Iconic interiors: Superyacht designs that made waves

Talitha is a 82.6 metre motor yacht, designed by Cox & Stevens, and has had many owners and many lives. After she was purchased by Paul Getty in 1988, a full refit was undertaken at Devonport Yachts in 1993, led by the legendary Jon Bannenberg, and updated in 2009.

He was inspired by the original art deco interior, and his refit aimed to recreate elements of it while bringing her into modernity. What makes Talitha really stand out is the painstaking recreation of original parts with modern functions such as her on board telephones.

Although commissioned and launched as a private yacht for financier Sewel Avery in the 1930s, it was her rebirth as the US presidential yacht that made her name. She served five presidents – Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, making her the longest serving US Presidential yacht – but was best regarded for the time she served President Kennedy, who renamed her Honey Fitz after his grandfather.

The 28.35 metre yacht took interiors to a new level in the early 1960s when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy helmed her refit (pictured). Mid-century furnishings and details were added to suit a family – and president – at sea, including a colour TV in the saloon. Her current refit, carried out by Moores Marine, upholds this mid-century styling.

She was designed by Jack Hargrave for Ogden Phipps, the owner/breeder of a string of famous thoroughbreds including Buckpasser, the boat’s original name. A true style icon of the Seventies, Buckpasser featured avocado green carpets and bedspreads that matched the wallpaper.

Later updated by American celebrity Frances Langford under the name Chanticleer, the yacht was then used to transport her and husband Ralph Evinrude (the outboard engine king) between their Canadian summer home and Florida.

During her ownership Chanticleer was redecorated in shades of pink, given a cockpit for fishing and the three small round portholes lighting the passage to the forward dining room were converted into vertical ovals – a shape now the norm but then very much ahead of its time.

Today, copious amounts of glazing is de rigueur, but it wasn’t always the way. A trailblazer in the arena of floor-to-ceiling, back-to-back windows, Azzurra II, designed by Gerhard Gilgenast, was truly pioneering. The 47.5 metre superyacht’s upper deck master suite has 21 large windows boasting panoramic views, while floor-to-ceiling windows in the upper saloon bring in huge amounts of light.

This gave a stunning spaciousness to the cream coloured, white leather interior, with a fittingly 1980s mirrored ceiling, which helped to open the space further. It was a breakthrough boat for interior designer Paola Smith and its high-glam interior style, with gold and lacquered furniture, defined styling for a decade.

A stark, militaristic exterior – trailblazing in itself – required a clean yet bold interior design. Marco Zanini created a Bauhaus-inspired interior for 70.7 metre Skat that called for simplicity, so its design eschewed clutter and superfluous elements.

Far from a traditional yacht interior, Skat favoured open spaces, fewer pieces of furniture and no heavy woods, though colourful furnishings and original Lichtenstein and Vasarely artworks meant it was far from dull.

The unconventional exterior of the ultra-iconic 119 metre Motor Yacht A belies the elegance of the interior, which designer Philippe Starck called “opulent”. While other yachts succeeded by blending interior and exterior spaces, Motor Yacht A clearly divides the two.

White furnishings play well off the open-plan design, which makes the limited interior living areas seem more abundant. With A it’s all about visual impact. If there had been no A, there would have been no Predator, no Yas and no Venus.

56 metre sailing yacht Panthalassa showcased a remarkable interior by Foster & Partners with flowing, highly architecturally inspired shapes and furnishings.

She also showcased an abundant use of glass and a showstopper of a central oval staircase that connects all three decks. Perhaps the biggest impact with this interior is that it opened up the builder to working with outside architects, such as the famed Norman Foster, who tugged the GA into new usefulness.

While some might still prefer heavy woods or overly luxurious details, the 77.25 metre explorer yacht's interior by Christian Liaigre represents the growing trend of contemporary modernism and support of the sport lover's lifestyle.

This "new modern" can be defined by subtle, refined and open areas – and the luxury of space. Curves and masculine, unadorned joinery are in abundance, and Cloudbreak also boasts a winter garden.