Minnesota's Coziest Wine Cellar

An Award-Winning Romantic Escape Direct From Paris

Project Summary 

Inspired by a wine tasting room designed for a previous Murphy Bros. client, John and Cindy asked Murphy's award-winning consultant Cherie Poissant to come up with a custom design just for them. Upon their return from a tour of the wine country of Europe, they were even more excited about the direction of this lower-level transformation. This was actually part of a larger whole house remodel involving bathrooms and a kitchen. The result? An unused outgrown toy room became what the Star Tribune Home & Garden section called “Minnesota’s Coziest Wine Cellar.”

Note custom wine cask table support


Before

This lower-level room was mainly used as a storage area for toys. A largely forgotten area the space quickly became cluttered and underutilized.

Murphy Bros. lead carpenter attached a 2x to the ceiling perpendicular to the joist. Then OSB with the barrel shape cut out of it was applied. Next, 1- by 4-in. blocks were stapled to the bottom of the barrel and skinned with with a 3/4-in. ply and stapled it to the rafter that became the barrels. Those barrels are spaced out to accept the false beams. Existing HVAC ducts were rerouted to accommodate the new ceilings; one duct had to run down the length of a beam.


After

This extensive remodel features a brick barrel vault ceiling, stone walls, functional niches, a wet bar, an arched iron door and custom racks for displaying and storing bottles of wine, custom stained glass art window, hammered copper sink and themed table. The owners say the space instantly transports them to a distant time and place without leaving home.

Note wine glass Chandelier
Custom arch entry door to wine room

The national remodeling magazine, Qualified Remodeler, recognized Murphy Bros. Designers & Remodelers with the coveted 2015 Master Design Award for Specialty Rooms/Niche Spaces and a 2014 Contractor of the Year (CotY) Award from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry's Minnesota Chapter. The Eden Prairie project was among more than 300 that top remodelers entered in the nationwide competition for the best remodeling projects.

"The wine room was a unique project, complex in both design and workmanship," explains Murphy Bros. design/build expert Cherie Poissant. "It really shows off the talents of the Murphy Bros. carpenters. The layering of the materials to appear built into the stone walls is just one example of how sophisticated this design really was. The homeowners were really fun to work with and I know they will enjoy the room for years to come," concludes Poissant.

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