It’s Always Wine O’Clock in This Bay Village Townhouse
To create an entertaining space big enough for their bottle collection, one local oenophile couple took the party underground.
Photo by Michael J. Lee / Architect: Hickox Williams Architects. Builder: Payne Bouchier. Interior Designer: Stefan Castellucci Design
The Problem
The homeowners of this compact Bay Village townhouse are wine collectors who enjoy hosting family-style dinner parties. Yet with the main level just big enough for the kitchen, there was no room for a large dining area where the couple could entertain—and certainly no space for bottle storage.
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The Solution
Architect Brigid Williams and interior designer Stefan Castellucci devised a plan that transformed the home’s lower level into a dining room with a wine cellar that puts the bottles front and center. “We designed a space where you want to sit for hours and enjoy each other’s company,” Castellucci says. In response to the owners’ desire for a very large table, the team procured a 9-foot-by-52-inch Ray Booth design with a base made from chunks of marble. At the ends of the table, cast-bronze swivel chairs allow the hosts to pivot between conversations while seated on merlot-hued velvet—likely with a glass of something from the custom, temperature-controlled wine storage system, which was installed in hollowed-out sections of the original brick foundation. The concrete floors, meanwhile, were selected for durability as well as for their essence. “The owners don’t mind that the floors will patina,” Castellucci says. “They like things that tell stories.”
First published in the print edition of the December 2023/January 2024 issue with the headline, “It’s Wine O’Clock Somewhere.”
