Hospitality · Wine bar · Main Street, Tiburon
A true expression of place
The essence
Squalo Vino is a 600-square-foot boutique wine bar on Main Street in downtown Tiburon, California. Sara Alexander led its interiors as lead interior designer at QA, the architecture firm on the project, pairing steel, brass and stone with wood, wool and velvet in a restored historic storefront.
- Location
- Main Street, Tiburon, California
- Type
- Boutique wine bar
- Size
- 600 sq ft
- Role
- Sara Alexander, lead interior designer at QA
- Developer
- AC Ventures
The story
Authentic, like a great glass of wine
Squalo Vino was designed to capture the same authenticity found in a great glass of wine: a true expression of place, material and craft. The 600-square-foot bar sits on Main Street in the heart of downtown Tiburon, blending industrial materials with the character of a historic storefront.
Steel, brass and stone anchor the room, warmed by multi-toned wood, nubby wool and crushed velvet upholstery. Cork accents nod to the wine throughout, and the mobile Vitra stools were chosen because their shape recalls a wine stopper. Every square foot was planned to flex for groups of different sizes, with smart storage that includes a custom retail wall and wine bottle display.
The storefront was restored in Benjamin Moore's required historic color palette, with a modern shark on the signage as a playful nod to Tiburon's name and its life by the water. The furniture was chosen to age gracefully, collecting wine stains as quiet evidence of the evenings spent there.
What began as a design has become a neighborhood gathering place, where locals come back night after night and the regulars know each other by name.
The project
Inside Squalo Vino
Materials
- Steel
- Brass
- Stone
- Multi-toned wood
- Nubby wool
- Crushed velvet
- Cork accents
- Vitra stools
Credits
Lead interior designer: Sara Alexander, at QA
Architecture: QA
Developer: AC Ventures
Questions
Good to know
Where is Squalo Vino?
Squalo Vino is on Main Street in downtown Tiburon, California, in a restored historic storefront.
Who designed the interiors of Squalo Vino?
Sara Alexander, founder of The Scale Collective, led the interiors as lead interior designer while at QA, the architecture firm on the project.
Why is there a shark on the sign?
Tiburon means shark in Spanish, and squalo means shark in Italian. The modern shark on the signage is a playful nod to the town's name and its life by the water.
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