How To Turn An Empty Space Into A Stunning Wine Bar Like HGTV's Christina Hall

It doesn't matter if you moved in ten days ago or ten years ago, arranging and decorating a home can always feel like a work in progress, especially if you're faced with an awkward layout or stumped about what to do with an empty flex space in your home. Leave it to design expert and HGTV star Christina Hall to know just how to incorporate your favorite evening treat into an underutilized area of your home. In Season 4 of her hit series, "Christina on the Coast," Hall met with David and Odett, a young couple who were struggling to find a use for their awkward living space downstairs. After discovering that the couple had a mutual appreciation for all things wine, Hall knew exactly what to do. She installed a stunning built-in home wine bar with two wine fridges, rustic wood finishes, and charming details to pull the whole room together. 

Whether you've got an empty living room corner, a small spare bedroom, or an underutilized formal dining room, a wine bar may be just the thing to elevate your space and enhance your relaxation routine. Here's how you can follow in Hall's footsteps to create a stunning wine bar in your home, plus some tips for making the space feel unique to you and your home. 

To start, Christina Hall moved the wine fridge — which was hidden behind the stairs — out into an open, accessible area. Considering the couple's love for wine, Hall opted to add a second matching wine fridge, which helped to give some symmetry to the bar corner. Not sure if you'll need two wine fridges? In another episode of "Christina on the Coast," Hall recommended that a couple swap the second wine fridge idea for a coffee machine and freezer instead. This made the space more functional from day to night and allowed her clients to entertain guests of all ages and beverage preferences.

If you're struggling to make your wine bar look less like a makeshift party corner, built-ins are a great way to add instant elegance. To give the bar some structure and provide more storage, Hall built custom lower cabinets to fit the wall nook, encase the fridges, and create a bar space. One of the details that makes Hall's transformation so brilliant is her floating shelves and built-in bottle rack, creating plenty of room for both chilled and non-chilled bottle storage. 

While it can serve as a statement piece, a classy home wine bar should also blend into the rest of its environment. One detail that makes the wine bar feel grounded, grown-up, and purposeful is attention to texture throughout the room. Christina Hall took the light wood tones from the built-in and closely matched them with the floor and wooden furniture, giving the room a refreshing, cohesive vibe. As Hall's clients pointed out, wine is timeless, so the wine bar in your home is a good place to lean into rustic, timeless design choices like natural woodgrain. Hall opted for a light ash wood tone, but you could also experiment with wine's old-world aesthetic by using a deep mahogany or classic warm oak.

The wine bar is also a great place to spend a little more money on glasses and tools that you'll actually want to display. For example, a golden bar tools set like this one from Williams Sonoma makes a functional and eye-catching decor piece. To make the bar feel approachable and ready to go, Hall also included a wooden wine glass and bottle holder, like this one from Amazon. The main attraction of a home wine bar is the wine, but don't forget to add some visual interest with recipe books, green plants, dried florals, or even a small herb garden.