Insight into the creative processes and collaborations behind the interior design of the award-winning 45m/147’ aluminium sailing yacht Salperton IV; Part 2 of 3.

The upper saloon bar, upper and lower saloon coffee tables and dining table were designed using the same design ‘language’ as the built-in joinery but in Wenge instead of Walnut. This timber gave some depth and contrast to the interior and a silver/bronze inlay line would tie-in nicely with the silver/bronze fabrics being used throughout the interior. The same silver/bronze paint colour was used on the recessed skirting to give some life to an area that usually disappears into the background.

Lower saloon dining/lounging area with drop down panel revealing TV. Photo: Jeff Brown

The structural architecture that Dubois Naval Architects provided us with deserved to be centre stage so the TV had to be hidden in order to maintain the clean lines. We designed it to be mounted behind an electrically operated drop-down panel.

For the bar top and stone throughout the bathrooms, we arranged a visit to Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany together with the owner. We toured a number of marble yards looking for an unusual honed stone for the cabins, granite for the galley and a blemish free single slab of white onyx for the saloon bar top which would be laminated with toughened glass for strength. Having organised the visit in advance, the trip – combined with Italian hospitality and a fabulous lunch on the beach – was a lot of fun!

Galley granite selection by the owner. Photo: Adam Lay

Finished galley granite. Photo: Jeff Brown

The blinds over the portholes were some time in development to ensure they looked as clean and minimal as possible. We wanted to achieve smart minimal looking porthole surrounds with an electric Oceanair roller blind captured between the inner hull lining and the glass porthole itself. In order to maintain an uncluttered appearance on the hull outside, the aft starboard guest cabin – which was mostly used as a gym – had no porthole, so we created what looked like a porthole from the inside and fitted a daylight replicating lamp behind a sheet of frosted glass giving the impression of daylight.

Owners cabin showing porthole detailing. Photo: Jeff Brown

In part 3: I’ll be discussing the extraordinary lengths we went to with the sofas, soft furnishing fabrics and bespoke lighting.