Not every wine cellar is built for volume. Some are built to stop you in your tracks.
This under stairs wine cellar lands in that second category. Come down from the front door and the Float racking system is the first thing you see: 45 bottles suspended in matte black cable wine racking against a stone-clad wall, right there at the bottom of the stairs, visible through the frameless glass enclosure that wraps the space beautifully. It doesn't hide the collection. It puts it front and centre.
That placement wasn't incidental. It was the whole point.
A Display-First Design
He knew what he didn't want. A massive cellar, a utilitarian storage solution, something you'd have to go looking for. What he wanted was a feature.
The Float racking system caught his eye on his first visit to the showroom. He came back a number of times after that, spent real time with it in person, and that was more or less that. Had he wanted more capacity, the options were there: closer cradle spacing, double-bottle cradles instead of single. He chose the display.
45 bottles. A showpiece rather than a cellar.
Built Through Collaboration
Like a lot of clients, this one walked in picturing something, and then refined that picture over several conversations with our design team.
He knew he wanted stone cladding on the wall behind the cables. He was incorporating a live-edge shelf independently and gave us the specs so we could account for it in the drawings. The custom millwork under the stairs, the cooling unit placement, the presentation rows with integrated lighting: all of it was worked out before anything went into the wall.
That kind of process takes more time upfront, and it's worth every bit of it. When a client is that engaged in the details, the result stops looking like a product installation and starts looking like a room that was always meant to be this way. This project is a good example of what that investment buys you.
How the Float Racking System Works
Float cable wine racking runs high-tension vertical cables from floor anchors to ceiling anchors. Glass cradles clip onto the cables and hold the bottles. Nothing touches the wall behind it, which gave this client complete freedom over the stone cladding he wanted as a backdrop.
The cables need solid backing to anchor into, structural framing behind the drywall at the ceiling, and roughly three-quarter inch embedment into the floor. That's all prepared ahead of time, before anything is finished. Once it's in place, the installation itself is clean and fast.
Five columns of nine bottles each, for a total of 45. Single-bottle cradles in grey glass, not clear. Matte black hardware throughout: cables, clips, ceiling fittings, floor fittings. The grey glass paired with the matte black hardware gives the whole installation a classic, slightly masculine character that sits well against the stone and the warm tones of the walnut staircase beside it.
One detail worth noting. Other cable wine racking systems typically use bulky floor plates with multiple screws and a visible circular mounting base. The Float system uses a narrow floor fitting with a single internal screw. No visible fasteners. The fitting almost disappears into the floor.
The bottles are arranged linearly, all directly in line. The Float system allows for staggered configurations too, but this client was after something clean and consistent. It suits the space.
The Under Stairs Wine Cellar Storage
Directly across from the Float cable wine racking, tucked underneath the staircase, is custom millwork we had made for the project.
A diamond bin for bulk storage. VINdustry wine pegs in matte black for cork-forward display. Presentation rows with integrated LED lighting shining down onto the bottle labels. Roughly 20 bottles of organized storage, plus room in the bin for cases or stacked bottles.
The two walls do different jobs. The Float racking system is the showpiece. The under-stair millwork is where the collection actually lives. Together, the under stairs wine cellar works as both display and storage without either one compromising the other.
The Cooling System
A CellarPro 1800 XTS mounts through the wall at the top of the cellar, exhausting into the adjacent space. Self-contained, so no refrigerant piping behind finished walls. Just a dedicated electrical connection and a drain line.
Glass transfers more heat than an insulated wall. That's the main consideration when sizing a cooling unit for a project like this, and we ran a thermal load calculation to make sure the unit was matched to the actual conditions of the space rather than just the room dimensions.
The client was comfortable running toward the higher end of the ideal cellaring range, around 60°F. Wine stored there matures a little faster than wine stored at 55°F, but that's a trade-off he understood and chose. The unit's job is consistency. Holding that temperature steady, regardless of what's happening in the room around it, is what protects the collection over time.
It's also worth noting what makes a dedicated wine cellar cooling unit different from a standard AC system. A typical AC unit strips moisture aggressively from the air and often can't reach the lower temperatures a cellar requires. A purpose-built unit like the CellarPro maintains a higher relative humidity, which keeps corks healthy, and holds temperatures that no residential AC system is designed to reach. That difference matters for a collection that's meant to age.
When the Whole Space Comes Together
The stair lighting was the last thing to go in. Warm light on the walnut treads, bottles suspended against stone, the whole space catching the glow. It reads more like a designed interior feature than a wine storage solution.
There's also a practical side to how well everything integrates here. The scotch bottles and glassware on the live-edge shelf, the pegs in the under-stair section, the Float columns anchored against the stone: each element was placed with the others in mind. Nothing is competing for attention. It all points in the same direction.
Which is exactly what the client was after from the first conversation.
If you're thinking about cable wine racking for a staircase, an entertainment space, or a feature wall in a kitchen or dining room, book a complimentary consultation and we'll help you work out whether it's the right fit for your space.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Float cable wine racking?
Float cable wine racking is a floor-to-ceiling wine storage system that uses high-tension vertical cables and glass cradles to suspend bottles. The cables anchor to the floor and ceiling only, leaving the back wall completely free for any finish you choose.
Is a staircase a good location for an under stairs wine cellar?
It can be an excellent use of space, particularly in homes with open lower-level layouts where the area beneath the stairs would otherwise go to waste. This project combines a Float racking system as the main display feature with custom under-stair millwork for additional storage, making the most of both walls in the space.
How many bottles can Float cable wine racking hold?
It depends on the configuration. This installation holds 45 bottles across five columns using single-bottle cradles. Capacity can be increased by spacing cradles closer together or switching to double-bottle cradles, which hold two bottles side by side at each cable position.
Does Float cable wine racking require wall attachment?
No. The Float racking system mounts to the floor and ceiling only, which is why it pairs so well with stone, tile, or any other wall treatment you want to keep intact. Solid structural backing is required at the floor and ceiling anchor points, which is prepared during construction before any finishing work is done.
What finishes are available for the Float racking system?
The Float racking system is available in Satin Chrome, Matte Black, and Gold. Glass cradles come in clear or grey. In this project, the client chose matte black hardware with grey glass cradles throughout.
How does glass affect the cooling system in a wine cellar?
Glass transfers more heat than an insulated wall, which increases the thermal load the cooling system has to manage. For any project with significant glass, we run a thermal load calculation to make sure the refrigeration unit is sized for the actual conditions rather than just room dimensions.
Can the bottle arrangement in cable wine racking be customized?
Yes. Cradle spacing and positioning along the cables is fully adjustable, so bottles can be arranged linearly, staggered, or in a more creative configuration depending on the look you're after. Pivoting cable sets are also available for sloped ceilings.