Beautiful Home Bar Design + Wine Cellar | Must-See Design Photos

Beautiful Home Bar Design + Wine Cellar | Must-See Design Photos

Oh, my goodness.

Perhaps that’s not the most eloquent lead we’ve ever written at Design Your Lifestyle. That’s okay. We’ll let the design photos from this home bar and wine cellar tell the story.

This home bar and wine cellar design (by our parent company, Peter Salerno Inc.) sits on the first floor of a gorgeous home. Looking out from behind the bar, your eye takes you through a spacious open floor plan through a dining area and directly into the kitchen. The open flow of the design space is perfect for entertaining guests, making conversation and eye contact from kitchen to dining to the bar area seamless.

The bar design itself features stellar lighting effects in the open cabinetry and kitchen island. A rich blue tone emanates from behind opaque glass in the kitchen island, giving the bar space a beautiful glow at any time of day. The blue color effect is duplicated in the twin bar cabinet areas on either side of the center feature wall, drawing the eye to the liquor selection behind the bar.

The bar itself is as aesthetically pleasing as it is functional. The stainless counter space houses a bar sink, tap, and dual preparation surfaces. The island also houses a refrigeration unit, seven drawers and storage areas, and elegant dark-stained wood construction. The bar’s front has seating for four in cozy cream-colored chairs.

Need a glass of wine? The wine cellar is only steps away, recessed in the left wall of the dining and bar area. (Seriously. It’s right there.) The glass-front wine cellar sits back from the wall, encased by beautiful exposed brick. The vertical wine storage, central space for bottled liquors, and recessed wall space for custom art make this first-floor wine cellar an instant conversation piece and the show-stealer of this design.

Daytime area lighting is provided by large picture windows on either side of the bar. Ambient light streams in and catches the white bar feature wall and ornate white ceiling, allowing it to radiate throughout the open floor plan. At night, a smart assortment of high-hat recessed ceiling lighting complements the recessed blue light of the bar island and cabinetry.

This home bar and wine cellar is a host’s dream – stunning transitional design with an open floor concept, unique light sources, high-quality materials and unexpected aesthetic features. But enough about our opinion – what do YOU think?

Leave us a comment and tell us your reaction to this home bar and wine cellar design!

(Photos and posts courtesy of Peter Salerno Inc. on Instagram.)

May 9th is National Moscato Day: Our Favorite Moscatos

May 9th is National Moscato Day: Our Favorite Moscatos

Ah, Moscato. Perhaps no other beverage has created such divisive opinions within the community of wine aficionados as the product of the Muscat grape. Although the classic Moscato D’Anti originated in Italy, derivatives and clones of the Muscat grape are now grown from Oregon to New Zealand as demand for the fruity wine soars.

The Gallo Family created National Moscato Day in 2012 to celebrate the light, sparkling sipping wine that’s taken dinner tables, wine wholesalers and liquor stores by storm over recent years.

A fresh bunch of Moscato Bianco grapes, just in time for National Moscato Day! (Credit: Wiki Commons)
A fresh bunch of Moscato Bianco grapes, just in time for National Moscato Day!

Like it or not, the Moscato craze appears here to stay! But which Moscato wines are really worth drinking?

If you’re a lover of Moscato wines – be they Orange Muscat, Muscat Blanc or Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains – then May 9th is bound to be one of your favorite days of spring. But celebrating May 9th (National Moscato Day) in style isn’t quite as simple as picking up a pedestrian bottle of the fizzy wine.

As Richard Jennings, author of over 45,000 tasting notes, once noted:

America’s in the midst of a much bigger wine phenomenon than the sudden upswing in Pinot Noir sales following the 2004 release of the movie Sideways. Sales of slightly sparkling sweet wines with underlying acidity made from the Muscat grape have exploded over the past two years among younger buyers, especially Millennials — the 21 to 30 age group.

Some of these wines, especially from Italy’s Asti region, are terrific. Others, produced by huge wine conglomerates on an industrial basis looking to cash in on the latest trend, are truly dreadful.

So this National Moscato Day, how can you tell which Muscat to enjoy in your dining room, sitting room or custom wine cellar?

Imagine the custom wine cellar of your dreams. Peter Salerno makes it. (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)
Imagine the custom wine cellar of your dreams. Peter Salerno makes it. (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)

Here’s a great, short list of fabulous Moscatos to enjoy May 9th (or any day)!

Best Moscatos to Enjoy on National Moscato Day

1. Borgo Maragliano La Caliera Moscato D’Asti, 2014 (Italy)

At between $12-16 a bottle at most retailers, La Caliera is our favorite Italian Moscato D’Asti when it comes to a combination of taste and price. While each edition from 2013-2016 is a real winner, our selection is the 2014 vintage, full of green grape, pear and yet not overly sweet. This Borgo Maragliano Moscato D’Asti is a great pair with most desserts (even chocolate!).

The winemaker describes La Caliera as carrying a “fragrance of candied fruit, acacia flowers and a typical musky but delicate bouquet”.

2. Foris Moscato, 2013 (Rogue Valley)

Foris is a great Oregon-based brand that has a knack for versatile, light Moscato. 2013 is our favorite (2012 and 2016 aren’t half-bad either) for its low alcohol content and intriguing citrus quality. Rated an 87 by Wine Enthusiast, we also love Foris for use in mimosas and other wine-mix beverages – primarily due to the low alcohol content and orange flavor we mentioned.

At a price tag of roughly $15-17 per bottle, this is an affordable, enjoyable Moscato.

Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.
Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.

3. Stemmari Moscato, 2013 (Terre Siciliane)

This beautiful pale yellow Moscato sits neatly at 8.5% ABV and, unlike many Moscatos, serves exceptionally well as an aperitif rather than a dessert wine. Like its Foris counterpart, the 2013 vintage is exceptional, garnering a rating of 90 at the Ultimate Wine Challenge. (The 2012 is also excellent, receiving a score of 86 from Wine Enthusiast.)

Sweeter than some of its counterparts, you’ll also find the price tag a bit sweeter as well – retail average for this bottle is just about $10. If you feel like venturing out of the Asti region and into Sicily, you’ll be highly satisfied with this effort from Stemmari.

Peter Salerno Inc. Presents Custom Wine Cellars + ‘Man Cave Classics’

Peter Salerno Inc. Presents Custom Wine Cellars + ‘Man Cave Classics’

Custom Wine Cellars From Peter Salerno Inc.

The fall is an amazing time to enjoy the perfect bottle of wine with friends, family and loved ones. Thanks to the Man Cave Classics line from Peter Salerno Inc., you can enjoy the world’s best wines in your own custom wine cellar.

Man Cave Classics is a special Peter Salerno Inc. line dedicated to custom wine cellars, “man caves”, cigar bars, humidors, and more. A wine connoisseur in his own right, Peter Salerno is intimately aware of the attributes of an outstanding custom wine cellar.

Imagine the custom wine cellar of your dreams. Peter Salerno makes it. (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)
Imagine the custom wine cellar of your dreams. Peter Salerno makes it. (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)

Peter Salerno Inc.’s custom wine cellars are award-winning and completely centered around the client, whether it is a one thousand bottle cellar with a tasting area or a four thousand bottle cellar with a secret passageway from the main cellar to a secret corridor containing your most precious and prized wines and champagnes.

Proper wine storage is a priority, you must have the right balance of humidity and temperature. As wine enthusiasts, the staff at Peter Salerno Inc. understands this, making custom wine cellar construction a company specialty.

Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.
Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.

If you are interested in your own custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc., they offer private, personal consultations for current and prospective design clients. Please fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page for information on the Man Cave Classics line, as well as Peter Salerno’s award-winning kitchen, bath, and custom cabinetry designs.

Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.
Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.

Five Essential Items for Your Man Cave Design [PHOTOS]

Five Essential Items for Your Man Cave Design [PHOTOS]

There’s nothing quite like throwing a party in your custom-designed, world-class man cave.

Wait – what’s that? You don’t have the world’s best man cave? No problem. You don’t need a walk-in humidor, a hand-crafted wine cellar or custom-built leather recliners to have a great “man cave” to make your friends drool.

What you do need are a few helpful tips from Peter Salerno, the creator of “Man Cave Classics”one of the world’s foremost interior designers and recipient of an unprecedented 23 NKBA design awards over the last decade.

With these five helpful tips, you can transform your den or media room into a man cave so amazing, your friends will drool with envy. (Then, your only problem will be getting them to leave after the party’s over!)

5 Tips to Create an Awesome Man Cave

1. Make your bar unique, eye-popping and memorable.

This tip is a Peter Salerno specialty. Don’t believe us? Take a look at this 1959 Corvette that Peter transformed into the most amazing bar in the world:

All it takes is a little creativity and a personal touch. Take something you’re passionate about and use it as the basis for your very own custom-built bar. (And if you need some assistance, Peter Salerno and his team will be glad to help you design the bar of your dreams!)

2. Make sure you have plenty of comfortable seating.

Your man cave should be a place to hang out, crash and relax. Make sure there’s plenty of space and seating for you and your buddies to lounge around without feeling cramped or uncomfortable.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on recliners and sectional sofas – just make sure that there’s at least one more seat than the amount of guests you expect (just in case someone brings a friend). Oh, and as far as your own seat? Make sure you designate a chair of your own – every master of a man cave should have his favorite place to sit!

3. Make the decor personal to you.

When you think of a prototypical man cave, a few things instantly come to mind: animal heads mounted on the wall, tacky bearskin rugs, and so on. Don’t go the conventional, “over done” route – make your man cave your very own!

A great idea is to personalize the decor in your man cave with items, art and designs that showcase who you are and what your life is all about. For example, Peter Salerno designed one of his man caves with a professional graffiti artist, who “tagged” the walls with an awesome city skyline as well as the initials and names of his family, friends and loved ones.

Tag your man cave with personalized graffiti! (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)
Tag your man cave with personalized graffiti! (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)

4. Offer more entertainment options than just TV.

At some point, guests to your man cave will want to do something other than sit around and watch TV. At this point, you need other forms of entertainment to keep them occupied. Peter Salerno and his team suggest a form of physical activity: pool table, air hockey, old-school pinball machine, etc.

Add another attraction to your man cave to keep guests entertained (like a pool table). (Credit Peter Rymwid, Peter Salerno Inc.)
Add another attraction to your man cave to keep guests entertained (like a pool table). (Credit Peter Rymwid, Peter Salerno Inc.)

Keeping your guests spread out around your man cave also ensures that everyone mingles, no one feels cramped, and there’s plenty of room for everyone to feel comfortable, relaxed and never bored.

5. Add the element of surprise.

What if a bookcase in your man cave hides a hidden door to your garage, a cigar room/humidor or the rest of your house? How about having your TV hidden behind a large mirror? Or perhaps you could have secret shelving units for your liquor, games, or other man cave “treasures”?

These are just a few ideas to take your man cave to the next level. The element of surprise will not only entertain your guests, but take the “Wow” factor of your man cave through the roof. Imagine giving your friends the man cave experience of their lives, and then springing one last secret on them – how great is that?

Surprise your guests - what if that tool chest became a wine fridge? (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)
Surprise your guests – what if that tool chest became a wine fridge? (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)

These are just a few ideas to make your man cave the envy of your friends (and neighborhood rivals?). If you want even more great ideas regarding custom man cave, wine cellar, cigar room or game room construction and design, then you’re definitely going to want to contact Peter Salerno and create your very own Man Cave Classic!

Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics: Custom Wine Cellars

Custom Wine Cellars From Peter Salerno Inc.

Fall 2016 is an amazing time to enjoy the perfect bottle of wine with friends, family and loved ones. Thanks to the Man Cave Classics line from Peter Salerno Inc., you can enjoy the world’s best wines in your own custom wine cellar.

Man Cave Classics is a special Peter Salerno Inc. line dedicated to custom wine cellars, “man caves”, cigar bars, humidors, and more. A wine connoisseur in his own right, Peter Salerno is intimately aware of the attributes of an outstanding custom wine cellar.

Imagine the custom wine cellar of your dreams. Peter Salerno makes it. (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)
Imagine the custom wine cellar of your dreams. Peter Salerno makes it. (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)

Peter Salerno Inc.’s custom wine cellars are award-winning and completely centered around the client, whether it is a one thousand bottle cellar with a tasting area or a four thousand bottle cellar with a secret passageway from the main cellar to a secret corridor containing your most precious and prized wines and champagnes.

Proper wine storage is a priority, you must have the right balance of humidity and temperature. As wine enthusiasts, the staff at Peter Salerno Inc. understands this, making custom wine cellar construction a company specialty.

Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.
Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.

If you are interested in your own custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc., we offer private, personal consultations for current and prospective design clients. Please fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page for information on our Man Cave Classics line, as well as Peter Salerno’s award-winning kitchen, bath, and custom cabinetry designs.

Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.
Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.

Peter Salerno Meets Clive Coates at NYC Wine Workshop [PHOTOS]

Peter Salerno Meets Clive Coates at NYC Wine Workshop [PHOTOS]

See Clive Coates and Peter Salerno in Exclusive Event Photos

It is a rare and distinct honor to be given the title Master of Wine (MW). It is even rarer to be also be awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole by the French government, the “Rame d’Honneur” by Le Verre et L’Assiette, the Ruffino/Cyril Ray Memorial Prize, and the title of “Wine Writer of the Year” for 1998/1999 in the Champagne Lanson awards.

Peter Salerno, CMKBD, and Clive Coates MW, in NYC (March 2015).
Peter Salerno, CMKBD, and Clive Coates MW, in NYC (March 2015).

Such a resume could only belong to internationally-renowned wine critic, champion and connoisseur Clive Coates. Recently, Mr. Coates brought his lifetime of experience and knowledge to The Wine Workshop on West 27nd Street in New York City for a seminar on 1985 Red Burgundy.

Peter Salerno was one of the select few attendees at this exclusive event, which featured over a dozen red burgundy wines from the plentiful 1985 season. The list included such wines as the George Roumier Bonnes Mares, G. Lignier Clos de la Roche, Rousseau Chambertin, and Joseph Drouhin Clos Vougeot.

Included with attendance at this event was the opportunity to benefit from Clive Coates’ extensive knowledge and particular mastery of the Burgundy region.

Peter Salerno, CMKBD, and Clive Coates MW, in NYC (March 2015).

The event was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an internationally regarded Master of Wine and the most awarded North American custom kitchen and bath designer of the last 15 years to take some photos together!

From the website biography of Clive Coates MW:

Coates’ books are widely considered the classic works on their respective subjects. They include: CLARET (1982), WINES OF FRANCE (1990), GRANDS VINS, The Finest Châteaux of Bordeaux and Their Wines (1995), and CÔTE D’OR, A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy (1997), which won the André Simon Award (UK), the Champagne Veuve Clicquot prize (USA) and the James Beard Award (USA) for the best wine book of the year. CÔTE D’OR also won the annual Prix des Arts et des Lettres awarded by the Burgundian Confrérie du Tastevin, the first time a book on wine and a non-Burgundian has been so honoured for 30 years. Since then he has published AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA TOTHE WINES AND DOMAINES OF FRANCE (2000); THE WINES OF BORDEAUX (2004) and THE GREAT WINES OF FRANCE (2005).

The long-awaited sequel to Côte d’Or, THE WINES OF BURGUNDY, was published world-wide by the University of California Press in April 2008.

The Master of Wine Clive Coates.
The Master of Wine Clive Coates.

Peter Salerno would personally like to thank Mr. Coates for his time, wealth of knowledge, and outstanding review of the 1985 Red Burgundy vintage.