Great design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about developing design-led solutions to what are often very practical problems.
How to design your dream wine cellar is a nice problem to have, but it’s not without its challenges, as a recent customer of ours in Fort Lauderdale found out.
Barely-there aesthetics
With an extensive wine collection and a crisp, contemporary home, the client was looking for a minimalist solution that would blend almost invisibly into the ethereal, all-white aesthetic of their interiors – and they originally wanted to use frameless shower glass for their wine cellar doors.
But this presented a problem. The cooling company involved in the project said they couldn’t supply a cooling unit large enough for this substantial wine cellar unless the doors were insulated and properly sealed. That’s when this discerning client came to Renaissance Genuine Solid Bronze in search of a visually-pleasing answer to a very practical engineering problem.
After discussions with the client, we put forward a design proposal featuring our contemporary Revival range of solid bronze wine cellar doors.
Developed as a fully-insulated alternative to frameless shower glass doors, Revival incorporates premium insulated glass and silicone bulb weatherstripping to create a sealed enclosure that works in harmony with cooling systems to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of the wine cellar.
The doors themselves have ultra-narrow frames for a barely-there aesthetic that allows the contents of the wine cellar to shine. For this specific project, we recommended the use of top and bottom pivot hinges, which meant the doors did not require mullions, for an even more streamlined look.
Contemporary yet characterful
To resonate with the monochrome interior palette, we finished the doors in our signature charcoal patina – a black finish that, on closer inspection, offers just a hint of the warm bronze underneath. The result is a custom wine cellar enclosure that is contemporary yet characterful, with an understated industrial vibe that is echoed in the hardwood room divider that leads into the client’s sleek home bar area.
Even more importantly, the wine cellar is now a fully climate-controlled and highly efficient home for 150 bottles of the client’s finest wines, each mounted on a black walnut backdrop that further enhances the treasure-trove qualities of this stunning feature.
Feedback from the customer was superlative; they loved the look and also the functionality of their solid bronze wine cellar and remarked that the doors brought additional character to their home that they could never have achieved with a frameless option – and yet the new enclosure does not dominate the space or obscure the contents from view.
The photos of this project speak for themselves – it’s one we’re thrilled to have been involved in, and we’re every bit as in love with the outcome as the client.
Got an upcoming project?
If you’ve got an upcoming wine cellar project and would like to learn more about how custom solid bronze doors inspired by architectural designs for professionals, can help you to achieve the look you need as well as the performance modern homes demand, get in touch.
