Inside track: The yacht interior design brands to know this season

DKT Artworks

If you're looking for custom artwork, sculptural furniture or a show-stopping centrepiece for your superyacht then London-based design firm DKT is the one to call. Priding itself on a site-specific approach, DKT's skilled craftsmen can turn their expert hand to almost any form of decorative work, including mosaic, sculpture and bas-relief in metal, glass and stone, trompe l'oeil, gilding, paint finishes and mirrored artworks, and have undertaken commissions for no fewer than 62 superyachts. Recent projects include custom designs for Ulysses, Joy, Dilbar and Plvs Vltra.

Visit dkt.co.uk.

Loro Piana

Many brands claim to provide comfort and functionality, but few strike the balance with such finesse as Loro Piana. Its clothing and accessories are made from the world’s finest raw materials and enhanced by innovative in-house engineering — its revolutionary Storm System treatment, for example, will make even the most lavish of fabrics, such as vicuña wool, 100% waterproof.

It’s no surprise, then, that the company is well established in the yachting industry. Loro Piana Yacht Interiors has cleverly adapted to the unpredictable conditions of life at sea without losing an ounce of quality. More than 600 varieties of customisable materials and special blends, including tussah silk woven with wool and horsehair, and fine merino wool blended with linen or silk, are employed in its stylish yet durable wall coverings, cushions, upholstery and light-blocking curtains.

Visit loropiana.com

Once Milano

“Veneto is full of artisans and is famous for its furniture, textiles and glassware. It’s very much the fashion here to have everything made by someone local,” explains Allegra Marchiorello. “Every little house in this corner of Italy has its own company in the backyard.” It’s one of the reasons Marchiorello co-founded Once Milano with his long-time friend, linen aficionado Valeria Piovesana Thompson. The house’s Italian-made linen is of the highest quality, made from the longest threads, using flax grown near Milan. The weave is the smoothest, strongest and most absorbent money can buy: cooling in the summer months, cocooning in the winter.

When the company was approached to produce a collaboration with Sanlorenzo, it seemed a very natural fit. “Linen is the perfect material on a boat: it’s light, low-maintenance and understated, yet incredibly luxurious,” says Piovesana Thompson. “That’s the beauty of it,” agrees Marchiorello. “It never looks contrived. It’s also all custom-made — we’ve worked with clients to create bespoke finishes and have included their monograms.”

Designing a collection for boats proved an interesting challenge. “It’s quite different to designing for a home,” says Marchiorello. “For starters, the water is such a central element, and the space you’re working with is contained. We wanted to create something that was sophisticated yet highly refined.” The brand’s covetable Piping Collection was born from this collaboration, and Once Milano enjoys a good working relationship with Jonathan Fawcett, one of the UK’s leading luxury supplier to superyachts.

Visit oncemilano.com

Pratesi

As part of luxury Italian linen house Pratesi’s ambitious five-year plan towards international expansion, it has launched a new range specifically for yachts. The collection of sumptuous bedding, table linens and towels is made to order, with customisation options including bespoke monogramming available.

Run by the fourth generation of the Pratesi family, the house is focused on delivering faultless craftsmanship, drawing on the skill of its team of designers, weavers and embroiderers, who create the linen in its Florence headquarters. COO and future CEO Simone Bocchio and president Federica Pratesi bring a personal insight into the yachting industry to the production of timeless, elegant linens.

Visit pratesi.com

Molteni&C

Architect, industrial designer, artist and publisher, Gio Ponti was a giant of 20th century Italian design. During his long and fruitful career, Ponti developed an all-encompassing approach to his work, creating not just the structure of a building but also conceiving its entire interior scheme, from furnishings to lighting fixtures. His finest achievements include the Pirelli Tower — Milan’s first modern skyscraper — and the distinctive, castle-like Denver Art Museum.

One of Ponti’s most enduringly popular designs, however, is something altogether closer to home. The 1957 Via Dezza chair is an angular, upholstered armchair built on a linear metal frame. It was created by Ponti along with the entire furnishings of his self-designed Milan home (pictured) from which it takes its name.

For those coveting a slice of Ponti’s creative genius, the armchair and select Via Dezza gems have been reissued in an exclusive collection by Molteni&C. One of Italy’s most renowned furniture manufacturers, Molteni is a natural platform to preserve and present Ponti’s talent. The company works with some of the world’s best designers on a variety of high-end real estate and marine projects. The Via Dezza chair adaptation, Armchair D.153.1, stays true to the original, is available in two Ponti-designed fabrics and is the perfect place to kick back and enjoy the waves.

Visit molteni.itv

FM Architettura d’Interni

“All projects start as dreams in the mind of an owner.” This is the philosophy of the Italian company that has designed the interiors of some of the world’s finest superyachts and most luxurious hotel suites and palatial private homes. FM Architettura d’Interni was founded by the architect Francesca Muzio and the interior designer Maria Silvia Orlandini in 2009, and in a few short years, has amassed an incredibly impressive portfolio of clients in all corners of the world.

The company made its name by creating yacht interiors that are effortlessly elegant, yet at the same time have an inviting, natural feel. As its reputation grew, it was commissioned for high-profile interior design projects such as the luxurious Presidential Suite of Shangri-La at The Shard, London - along with other Shangri-La properties in China and the Philippines — as well as premium residential properties stretching from Bahrain to Beverly Hills.

Despite the long list of people lining up to benefit from their expertise, Muzio and Orlandini never forget the views of the most important person in any project: the owner. Whether the commission is for a yacht or a penthouse, the pair consult at length with the client so his or her “uniquely personal wishes” can be fully reflected in the interior that FM Architettura d’Interni will go on to create.

Visit fm-arch.it

Armani/Casa

Designer Giorgio Armani will shortly open a four-storey Armani/Casa flagship boutique in Milan — the new home of his interiors collection, which launched in 2000. This season, as previously, he has once more looked to the natural world for inspiration. As well as the 50-piece numbered and signed limited-edition bar cabinet, “Club”, which features on its doors a hand-lacquered ocean motif inspired by Japanese artist Hokusai’s The Great Wave, there is a screen featuring a Japanese-style landscape print. The same image adorns an upholstered chaise longue, and there are blankets decorated with images of lions and leopards, leopard stone marquetry, and a crystal-encrusted flower to elevate a table setting.

“All my designs for the home collection are intended to promote an atmosphere of calm relaxation,” says Armani. “One way to do this is to reference Mother Nature, as the natural world is nurturing and beautiful.” Those who enjoy life at sea will certainly appreciate that sentiment.

Visit armanicasa.com

Tai Ping

Tai Ping has been making and supplying one-of-a-kind carpets to discerning clients all over the world for 50 years. Its first-ever commission, from the Grauman’s Theatre in Los Angeles, was for a carpet so large it needed to be constructed in a tent erected outside the factory. Today, the Hong Kong-headquartered company has five distinct divisions and showrooms across Europe, North America and Asia.

New for 2016 is a collaboration with award-winning florist Jeff Leatham. The artistic director at Paris’s Four Seasons Hotel Georges V, Leatham is famed for creating stunning floral installations and bouquets for everyone from the Dalai Lama to Oprah Winfrey.

The Bloom collection comprises 14 handmade wool-and-silk rugs that were inspired by geometric shapes and the organic forms of solid, liquid and vapour. Each of the custom-made designs explodes with colour, with even Leatham admitting to feeling “chills” when he saw them realised for the first time.

Visit taipingcarpets.com

Baldi

Baldi, founded in Florence in 1867, is dedicated to continuing the rich artistic heritage and tradition of craft that has long been integral to the city. The one-of-a-kind creations of its interior-design arm, Casa Baldi, are imbued with classic Italian style and hand-crafted using the very latest techniques. Its first foray into nautical design saw superyacht Alexander Again transformed into a spectacular floating palace.

Visit baldihomejewels.com

Dudgeon Sofas

Dudgeon creates bespoke sofas for the luxury residential market. Its relationship with the luxury boat industry was forged in 1992, when a yacht interior designer called into the Knightsbridge showroom on the hunt for Chesterfield sofas. Since then, its team of skilled British craftspeople has gone on to make upholstered sofas and chairs for 86 superyachts, including award-winners such as the 63 metre Benetti 11.11.

Visit dudgeonsofas.com

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