Under the stairs
The staircase you walk past every day
A stair void is dead space with a hard ceiling line. Racked to the slope and cooled through the back wall, it becomes a real cellar without costing you a square foot of living space.
Residential wine cellar design · Walnut Creek
Residential Wine Cellars Built Around Your Collection
You have the bottles. A closet, the space under the stairs or a whole room could give them a home. Mike can help you compare the capacity, racking and cooling each would need. Bring a photo to the Walnut Creek showroom, or call him at (925) 944-1084.
No drawings yet? Bring the dimensions you have and the bottle count you have in mind. Mike can help you decide what to measure next.
- Since 1973
- Family run since its founding
- 1617 Locust St
- A Walnut Creek showroom you can walk into
- 55°F
- A cellar storage target to discuss
A bright cellar aisle runs between wooden racks with illuminated bottle display rows.
Why people call us first
Work out the room before buying the racks.
A cellar starts with more than a place to stack bottles. Mike can help you consider the walls, door, glass and cooling together. Bring him your room ideas before you settle on equipment.
1973
Family run since
Mike joined in 2001 and bought Wine Hardware with Cari in 2014.
15
Bay Area cities served
Alamo and Berkeley through Danville, Napa and Palo Alto.
4
Cooling brands stocked
WhisperKOOL, Wine Guardian, CellarPro and CellarCool.
200+
Products in the catalog
Racking, cooling, cabinets, glassware and accessories.
Where it goes
Almost nobody has a spare stone room under the house.
Which of these spaces looks like yours? Compare four possible layouts, then bring Mike your dimensions to see how the collection, room and cooling needs fit together.
Closet or pantry
A closet that stops holding coats
A closet or pantry may suit a compact cellar when its construction, access and cooling requirements can be met. Bring the dimensions and photographs to discuss the enclosure, door, ventilation and usable storage.
Glass wine wall
The wall that shows the collection
Metal pegs or acrylic rails in front of glass, lit from above, labels facing the room. It works beside a kitchen or a dining table, and it needs the most honest cooling math of the four, because glass is not a wall.
The whole room
Basement, bonus room or new build
Brick and redwood, bins for cases, individual racking for the bottles you reach for, a tasting counter and a ladder. When the room is yours, ceiling height and appetite are the only real limits.
Built, not rendered
Rooms we have finished.
Real racking in real Bay Area houses, photographed once the work was done. Open any one of them full size.
A wooden ladder stands beside gray bottle racks and an illuminated central display alcove.
Glass beside the kitchen: the collection becomes part of the room.
Wooden bottle slots and diamond bins follow the angle of a staircase behind glass.
Wooden bottle racks follow a sloped ceiling beside a framed wine poster.
A small wood-paneled cellar has metal side racks, wooden diamond bins and a brick-pattern floor.
Empty wooden wine racks wrap around three walls above a wood floor.
Close 
A small wood-paneled cellar has metal side racks, wooden diamond bins and a brick-pattern floor.
Capacity
Start with the bottle count, not the square footage.
Begin with the bottles you own and the collection you expect to keep. Compare individual slots, display rows, bins and case storage against the actual bottle formats and space available.
Choose a balance between the wines you want to display and the bottles you need to store in quantity. Discuss room for future purchases before the racking layout is finalized.
- Display
Individual racking
Individual slots organize bottles separately. Compare the orientation, spacing and reach with the wines you retrieve most often.
- Volume
Diamond bins and case storage
Compare bins and case storage for repeat bottles and unopened cases. Check the capacity and access of the selected arrangement.
- Headroom
Room to grow into
Tell us how you expect the collection to change. Compare spare capacity with the space and budget available today.
Cooling
Sized for your room, not for the catalog.
Choose cooling for the prepared room and its heat load. Insulation, glass, adjacent spaces and equipment location affect that choice. Review the exact system’s operating conditions and humidity capabilities with your installer before ordering.
We work out the heat load before we recommend anything: room volume, wall and ceiling insulation, whether there is a real vapor barrier, how much glass you are asking for, what sits on the other side of each wall, and where the unit can put its heat. Then we name a unit, self-contained, split or ducted, and tell you exactly what it needs from your electrician.
- 01
Volume and insulation
Cubic feet, insulation in the walls and ceiling, and whether the vapor barrier is on the warm side. This is where most guesses go wrong.
- 02
Glass and doors
Every square foot of glass is a hole in your insulation. Dual-pane glass and a door that seals are what let a wine wall hold temperature.
- 03
Where the heat goes
The unit has to reject heat somewhere that is neither the cellar nor your bedroom wall. Split and ducted systems exist for exactly this.
- 04
Service access
Plan access to condensate drainage, filters and coils before closing the walls or installing racking. Leave the service clearances specified for the exact unit.
How it works
Four steps from collection goals to a cellar plan
Start with the part you know: the room, the collection or a picture you like. Mike can help you fill in the planning questions before you agree on design work.
Talk and measure
Call Mike at (925) 944-1084 with the room dimensions and a rough bottle count. A floor plan or phone photo helps him understand the space you have in mind.
Design and bottle count
Compare rack layouts, bottle capacity, materials and cooling options. Discuss whether a 3D design would help and agree on the drawings your project needs.
A quote you can read
Racking, cooling, doors, lighting and installation scope, itemized. You will see what drives the number, and what you could drop without hurting the cellar.
Build, cool and fill
We supply the equipment and coordinate with your contractor, or can refer one. Before the wine goes in, call Mike to review the startup and loading questions you need to settle with your installer.
What goes in it
The hardware, without the mystery.
A cabinet may be enough, or your collection may be ready for its own room. Bring Mike the bottle count and available space to compare those options, then check availability and lead times for the equipment you choose.
Cooling
CellarPro 1800QT Cooling Unit
CellarPro cabinet cooling for a suitably specified enclosure. Review the exact model’s capacity, ambient conditions and installation requirements before selecting it.
$2,095
Racking
VintageView W Series 3, 18 bottle metal wine rack
VintageView label-forward metal racking displays bottles along the wall. Compare this 18-bottle configuration with your bottle formats, wall space and mounting surface.
$130
Cabinet storage
Le Cache Vault 3100 Wine Cabinet Classic Cherry
A furniture-style wine cabinet is an option when a separate cellar room is more than you need. Check this model’s bottle capacity, ventilation, door swing and delivery access before ordering.
$5,995
Before you spend anything
Straight answers to what people ask.
What does a home wine cellar cost?
Bottle count, materials, cooling and installation scope affect the budget. A closet with kit racking differs from a room needing glass, insulation and custom cabinetry. Share the dimensions and the collection you want to store so we can discuss the scope and the information needed for an estimate.
How long does it take?
Timing depends on room preparation, design decisions, product availability and contractor schedules. Confirm lead times for the selected racking and cooling before setting an installation date. Cooling startup follows the manufacturer’s requirements for the completed enclosure.
Do I really need a cooling unit?
If the space stays cool and steady all year without help, a genuinely cold basement for instance, you may not, and we will say so. Most East Bay houses are not that space. A garage wall, an attic, or anything sharing a wall with the afternoon sun swings hard across a Walnut Creek summer, and it is the swings that damage wine, not warmth alone.
Can I just use a wine refrigerator instead?
A wine refrigerator may meet your needs without converting a room. Compare the exact model’s usable capacity, installation requirements and bottle fit with the collection you own. Bring the dimensions to our Walnut Creek showroom to discuss the options.
How much glass can I have?
More than most people expect, as long as the glass is dual-pane and the door seals. Glass raises the heat load, which raises the size of the cooling unit and the running cost. That is the trade, and it is a number we can put in front of you before you commit to it.
Do you build it, or do I need a contractor?
We design the cellar, supply the racking, cooling, doors and lighting, and coordinate with whoever is swinging the hammer. Plenty of clients bring their own contractor or cabinet maker. If you do not have one, we will refer people we have worked with across the East Bay.
What humidity should a cellar hold?
Humidity management depends on the room and the selected system. Some systems offer integrated humidity features, while other rooms may need separate humidification. Review the room’s measured conditions and the exact equipment’s capabilities with the installer.
Do you work outside Walnut Creek?
Yes. Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Berkeley, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Dublin, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Napa and Sonoma are all regular work. The showroom is on Locust Street, and it is worth the drive to put your hands on the racking before you choose it.
Plan my cellar
Picture your wine here.
Bring that picture to a conversation with Mike: the room, the bottles and what you would love to change. Call (925) 944-1084 to work through the options. This beta form previews the project questions and does not email the store.
What happens next
- Start with MikeCall (925) 944-1084 or email michael@winehardware.com with the room you want to use and your first question.
- A capacity and cooling readTalk through how much wine you want to store, possible cooling approaches and the choices that will shape your budget.
- Then a drawing, if you want oneDiscuss the layout, materials and finishes, then confirm the design scope and any fees before proceeding.
Ready to work through your room ideas? Call Mike at Call Mike at (925) 944-1084
Keep going
Where to look next.
Commercial
Restaurants, wineries and retail
Wine walls that keep working through a Saturday service, and spec support for the architects and contractors who build them.
Tours
Walk through a finished cellar
A full 360° tour of a cellar we built, so you can judge the racking, the lighting and the finish for yourself before you commit.
Worth reading first
- Cooling Small Wine Closets
The cooling question for closet and stair conversions.
- San Francisco Basement Wine Cellar Conversions
Basements, and what makes one worth converting.
Start here
Which corner of the house is waiting for the wine?
Take a photo and bring it to Mike. He can help you compare a cabinet, a fitted display or a full cellar around your collection and budget. Call (925) 944-1084 to start with the room you have.