Historic Home Cistern Wine Cellar
Would you believe it was really one of the last projects of our total home renovation that brought me to the idea that I wanted to start and share “My Bailiwick” with the world. The fact that my kitchen has been sitting over an indoor swimming pool for the last 3 years was the last thing that I figured I would be blasting photos out into the design universe – but here goes.
While we don’t have an actual indoor swimming pool – (the closest thing we have to a workout center in our house is my WaterPower Rowing machine in my third floor loft -more on that amazing machine later) - we do have the remnants of the original cistern from 1905.
Basement stairwell
Entry into cistern
Cistern opening
When we first bought this house my husband, John, made it a point of telling me about the “cool” 9’x 15’ stone bathtub in or basement. AND he had dreams of making this abandoned space into a wine cellar! Of course with the three floors overhead in need of a total gut job first - this wine cellar was the project that was last on our list. But this spring I had finally run out of excuses. Not to mention the rest of the original stone foundation had started to show signs of water issues, so we figured while we were once more in the midst of rock, rubble and tons of dust anyway, we should get to work on converting the old cistern to John’s dream of a wine cellar. (Also to help ease the pain of one of those home repair expenditures in which it’s sometimes hard to see the value.)
If you’ve never heard of or seen a cistern – don’t feel bad. Until I had walked through that spooky door in the back of our new “old” house at the home inspection, I didn’t know either. Cisterns were built in the days prior to modern plumbing in order to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns differ from wells in that the insides are treated with a waterproof material so that they actually hold water. You can see the original cast iron drain pipe that comes through our basement wall from the backyard. And during our inspection we also found the original hand pump pipes that went through the kitchen floor – voila- indoor plumbing aka 1905.
But once actual indoor plumbing became the norm – these old cisterns were filled up with mainly junk and abandoned. I read an article in the NY Times that says lots of treasure hunters in NYC have found goodies in cisterns in the NYC. Unfortunately or fortunately for my husband, John, ours was pretty empty except for some building debris a couple of old grates AND a large jug of liquid that is sealed. John thinks it’s pretty cool, and I can picture him after a few glasses of wine daring his friends to open it like some school kids! I was just really glad that he and our mason contractor were willing to go down into that black hole without my help! YUK!
But now that it’s opened up – and cleaned out – I am more than thrilled. Unfortunately this renewed interest on my behalf has sparked my creative input and now my husband can’t get me – or my two cents – out of the basement.
Cistern cleared out
Cistern steps
Repointing
The mason not only did a great job restoring the original stone foundation to its original glory, but when he cut the doorway into the stone wall of the cistern they were able to make some really neat steps into the space. The slate slabs that had been over the top for the past 100 years were broken up and removed. The larger pieces were salvaged to become the treads to our new stone stairs. We still haven’t figured out what they used to make the cistern wall waterproof – so our next decision will be what to do with the walls in the stone tub – but for now things are moving forward. Just another day in the life – or should I say rebirth of a 115 year old lady!
Do you like getting my bi-monthly tips and insights? FOLLOW BAILIWICK INTERIOR DESIGN on INSTAGRAM for EVEN MORE GREAT INFO!
Planning a home improvement project and don’t know where to start?
Click the button below to receive CARRIE’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO A SUCCESSFUL HOME RENOVATION PROJECT