From the grand contemporary custom wine cellars to the luxurious wine rooms of Danville, inspiring wine cellar designs are endless in this region. With another incredible client whose vision was a storage closet that was as beautiful as their contemporary home, we’re sharing with you another wine cellar design that’s one for the books!

Developing This Wine Cellar’s Custom Design

What’s incredible about contemporary wine cellars is that the use of traditional and modern materials offers you endless design possibilities. You can tailor the design to the shape of the space, no matter how irregular it is, and you can bring it diverse design options with the help of professionals.

Coastal Custom Wine Cellars created this beautiful, almost stately walk-in wine cellar that combines metal, wood, and glass features to shape a striking wine cellar. From the framework to the backer boards, wooden shelves, metal wine racks, and weather-stripping, everything in this space was customized.

The primary idea was to conceive a design that expressed the same character as the rest of the home’s interior. As you’ll see in the pictures, the dining area directly adjacent to the contemporary custom wine room is finished with a neutral palette of cream, ivory, and dark brown hues.  A large indoor plant is found at the corner of the room, softening the room’s personality.

Since we wanted this wine cellar to have a slightly distinct look, we opted for darker neutrals which added more depth to the dining area. With the completed wine room, the entire space feels calmer and homier.

A Wine Cellar Cooling System for Compact Storage Spaces

The Coastal team was working with a newly constructed home, and that wine cellar was already being constructed. The problem was, there were mistakes with the initial workmanship, so the team had to redo the entire project from the studs and the line sets.

Once the structural support was completed, the team installed the cooling system from US Cellar Systems. Specifically, they used the HS 8600, a split-system, high-static cooling unit for which air flows through a duct.

The great thing about this unit is it doesn’t take up space and operates with very minimal noise. There are only two registers found on the ceiling for air flow and return. Additionally, when you step inside this contemporary custom wine cellar, the sound and vibrations from the cooling unit are truly faint.

Modern Glass Wine Cellar Doors with Weather Stripping

A wine cellar can be a room’s centerpiece and that was exactly one of the goals for this project. To make the wine collection visible from the dining area, the team used clear tempered glass doors with stainless steel framing.

Like the walls, the door frames are also foam-insulated to ensure gaps are covered and there are zero spaces for air to escape.

The glass panels are also built into U-channels and installed with weather stripping to further secure the temperature conditions inside the cellar. These are similar to rubber gaskets installed in regular glass doors. However, take note that sealing wine cellar doors uses a different approach than sealing ordinary glass doors like those used in showers.

The doors in this project are dual-paned glass that are 1”-thick each. This thickness works together with the insulation to ensure the room stays at 55-degrees.

Contemporary Custom Wine Cellar Racks: The Magic of Pairing Wood and Metal

After completing all insulation and cooling-related parts, it was then time to assemble the wine racks. The bottom half of the walls were built with custom wooden wine racks from Alderwood. The team stained the Alderwood with a rustic color and polished it with lacquer for a smooth finish.

Within the wooden wine racks, is a single display row that presents the bottles in a slanting position, label-forward, is present. Besides that, standard 750ml compartments can be seen in the middle and a few crate bins.

The reveal row is illuminated with LED strip lights hidden behind a light valance. The direct light makes it easier for the owner to read the wine labels.

The upper half of the wine walls are occupied by triple-deep metal wine racks from Vintage View. Instead of screwing these racks directly onto the dry wall, backer boards were installed where the metal racks anchor to.

The backer boards we’re installed 0.5 inches away from the wall to make space for some backlights. Once the backer boards were in place, the team ran LED ribbon lights behind them, giving the display that “glow from within” when the lights are turned on.

The center wall is where you’ll find a small, almost cove-like area where the owners can handle their bottles and decant their wines safely.

The team introduced a third option for wine cellar lighting using acrylic LED light panels. This cutting-edge design features LED panels discreetly placed behind a translucent acrylic surface, creating a gently diffused glow. It’s an excellent choice for enhancing wine cellar walls or serving as an elegant base for wine rack shelves.
In total, this custom wine racking system has the capacity to store up to 750 bottles! If your collection exceeds that, don’t worry! Our team can easily adjust the racking design to accommodate your entire collection, regardless of the available space or bottle count.

A Special Wine Collection Deserves a Specially Tailored Wine Cellar. Work with Custom Wine Cellars San Francisco!

Designing a modern glass wine cellar opens limitless possibilities. However, the key is ensuring that every detail is crafted correctly, taking into account your space dimensions and local ambient temperatures. We’ve encountered many poorly constructed wine cellars in need of repair, and we understand the frustration of clients who invested heavily only to face costly fixes within months. A common error is hiring a contractor unfamiliar with the nuances of wine cellars—leading to significant financial loss.

To avoid these pitfalls, partner with Custom Wine Cellars San Francisco! As specialists in wine cellar design and construction, we bring years of expertise to every project. We meticulously plan, design, and build fully refrigerated custom glass wine cellars, ensuring a smooth, professional experience from start to finish.