Wine cellars can be used as an accent piece of woodworking that is quite different from the rest of your home’s wood trim, or it can be the same as your trim to blend into your home seamlessly. There are two major factors to consider when you are deciding on the appearance of your wine cellar, the wood grain and the wood stain.
Fine grain wood has a straight and tight grain in a consistent pattern with tiny knots about the size of a pinhead. Alder is a fine grain wood that accepts stains readily as a softer hardwood. Popular is a fine grain wood that is economically priced with the same attributes as alder. Maple is a heavy strong wood with the softer varieties having a straight grain and the harder varieties contain a streaking effect in the grain. Mahogany is the master of the fine grain woods with an exceptionally beautiful and evenly striped grain.
Wood with an open or expanded wood grain shows a personality all of it’s own with waves, lines, curves and non-repeating patterns throughout. Oak is a hardwood in the open wood grain category. It contains a mixture of large brown knots, with light and dark contrasting lines throughout. Rustic pine is an open wood grain with the same characteristics that are enhanced with stain. Hickory is a heavy, dense wood with a flowing grain pattern and cherry is multi-colored with small pin knots, streaks and figures.
Each type of wood has a wood grain in and of itself; however, the natural grain can be changed depending on how it is sawed. Plain sawn produces the best assortment of curves, ovals and ellipses in wood. The wood is sawn on one side for several planks, turned 90-degrees and then sawn for a few more until the center is reached. Quarter sawn is when the log is cut into quarters before sawing boards to result in a finer and straighter grain. Live sawn is when the wood is sawn through the diameter of the trunk with the greatest amount of texture varieties.
After choosing the type of wood you want in your wine cellar project, you can determine the finish that you want to complete it with. There are many choices in the finishes to consider.
Unstained wood is just as it sounds; it is all natural in the color and texture of the type of wood and the method of cutting it. Unstained woods can develop a natural luster over time as they age.
Whitewash finish is the application of a white color to the wood to complement the home with modern decor and an open concept house.
Light colored stains, such as a light Danish stain, add a warm, light golden color to the wood to accentuate the wood grains. This type of stain works best on lighter-colored woods.
Mahogany stains have a rich, luxurious reddish-brown color for a dramatic finishing style. It darkens the smooth wood and dramatically highlights the lighter whorls and wood grains.
Walnut stains are a dark golden brown. This type of stain darkens all types of wood and works well on all shades of wine cellar woods.
Midnight black stain is the darkest stain possible and it is jet black to add contemporary appeal to any wine cellar in a newer home. Many contemporary themed homes include black lacquer furnishings.
Weathered finishes give your wine cellar a timeworn look as if it has been in place for years. The wood’s exterior grain is stripped down to look like antique barn siding that is 50 years old or more. A custom top coating is applied to make the wood grayish-brown and add to the weathered appearance. You may also choose a dark weathered finish, which uses a darker, solid topcoat to be more dramatic than the light weathered finish. This process works best with redwood, oak and pine.
Distressed finishes include labor to make the wood look like an old piece of furniture. It is gouged, scratched and dented, a dark coat is added to fill in the blemishes and highlight them. A medium dark brown coating is applied and then it is finished with a shiny lacquer topcoat.
Lacquer finishes include several applications of a clear, shiny coat with hand sanding between each coat. The light plays off the racks for an elegant appearance.
