DESIGN REPORTveryone thinks there’s a massive
difference,butactuallythereisn’t,”says
SusieAtkinson,principalofLondon-
basedstudioSusieAtkinsonDesign.She
iscomparingthechallengesofdesigningtheinteriors
ofbuildingswiththoseofyachts.Aslongasyou“treat
everyprojectindividually,”doyourresearch,focuson
detail,followthebriefandworkcloselywiththe
shipyard,shesays,it’snosteeperalearningcurvethan
designing“aclub,arestaurant,acinemaoraspa–
we’vedonemanydifferentthingsovertheyears.”
Atkinsonisprobablybestknownforherworkon
severalSohoHouses(LondonandBerlinamong
them).Sheisoneofagrowingnumberofinterior
designerswhoseclientsareaskingthemtodiversify
intoyachts;herlatestprojectisa167ftclassicmotor
yacht,builtintheUSin 1930 andrecentlyrebuiltin
theUK(whichwillbefeaturedexclusivelyinBoat
Internationalsoon).“Thebriefwastodesignan
interiorwhichwaswelcoming,homeyandwithan
understatedsophistication,”shesays–whichisnot
unlikeAtkinson’ssignaturestyle.
Doyachtspresentauniquesetofproblems?“The
twoclearchallengesweretoensurethatasmuchas
possiblecouldbefixeddownandtoselectfabricsthat
wouldstanduptoinclementweatherandbeeasily
replacedifdamaged.”
Herfavoritepartoftheproject?Workingwith
skilledcraftsmen,andhavingtheabilitytooversee
Someoftheworld’stopdesignershavebranched
outfromluxuryresidentialspacestosuperyachts.
ClaireWrathallfindsouthowthey’vemadethemove
Pushing the
boundaries
the whole look, from furnishing to bed linen. “I like
cohesive design and for spaces to flow from one area
to another. This is key on a yacht, where space is
constrained and everything is in close proximity.”
Kelly Hoppen is another for whom “it’s no different
designing a yacht to designing an apartment” – overall
pressure on space and often less-than-ideal ceiling
heights notwithstanding. “You don’t want to feel as
though you’re too enclosed,” she advised before last
year’s launch of Pearl Yachts’ largest boat to date and
first superyacht, the semi-custom Pearl 95. “The
beauty has to be within the textures and the form.”
As in all her projects, Hoppen favors a neutral palette
featuring many shades of taupe, and “very luxurious”
materials such as marble, timber, ceramic and linens.
Of course, there’s nothing intrinsically new about
interior architects taking on yachts. Peter Marino
designed his first yacht, TM Blue One, more than
30 years ago. And Philippe Starck has been designing
yachts – exteriors as well as interiors – for two decades.“IT’S NO DIFFERENT DESIGNING
A YACHT TO DESIGNING AN
APARTMENT... YOU DON’T
WANT TO FEEL TOO ENCLOSED”
E
Pearl 95’s salon
(right) and Soho
House Berlin (below)64