Beyond the Bar Cart: How Boozy Spaces Are Taking Over People’s Homes

Brandon Architects, Inc/Houzz

For Bob Weinschenk, wine isn’t just a pleasant accompaniment for dinner: It’s a bond that connects him to family and friends. He grew up with his parents and French grandparents in Queens, NY, where wine was paired with conversation at just about every evening meal. As an adult, Weinschenk collected bottles, first storing them in closets at his home and eventually working his way up to three wine refrigerators, each holding 150 bottles.

Now living in Austin, TX, Weinschenk, 54, has taken his love of vino to a new level, with a custom cellar built directly under his kitchen, holding 2,500 bottles.

Weinschenk is one of a growing number of homeowners who are creating designated spaces in their homes to celebrate their love of wine, spirits, and beer. Whether it’s having a home sports bar to enjoy the big game with pals and signature cocktails or an outdoor beer garden, people are showing their love of entertaining by redesigning their homes to create boozy spaces.

Although there have always been deep-pocketed collectors of wine and spirits willing to invest in custom spaces, remodeling experts say there’s a growing wave of homeowners renovating their homes with drinking rooms in mind.

For Weinschenk, who has founded several startups, including a wine recommendation app called WhatsMyWine, the four-month construction project involved jackhammering 12 feet underground, pouring about 15,000 pounds of concrete, installing an HVAC unit, and, finally, having the 7-foot-wide cylindrical wine cellar shipped from the United Kingdom. It took a few more months to calibrate the optimal wine storage temperature. Total cost: about $60,000.

“It’s the intersection of food and beverage and residential [real estate],” says Jason Dorsey, president and co-founder of the Center for Generational Kinetics, a millennial and Generation Z research and consulting firm. “It’s not just putting up a Budweiser sign. People want this kind of live-play space in their house so they can entertain.”

The craze, which grew out of the artisanal food and craft beverage movement of the past decade, has really taken off in the past two or three years as more younger homeowners are remodeling their homes to suit their needs, says Nancy Fire, founder of Design Works International, a New York City–based interior and home design studio.

“It’s definitely a movement,” says Fire, who also serves as the design director of HGTV Home, curating the station’s home products. Millennials “truly love their homemade whiskey, bourbon, wine, and craft beer.”

Bars or wine cellars can add to a home’s value

Creating a boozy space doesn’t have to break the bank—and it might just make a home more valuable when it comes time to sell.

The average cost for a basement remodel is just under $19,000, for example. But an area can be revamped with fresh paint, carpet, and furnishings for much less. The average cost to install a wet bar ranges from $2,000 to $12,000, depending on the type of appliances and other details, according to HomeAdvisor.

The more deluxe spaces can be attractions unto themselves. Weinschenk’s wine cellar has an entrance set in the floor, covered in glass strong enough to stand on. It serves as a centerpiece when he and his wife have friends over for dinner.

“You can go in there and have hors d’oeuvres or just sit down and drink a glass of wine,” Weinschenk says. “It’s visually beautiful, and it doesn’t take up a whole room.”

Bob Weinschenk’s luxury wine cellar cost more than $60,000.

Provided by Bob Weinschenk

Although older homeowners typically have more money to pour into such features, younger homeowners are often the ones creating these booze-focused spaces. In the past 12 months, millennial homebuyers, now the largest single group of buyers, have spent an average of about $5,000 on home remodeling, second only to baby boomers, according to HomeAdvisor. And millennials are also 89% more likely to remodel a basement than homeowners of other generations.

“The whiskey room, the beer garden, it’s a way to put their stamp on the home without having to take out a second mortgage for a major renovation,” says Dan DiClerico, HomeAdvisor’s home expert.

You don’t need an extensive remodel to create a drinking space

Some homeowners are also creating smaller home spaces for libations and entertaining. One example would be a micro bar next to the kitchen.

Because they love to entertain in different ways, event planner Gina Whittington, 41, and her husband created several his-and her drinking areas in their respective home offices in Austin, TX.

“I started with a fun bar cart that I found and then some of my grandmother’s vintage carnival glass,” she says, describing her office bar.

Whittington’s husband has a bar not only in his office, but also in the garage. Their main bar in the living room is stocked with an array of spirits and vintage glassware, and the dining area holds their wine refrigerator and accessories.

The couple often entertain friends in the main bar areas, setting up a tequila bar or Scotch tasting. Whittington likes to make special cocktails for her book club and parties. She recently set up a station to mix up blood orange margaritas for the adult guests at her 2-year-old daughter’s taco-themed birthday party.

YOLO: Going all out and creating a full bar in your home Some homeowners would rather stay in and have friends over to watch the big game than hit the bars.

Provided by Leo Lantz

Last year, for example, Curtis Irby, 51, had a  full-scale sports bar built in the basement of his Quinton, VA, home.

The bar features a 6-foot commercial refrigerator, and the bar’s name, “Bloody Alibi,” is etched in a mirror behind the bar and backlit with LED lights that change color. The project took about four months and $50,000, Irby says.

Irby, 51, a former Navy football player who is now a high school Navy Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps teacher, says the bar seats six, but there’s plenty of standing room. He hosted friends for the Army-Navy football game last fall in his bar and had a Super Bowl party with about 25 people in attendance.

“You only live once,” Irby says. “A lot of people would get a small refrigerator and just be happy. I said, ‘No.’ I wanted to turn this into something that has the look and feel of a real bar.”

You don’t need to go to a sports bar when you have one in your own home.

Provided by Leo Lantz

The post Beyond the Bar Cart: How Boozy Spaces Are Taking Over People’s Homes appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from DIYS https://ift.tt/2GV4n9K