There is a certain romance to collecting wine – the way the bottle evolves with time, the memory of the vintage year and waiting for the right moment. Designing wine storage and its respective rooms is in many ways a reflection of the same elegance. It requires a patient balance between functionality and style. As a studio, Katharine Pooley has designed wine rooms and cellars for countless properties: London townhouses, Mediterranean villas, Provençal estates and Swiss ski chalets. Each has been a practice in crafting something deeply personal and rigorously exact.
Wine, like interior design, is sensitive to its surroundings; Humidity, temperature and light become as critical as colour palette, texture and proportion to the final product. Creating these bespoke storage spaces across the world means a thoughtful exercise in crafting a space where details like materials, technology and spatial planning all work in tandem.
In a hot and humid environment, it’s about concealed cooling and natural materials that breathe with the environment. In an inner city penthouse, sculptural glass and precision-engineered humidity control is the way to go. I love designing these rooms, it’s a joy to craft spaces where craftsmanship and expertise meet and the rooms age as gracefully as the bottles they hold. Here are my top considerations for designing wine rooms.
CONSIDER LIFESTYLE
Wine rooms are no longer relegated to shadowy corners of traditional basements, the modern cellar has emerged over the years to become a centrepiece of luxury residential design. This is a reflection of the ever-expanding cultural reverence of wine and the rituals we appreciate that surround them and so, the spaces need to reflect the inhabitants.
I am seeing an increase in the requests for additional seating, wet bar and audio facilities as people want to spend extended time, and entertain in these rooms. In one of my South of France projects, I integrated a ‘tasting room’ above the storage cellar itself at the clients request. I included lots of fun touches like a vine-draped bespoke chandelier and generous comfortable dining chairs at a round tasting table to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. I paired all of this with functional elements like climate control and multiple areas for glass and server storage.
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
Fine wines demand specific conditions to age gracefully. A consistent temperature sits ideally between 11-14°C, controlled humidity levels should be around 60-70%. There needs to be minimal light and a vibration-free environment. Translating these technical requirements into something aesthetic is the challenge designers now embrace with increasing ingenuity.
A contemporary wine room is now often integrated into the main living space and sometimes visible through glass enclosures or showcased like artwork. I love transparent glass walls framed in a classic metal like bronze or steel – it should feel like an extension rather than an afterthought and mirror the home’s broader material and design vocabulary.
MATERIAL MATTERS
Materiality plays a crucial role in the performance and atmosphere of a wine room. Wood, particularly mahogany and redwood, has long been a preferred choice for racking due to its resistance to mould and moisture. However today’s designs frequently incorporate materials like blackened steel, smoked glass, travertine, and even poured concrete to achieve a more contemporary effect.
Lighting is another element where design and functionality converge. LED strip lighting is favoured not just for its low heat emission, but for its ability to dramatise by casting long shadows through bottles and creating a sense of allure. Custom cabinetry often includes modular racks for standard Bordeaux bottles, larger format magnums, and the increasingly popular Burgundy and Champagne shapes.
In this age of wine appreciation the cellar is no longer just a place for bottles to age and collect dust. These spaces can be beautifully orchestrated, and a beautiful blend of history, atmosphere and design. Every detail, like a well aged Barolo, tells a story worth savouring.
