Building a wine room in a curved and small space can be a challenge. Your chosen builder must have extensive experience in designing functional and gorgeous wine racks for the room that the client wants to convert into a wine cellar. Learn how a Texas master builder built an impressive custom wine cellar in Houston.

Under the Stairs Wine Cellar Conversion Project

A homeowner needed the help of a professional who would bring their dream wine cellar to reality. The client wanted to convert the space under a floating staircase into a wine storage and display area. They sought the help of Custom Wine Cellars Houston, trusting that we would be able to meet their specific requirements.

The challenges in this wine room installation were the limited space and irregular shape of the room, which are common issues on our previous projects. With extensive experience and passion in constructing residential wine cellars, we were able to come up with a design that could store 417 bottles in total.

3-Dimensional Drawings

When you work with us, we offer a design package that comes with free CAD images, which will help you visualize your completed wine room. The 3D drawings show the plan views, different elevations, dimensions of the racking, and the bottle capacities.

We will show you the initial drawings, and if you don’t need modifications, we will start preparing the room for construction and install the components.

Wine Room Preparation for Safe Wine Storage

Preparing the room for construction plays a significant role in maintaining the perfect storage conditions in your wine cellar. A poorly installed wine room will not be able to protect wine from external factors like heat, vibration, odor, and UV light.

Proper Insulation

At Custom Wine Cellars Houston, we always want to keep our client’s collection safe for many years to come. To achieve this, we insulate the walls and ceiling to create an airtight seal in the room.

On this project, we used closed-cell foam insulation because it is more efficient than other types of insulation when it comes to preventing air leaks. It can also seal the wine cellar from pollens and dust.

Did you know that proper room insulation can also increase the lifespan of your wine cooling unit? A well-insulated wine cellar will prevent the warm air from entering and the cool air from escaping the room. This will prevent your cooling equipment from working harder than its normal operation, resulting in an extended lifespan.

Unique Material and Design of the Walls and Ceiling

Although small, we made sure that this custom wine cellar in Houston will impress guests. We added a unique feature to the design by using Stonecoat on the interior walls and ceiling.

This product is made of crushed limestone from France. It was blown on the surface of the walls and hand carved to look like real stone. With guidance from our design team, the owner chose a subtle color of the Stonecoat, which complemented the elegant theme of the home.

Awe-Inspiring Wine Rack Design for a Tiny Custom Wine Cellar in Houston

When creating a wine rack design, we combine various styles to add drama to the wine room. We also make sure that it maximizes the capacity of the space without compromising visual appeal. We used Knotty Alder for the entire racking.

Horizontal and Mini Quarter Round Wine Racks

The curved shape of the space allowed us to work with approximately 45 inches only. We left 7 inches on the left side of the entryway to provide an area for a 2-column horizontal racking, which has a depth of 6 inches.

The first column is shorter than the second one to give space to the wine cooling unit, which we concealed in a wooden box just above the door.

The horizontal wine racks can store 750 ml bottles in a label-forward orientation. This type of wine rack allows for convenient browsing of the wines because the labels are facing out.

You don’t need to flip a bottle of your favorite vintage to see the varietal, style, or alcohol content of the wine.

When you flip the bottle, you will disturb the sediments, which can alter the chemical properties of the wine. When this happens, your wine will end up in the drain because of its unpleasant taste and aroma.

The 4-level mini quarter round wine rack comes after the horizontal racks, which allows for a smooth transition from the first set of racking to that in the curved wall. It provides an additional storage area for a few bottles, decanters, wine glasses, and other accouterments that the owner wants to display.

True Radius Wine Racks for the Curved Wall

We installed 13.5-inch deep wine racks in the curve and along the longest wall of the wine cellar. The entire top cascades down to the height of the ceiling.

The topmost section of the racking consists of slots for storage of 750ml bottles. Below it is a high reveal display row that highlights some of the client’s bottles at a 15-degree angle. This bottle orientation will help prevent the cork from drying out and protect the wine from oxidation.

We installed a lighting fixture above the display row to add a dramatic effect to this custom wine cellar in Houston.

End Racking for Bulk Storage

The end of the racking consists of a 2-row rolling case storage at the bottom and a 2-row horizontal display rack. The first case storage bin is double deep and the second one is single deep to fit perfectly in the descending height of the ceiling.

For easy access of the wines stored in the wooden cases at the back of the double deep section, we used roll out shelves.

Climate Control System

A wine cellar will not fulfill its role, which is to preserve wine’s quality unless you install it with an efficient wine cooling system. A careful assessment of the client’s needs helped us determine the refrigeration unit of the right size, type, and capacity.

On this project, we installed the RM3600 ductless split wine cooling system by US Cellar Systems. We concealed the evaporator in a wooden box above the door. Because of the descending height of the ceiling, the cooling unit blows the air down into the room.

Seek the Help of an Expert for Your Next Wine Room Project

The Custom Wine Cellars team specializes in converting small spaces into modern or traditional wine cellars. Turn your space into an elegant home wine cellar with the help of a Houston builder. Contact us today at +1 (972) 454-0480.

See more photos before and after the wine cellar installation under the stairs of a Houston home: