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Old-World GloryWhen Mark Cravottas clients approached him to create awine cellar in their central Texas home, it was an unusual

job that immediately intrigued him. The house was con-

ceived as an emulation o a historic English manor, and

thats not a typical style or the area or or the times, he

says. They wanted absolute authenticity; in order to deliver

that I was able to dream bigand they were willing to

dream with me.

Drawing on a combination o Gothic, Tudor, and

Jacobean elements, Cravotta set out to create an old English

eel using the nest materials, working with cratspeople

who approached the project with painstaking attention to

detail. We joked about it having theeel o dungeononly nicer and not

scary, he says with a laugh. To estab-

lish a eeling o continuity with the

rest o the house, Cravotta used the

same blend o limestone and sand-

stone that clads the exterior. Lueders

limestone fooring complements the

crisp ceramic-tile ceiling and rich

tones o the black-walnut millwork

and cabinetry, which took urniture

maker Carl Akins over a year to com-

plete and install. French-walnut Paul

SOURCES

Lars Stanley Metalworks light

fxtures, 512.445.0444,

www.larsstanley.com

Carl Akins woodwork,

214.742.4801

Elijah Slocum chairs, 310.280.9098,

www.elijahslocum.com

Paul Ferrante tables, 323.653.4142,

www.paulferrante.com

ROOM TOUR{ }

Ferrante tables and custom high-back chairs by Elijah Slo-cum join circa-1850 benches purchased rom a chateau on

the border between France and Belgium.

One major consideration in building a wine cellar, no

matter the style or the setting, is climate control. A room

made o stone and wood presents a serious challenge, be-

cause a room thats suited or wine storage is hardly ideal

or comortably lounging and entertaining, says Cravotta.

He solved the dilemma using a complicated system based

on moisture barriers, ducting, and ventilation, as well as his

idea o building individual wine lockers with controlled

temperatures independent o the rest o the space. The res-

idents are delightul people who enjoybeing at home and wanted to create

an English castlelike setting, he says.

Theyve traveled extensively through

Europe, and marked their journey

with wines collected along the way

over time, theyve lled their wine

cellar with many memories, each o

which is relived every time they pop

a cork.

Cravotta Studios, 512.499.0400,

www.cravottastudios.com

Wine cellars stocked with provisions.B Y A M A N D A D A M E R O N

Cave Dwellings

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