in alternate seasonal artwork
In situ
The piece, from a few angles.
Want a piece in this spirit?
Tell us about the wall, the room, the feeling. We'll come back with sketches and a fixed quote within two working days.
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