(NAPSI)—When you’re looking for a great place to unwind with friends, as more and more Americans are discovering, few spots can beat your own home bar or wine cellar.

What’s Cool In Wine Cellars

A recent survey of home decorators, designers and fabricators found four facts and trends to consider when you want to install your own bar.

1. What are the new technologies for bars and wine cellars? The majority of designers brought up LED lighting, flexible lighting, appliance lighting and the addition of more lighting displays. “Bars and wine cellars will trend toward backlighting in the future with the increasing prevalence of LED lighting,” according to Paul Menninger, owner of Capitol Granite. “The options for LED come with reduced costs, longer life and lower heat generation.”

2. What materials or appliances are trending? The hottest materials today include ultracompact surfacing—more commonly known as “thin” tile. These surfaces have the advantage of stain resistance and durability—you can have a marble look, for instance, without having to worry about stains. Mixed textures were also a common answer. These are spaces designed to “stand out.”

3. What trends do you anticipate for the future? Designers and fabricators anticipate the use of more glass, unique surface materials such as porcelain countertops, or looks such as a mitered drop edge. Cheryl Clendenon, owner of InDetail Design, states, “I would say unique wine storage in unusual places—we have proposed one in a large foyer. Sounds odd but it will be part of a built-in area with a bench and the wine will become drinkable art! Also, more clients want wine refrigeration.”

“Clients tend to want a bar or wine cellar that is a conversation piece,” states Krista Lake, owner of Signature Interior Expressions. “They like for their bar/wine cellar to have a unique look that stands out from the rest of the home.”

“The products we feel are currently trending are wine barrel and winepress furniture,” states Brad Burns, partner/owner of Cutting Edge Countertops. That may help explain the appeal of Blanco’s new Empressa faucet collection, which coordinates bar and kitchen sink faucet styles with a vintage winepress-inspired handle shape.

4. What colors are in for bars and wine cellars? Mostly whites and grays, automotive and industrial finishes. “Whites and grays with dark-colored woods contrasting in the wine cellars, like walnut and cherry,” are popular, adds Menninger. What’s working, he said, is contrasting light and dark colors for entertaining spaces. For example, the Empressa faucet ranges from contemporary polished chrome or stainless, to more traditional polished nickel and even oil-rubbed bronze.

The award-winning design team at Blanco foresaw the fusion of old-world influences and contemporary style in today’s kitchens and bars. Traditional finishes such as oil-rubbed bronze are making a comeback, even as modern design is surpassing traditional. The result is a transitional look with one foot in the familiar past and another in the functional present. It can be the best of both worlds.

Learn More

For further facts about faucets, go to www.blancoamerica.com.

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On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)