Space planning / Fabrication / Better use of limited space

We Luv Video

A nonprofit video store and 25-seat microcinema built inside a limited commercial footprint.

Project overview

Building the physical home of We Luv Video.

Board Member and Technical Director. Original build-out lead and physical environment designer.

Macy Cotton and Ryan Teel founded the We Luv Video organization. Beau’s responsibility was the physical environment.

Starting with an empty commercial building in 2023, Beau independently planned the layout and designed, fabricated, and installed the store and microcinema’s built environment through the end of 2025. That work included shelving, counters, signage, finishes, display systems, and the custom infrastructure that shaped how the space looks and functions.

Beginning in 2026, new installations became collaborative projects with David Bellarosa and LG Constructions. The sections below trace the original build-out, the cinema, the flexible systems, and the continuing evolution of the space.

Visit We Luv Video ↗

01 / Initial build-out

An empty room became a video store, cinema, and event space.

The original layout created long sightlines, dense storage, movable center aisles, and a clear path from the front door to the cinema.

The empty We Luv Video building before construction — **Before**March 2023. Nothing but a commercial shell and a lot of floor to divide up.

Custom shelving under construction inside We Luv Video — **Build**The wall shelves and center runs begin defining the store.

Full rolling media shelves beneath their overhead guide rails — **Rolling shelves**The full center banks ride beneath ceiling rails so the floor can be rearranged instead of permanently divided.

The completed We Luv Video rental floor — **In use**The same empty shell becomes a dense, browsable collection.

Design, fabrication, and installation: Beau Harris, 2023–2025. Some later finishes visible in the final photo may include 2026 collaborative work.

02 / Microcinema

A 25-seat cinema built into the collection.

I designed the physical room around repurposed theatre seats from Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, a compact rake, dark finishes, and shelving that keeps the cinema connected to the video store around it.

Early installation of repurposed cinema seats — The first seating layout established the scale of the room.

Custom shelving under construction around the cinema seating — Media shelving was built directly around the audience area.

Clean completed view of the WLV microcinema seating — The finished seating and physical environment.

Physical space design and build-out: Beau Harris, 2023. Projection, sound, and cinema technology by other collaborators.

03 / Inventory storage

Shelving that keeps the inventory process out of sight.

The front shelving creates a clean public-facing run while concealing the sorting and storage area used behind it.

Concealed inventory storage

Custom shelving with concealed storage designed to support the inventory process.

The shelving opens for staff access to the inventory and sorting area, then closes to keep that work separate from the public-facing floor.

The custom front shelving closed with the media collection stocked — Customer-facing shelving

The concealed inventory storage area visible during construction — Interior storage during installation

The concealed inventory storage open behind the stocked shelving — Fully stocked

Co-designed, built, and installed by Beau Harris and David Bellarosa / LG Constructions, 2026.

04 / Front-of-house redesign

Keep what works.
Fix what doesn't.

The newer work replaces improvised storage and checkout areas with permanent systems while keeping the odd, useful pieces that belong in the store.

Merchandise corner

The TVs stayed. The clutter did not.

The old corner mixed stacked CRTs, loose merchandise, and difficult access to the back of the window display. The new wall keeps the televisions above the merch, adds lit display space, and swings open when someone needs to get behind it.

Original merchandise corner with stacked CRT televisions and loose display elements — Television stack and improvised merchandise area.

Finished merch wall with television shelf visible above — The televisions remain above the finished merch wall.

Merchandise wall swung open to access the back of the window display — The entire wall swings open for access behind the window display.

Co-designed, built, and installed by Beau Harris and David Bellarosa / LG Constructions, 2026.

Checkout and front desk

Temporary solutions became a unified, functional workspace.

The desk had been assembled in layers over time as needs changed. The 2026 build turned checkout, display, storage, and staff workspace into one continuous front-of-house system.

Early We Luv Video front desk setup with a temporary checkout table and stacked CRT televisions — 2025 checkout arrangement

The completed front desk and checkout area after the 2026 redesign — One continuous checkout, display, storage, and staff workspace.

Co-designed, built, and installed by Beau Harris and David Bellarosa / LG Constructions, 2026.

Recognition

Austin Chronicle · Best of Austin 2024Best Resurrected Movie Rental SpotWe Luv Video

Press & links

The store in its own words, and in the press.

Selected 2026 builds were completed with LG Constructions ↗.

Back to the work

See the other categories →