These Arlington Homes Have Built-In Bars

Looking for basement bar ideas or inspo for that home wine cellar or cocktail lounge you’ve always wanted? These home bars in Arlington deserve a toast.

A Secret Whiskey Room

Billy Simons did not set out to make his friends jealous, but when party guests eventually make their way down to the bourbon room in the basement of his Country Club Hills home, envy is a reasonable response.

A cool basement was always part of the plan when Simons, an insurance executive, and his wife, Rebecca, broke ground on a new home last year. He just wasn’t sure what form it would take until construction wrapped up in August and she agreed to give him the entire lower level to play around with. Then the ideas started flowing. “I took that and ran with it,” he says. 

Working with their builder, BCN Homes in Falls Church, Simons identified an 11-by-18-foot spot at the back of the house. He already had a theme in mind. “I decided to turn it into a British pub,” he says, “because I used to live in London.” He enlisted Mindy Gayer, an interior designer based in Newport Beach, California, to help bring his vision to life.

In true speakeasy fashion, the pub is hidden behind a bank of unassuming bookshelves, so it’s easy to miss. Beyond those shelves (handcrafted by Arlington carpenter Tom Blevins), a secret hideaway is anchored by a backlit shelf of whiskeys, bourbons and fine scotches from all over the world. 

Tartan plaid wallpaper and painted wainscoting give the windowless lair a U.K. sensibility, while leather chairs and a tailored sofa welcome visitors to have a seat. A bourbon barrel table with two lazy Susans inside provides extra bottle storage. “The space has really cool artwork of my five favorite London pubs,” he shares, “and a big picture of Steve McQueen from a 1963 magazine photo shoot.”

The subterranean haunt even has a name: The Dog and Elbow, inspired by Simons’ dog, Trooper, and one of his favorite English rock bands, Elbow. 

But it is still missing one final piece—a bourbon barrel from his friend, football legend Terry Bradshaw, who owns Bradshaw Bourbon, a small-batch distiller based in Kentucky. Simons says he and his wife met Bradshaw at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel bar in L.A. the day after their wedding. They’ve been friends ever since.

The Dog and Elbow may have been conceived as a social space, but its proprietor has discovered other uses for it. “I work predominantly from home. If I want to mix it up, I’ll come down into the bourbon room, put on music and bring my laptop with me,” he says. “No, I’m not drinking anything. I just sit on the couch and hide out in the room. It’s just a very cool vibe in there to sit and be quiet.”

An Old World Wine Cellar

What’s an oenophile to do who is long on bottles but short on space? Renovate and create a wine cellar to house the collection. That’s what attorney David Barsky and his wife, Patricia Petroccione, did in their Shirley Woods home.

“He is a prolific wine collector,” says Michael Winn, founder and CEO of Winn Design + Build in McLean.” Prior to engaging us, he had wine stored in every nook and cranny at his house. It was filling up closets, storage rooms…It was everywhere.”

The clients wanted a dedicated place to store their stash, and a room where they could host wine tastings and social gatherings. After exploring various design options—including a proposal to convert existing space within the footprint of the house—they decided to add on. “We constructed a small addition off the back of the house where we could have the wine room in the cellar, in a conditioned space, and a sunroom directly above it,” Winn says.

Measuring 16 feet by 10 feet with a palette of natural materials, the wine room features custom built-in storage. A granite countertop spanning three walls provides a ledge for glasses during tastings. Cherry coffered ceilings and ceramic floor tiles that look like tumbled stone complete the old-world aesthetic. 

Completed in 2018, the wine cave is not overly large, but it’s efficient. One of its most important features is unseen: a dedicated ventilation and humidification system that ensures perfect climate conditions for its trove of fine vintages.  “There is a separate system, so on the other side of the wall behind that small tasting area is a storage room with mechanical equipment,” Winn says. “It takes up a fair amount of space.”

Barsky and Petroccione recently added a small table and chairs so guests can sit and enjoy the setting. But even with the additional storage, their collection is overflowing. “There’s still more wine than could fit in this room,” Winn says. “He has another room that just has boxes and cases of wine.” Perhaps another remodel might be in the offing.

A Trendy Tequila Lounge

When Arlington designer Ame Gold and her husband, Bryan Berezdivin, built their Arlington home in 2016, he really wanted a bar. She wanted a formal living room. They compromised and got the living room.

“A formal living room is not in vogue anymore, but I didn’t care,” Gold says. “I grew up using a formal living room and I always wanted one, so I put it in.”

Fast forward seven years, and Gold decided it was time to renovate and give Berezdivin the bar he’d always wanted. “He’s a big tequila collector,” she says, “so I leaned into that. I love how pretty tequila bottles are.”

To convert the living room into a lounge, she designed a wall of built-ins to display spirits and store cocktail accoutrements, adding a refrigerator and freezer drawers, a bar sink, and ornamental grille-front cabinet doors for architectural interest. A mirrored backsplash takes the glam factor up a notch and makes the room feel larger.

Gunmetal gray paint (Benjamin Moore “Flint”) strikes a sophisticated chord, while crown molding at the junction of walls and ceiling has a unifying effect. “People like the idea of making these rooms darker…to feel like it’s nighttime,” Gold says. “I think that’s the intention for us. My other thought was [to play up] all these beautiful tequila bottles. They usually are very vivid and full of bright colors. I wanted a backdrop that would give a lot of contrast.”

French doors bring light into the 14-by-16-foot space and provide access to an adjacent porch. Four leather swivel chairs clustered around a tufted ottoman can pivot to face the fireplace, the bar or the porch. “Everybody can put their feet up,” Gold says. “We went with that camel leather [seating] to get some nice contrast off of those dark walls.”

Built-in shelves display collectibles from the couple’s travels and objects with special meaning. Says Gold, “It’s a place where you can be surrounded by your happy things and your memories.”

Nigel F. Maynard is editor of the newly launched architecture magazine Design Vibes.