What NOT To Do When Designing a Wine Lounge for Your Home

If you are thinking about creating a wine lounge in your home, then you are definitely on to something.  Today, more and more people are learning to enjoy a variety of wines and want to share their love with family and friends in an intimate setting. Therefore, wine lounges are becoming more popular and more desirable for homeowners everywhere.

Unfortunately creating a wine lounge in your home, although very desirable, can also be very intimidating.  It is difficult to know what types of materials to choose from, what type of furniture to buy, and how to add the final touches.  Furthermore, because a wine lounge is a room you want to be able to enjoy for a very long time there is added pressure to get it all “just right”. To help eliminate stress and get you started on creating the wine lounge of your dreams, we have created this list of things you should NOT do when designing a wine lounge for your home.

Don’t Overwhelm the Space

The wine lounge in your home is a space where you want to be able to go and unwind after a long day’s work or take your friends to after a lovely dinner.  It is NOT space where you want to go and feel cramped, crowded, or stressed. Therefore, when choosing design elements for your wine lounge it is best to keep distractions to a minimum, choose timeless materials, and eliminate clutter.  

Although having eye-catching elements and decor in your wine lounge is desirable, you want to keep the clutter to a minimum. Instead of displaying every little tchotchke you own, choose a few signature pieces you love and feature them.  This will add intrigue to your room, but also keep the space clean. Furthermore, make sure your wine bottles are organized in a desirable manner. There is nothing worse than searching for a bottle of wine in a room full of wine bottles.

Don’t Store Your Wine in the Light

There’s a reason most wine lounges are located in the basement of homes, and it’s because the light is bad for your bottles. When your wine bottles are exposed to extensive amounts of light, it can cause them to go bad quickly. So, instead of storing your bottles on the walls or in areas directly across from windows or within light’s reach, store them in darker corners or shaded walls.

Storing your bottles away from the light may seem counterintuitive as you likely want your wine to be the center of attention in your lounge. However, you can still display your wine and keep it out of the light by choosing creatively designed wine racks that will capture your guests’ attention.

Don’t Design Your Wine Lounge for the Collection You Have Now

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when planning your wine lounge design is to not allow enough room for your wine collection to grow.  Although you may not have many wine bottles right now, it does not mean you won’t acquire them over time.  If your friends and family know you have a wine lounge, chances are they will gift you bottles of wine in the future.  Not to mention, the multiple bottles you will pick up along the way in your travels or just your occasional trip to the market.

Create storage options that will allow your wine collection to grow by choosing a variety of storage designs.  Fill the feature areas of your storage first, and then the rest as you go. You will always regret not having enough storage, but you will never regret having too much.

Don’t Worry if You Aren’t a Wine Expert

Most people believe that if you are going to have a wine lounge in your home, you have to be an expert on wine. However, that could not be further from the truth.  You do not have to be an expert, in fact, you don’t have to know anything about wine to have a lounge in your home. You simply have to enjoy drinking wine and it helps if you like to entertain.  Like a bar or a movie theatre, a wine lounge is just another space in your home created for you and your loved ones to enjoy.

If you are building a wine lounge in your home and want to learn more about wine, many local Toronto wine clubs, wine shops and restaurants offer wine courses that will teach you the basics.  You can also gain a lot of knowledge by traveling to local wineries, and wineries all over the world trying new wines.  Bonus, it’s fun too!

Don’t Hesitate to Ask for Help

When building a wine lounge in your home, chances are you are going to run into roadblocks, design questions, and building scenarios where you need help.  When those times arise, all you need to do is give the professionals at Papro Wine Cellars & Consulting a call.  Their wine cellar design, construction and consulting team are experts at all things wine and are passionate about helping others grow their love for wine as well.  They will be able to help you with everything from your smallest question to your biggest design challenge-and they will be happy to do it!

It is important to know that with a little bit of direction, the right professional help, and a little bit of ambition you will be able to create the wine lounge of your dreams.  The room itself does not have to be perfect, and the guidelines above are just that, guidelines. However, a thoughtful design considering these guidelines of what not to do will go a long way towards creating a room you, your friends, and your family will enjoy for a long time to come.



Papro Wine Cellars