Reason for renovation

Spare rooms can often become dumping zones. When that started happening in Alison and Jamie’s home, Alison, an interior decorator, decided to transform what was fast becoming an eyesore into a charming cellar.

Based in Constantia, one of the Cape’s oldest wine regions, Alison and Jamie are regulars at local food- and wine-pairing evenings and creating a cellar for their house seemed like the logical next step.

Jamie, the managing director of a digital ink-manufacturing company, loves to stock up on all his favourite wines. “To store your wine in a cellar is so much more special than stashing it under a staircase or in a cupboard,” Alison explains. “This way, the various cultivars can be separated – and the wines are easily accessible.”

The cellar is located on the eastern side of the house, where a large plane tree provides plenty of shade, and it opens up onto a sheltered part of the garden, so friends can enjoy drinks in the cellar and then step outside for an al fresco meal. “Sometimes, we just have an intimate dinner for two,” says Alison. >>