Contemporary Custom Wine Display Under Gravity-Defying Staircase in a Dallas Home

Wine Cellar Specialists were contacted by the Brown family to create a wine cellar under an open staircase in a very modern condo in the Dallas area. We were able to create a stellar wine room design using a metal wine rack system. Learn more about this installation project.

Modern **Custom Wine Cellar** in GLASS & brushed ALUMINUM  

An Eye-Catching Wine Room Design for a Small Space Under the Stairs

Wine Cellar Specialists has been providing innovative wine storage solutions to homeowners who want to display their collection attractively and safeguard it for many years to come.

We can transform almost any room into a functional wine cellar with an elegant racking system and efficient cooling system.

Recently, a family in Dallas sought our help because they wanted to build out the space under their staircase into a contemporary custom wine display. The stairs were made of steel beams and bamboo wood steps that were totally open in between.

The end of the space was also open under the stairs. There were gray steel beams under the bamboo landing. The flooring throughout the area was also Bamboo.

Modern Wine Cellar Designs and Drawings

We began the project by doing a wine rack design using Alumasteel backer panels and a brushed aluminum Ultra Peg 2-bottles deep racking system. We positioned the Alumasteel wallboards and the pegs to accommodate a total of 222 bottles.

Colored Drawings

The customer wanted a lot of glass, including a glass front, a glass end wall, and a glass ceiling. They wanted everything in brushed aluminum, glass, and the gray color of the current steel beams.

In order to make their choices clear, for a small fee, we provided them with 3D color drawings with three separate choices for the backer board and wall colors. They chose the one with the gray walls, Alumasteel backer boards, and brushed aluminum pegs.

The stairs were showing through much more in the drawings than they actually did. The decision was made later on to remedy this by using frosted glass on the ceiling. The drawing is also showing only one-deep bottle racking. The decision was made later to go with two bottles deep.

Contemporary Custom Wine Display Features for a Dallas Home

You can see the brushed aluminum-clad framing and the glass that has a slight tint to match the glass below the stair rails. The slightly tinted duel pane glass matches the glass on the stairway.

We installed a frosted glass ceiling and included a modern door and straight handle with a lock. We moved the lighting to attach to the aluminum framing, just below the glass ceiling.

Although the cellar has a narrow walkway to get to the bottles, it is a pleasure to be inside it. What a beauty!

Metal Wine Racks

This Dallas home of our client has a modern setup, so it was a good idea to use metal wine racks to create a contemporary wine display.

Metal wine racks blend well with any décor. They can be mounted on the wall or stand-alone. One of the types of metal racking is the Ultra Peg system. This high-end wine storage system stores the bottles in pegs.

Ultra Peg Double Deep Wine Rack System

On this project, we used the Ultra Peg 2-bottles deep wine racks, which store the bottles sideways. With this style of bottle orientation, the labels are facing out, allowing for easy browsing of specific wines.

The pegs have rubber O-rings to keep the bottles from slipping out. The client has added many bottles but still has some open racks.

The Alumasteel panels are hung on the back wall. Alumasteel is a metal that looks like a cross between aluminum and stainless steel.

The holes were pre-drilled at the factory, and we installed the Ultra Peg system on site. The 2-bottle deep pegs we chose are also a brushed aluminum material.

Wine Cellar Cooling System

The right choice of the cooling system will help maintain the stable environment necessary for the graceful aging of wine.

It is important to seek the help of an expert when choosing the size, capacity, type, and brand of the wine refrigeration system. This will help ensure that your cooling system suits your budget and storage requirements.

Installation of the Wine Refrigeration Unit

We chose a cooling system, which fits between the studs on the left wall. We built the wall out slightly to allow 3” of foam behind the cooling unit. The compressor sits outdoors in the courtyard, directly opposite the cellar.

We originally planned to run the lines across the ceiling to the exterior. However, once the wall was opened on the left of the cellar, and we were able to see across, we knew this was going to be impossible because of the way the beams ran.

The customer did not want us cutting into or patching his ceiling. Therefore, we had to run our lines down the inside of the adjoining elevator shaft and create a soffit on the lower level to run the lines across and out to the courtyard.

The drain line also followed this route and because of the irregular height of the path, we also installed a condensate pump. A mini pump was placed right inside the cooling unit in the cellar.

Wall Mount Cooling System from a Reliable Manufacturer

We placed the cooling unit at the left end wall. A large amount of glass made it necessary to use the largest size single wall mount unit available, a WM6600 unit from US Cellar Systems. This unit mounts vertically between standard wall studs. It comes in a silver metal galvanized material.

Other features of the WM Series refrigeration system include a digital thermostat, temperature sensor, requires no exhaust, simple installation, rust-proof aluminum housing, a factory-installed automatic expansion valve for humidity balance, factory wired, pressure tested, and ETL certified.

We usually hide it with a wood cover when using it in a cellar with wood racks. However, because of the modern style of this cellar, we had the unit powder coated in a color to match the paint color that was chosen for the walls. This color also matches closely with the steel beams that make up the staircase.

Work with a Specialist for Your Next Project

For your contemporary, traditional, or transitional wine display, call Wine Cellar Specialists Dallas today at +1 (866 ) 646-7089 or request a 3D wine cellar design for FREE