The challenges of installing a wine cellar in a condominium.
It’s entertaining to scroll through pictures of gorgeous, luxurious, and expansive custom wine cellar designs. There are so many options for lighting, climate control, styles, and other accessories; you truly can get the custom wine room you’ve always wanted. However, if you live in a condominium where space is limited, and wall space is shared, there are some considerations when building a cellar. We’ll discuss the challenges of installing a wine cellar in a condominium and the solutions available.
06/12/2020
Smaller spaces mean less storage.
It’s no surprise that if you live in a condo, your space is limited, and therefore if you want to install a wine room, that space will likely be limited too. However, a professional custom wine cellar designer will know how to work with limited space to get the most out of the space you have. An expert will meet with you in person to gather ideas and evaluate the space to design and build a wine cellar to suit your needs. With the right design, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much storage you will get out of your condo’s wine room!
Condos offer limited options regarding a wine cellar location.
Unlike a house, which can offer spare bedrooms, walk-in closets, and even potentially a portion of a three-car garage as a wine cellar location, condos offer limited options regarding where you can create a wine room. While this doesn’t make the project impossible, it does offer the challenge of a trade-off; typically, not only in limited space lost, but the location of cooling units (more on that in a moment). It’s critical that when you’re working with a wine room designer that they review with you all aspects of the wine room installation, from location to cooling units, and what those tradeoffs might be.
The biggest challenge is refrigeration.
Even if your condo has the ideal location for a wine cellar (a spare closet, a large nook, or even a coat closet), the real challenge comes with the cooling unit. There are many types of climate control options for wine rooms but when it comes to condos, you are limited to what you can use. In most cases, a split system does not work in a condominium. Split systems are popular because they are extremely quiet and virtually vibration-free, but they are not a viable option for condos. In most cases, the climate control unit must be self-contained. Self-contained units tend to be noisy and extract heat. Going back to our statement earlier: It’s critical that when you’re working with a wine room designer that they review with you all aspects of the wine room installation, from location to cooling units, and what those tradeoffs might be. If you’re considering a wine cellar near a bedroom, for example, the trade-off might be the sound of the cooling system so close to the bedroom, and the possibility of heat and noise created.
Building wine storage in a condominium is not impossible! You just must be a little more creative, and willing to make compromises in other areas. If you’re looking to add a wine cellar to your condominium, contact a wine cellar professional such as Heritage Vine to come out and provide you with a professional design that considers space, cooling, functionality, and design.
