Edie Stevens grew up in and around shipyards. As an adult, she
knew what it was like to be the wife of a man who loved boats. Yet she dreaded
their dampness and the smell of mildew and bilge pumps aboard small boats. "The
mustiness stays forever in your brain," she says. To Stevens, yachts of the
1960s were floating locker rooms dressed in primary colors and more about
testosterone than taking it easy. Then came the era of megayacht modern, which
was all about Lucite, fiber-optic carpets and metallic lacquers, following a
backlash formality centered on European period styles. More recently,
semi-production builders have directed the public’s tastes to an
Italian-inspired version of contemporary classic with high-gloss joinery
enveloping beige, beige and even more beige fabrics. Today, a subtle course
correction is taking place in yacht interiors, and interior designers like
Stevens are leading the way.
 Chic, simple lines mark the modern custom
furniture from the Danish studio of Glyn Peter Machin. (Click image to enlarge)
Edie’s grandfather, J. Arthur Stevens, co-founded the Goudy and
Stevens shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, in the early 1920s. The younger
Stevens eventually sold the firm after it logged 50 years of building boats for
many a Rockefeller and Mellon (and even a few minesweepers). Now a designer for
Simply Home in Falmouth, Maine, she just finished the interior of another yacht
for a repeat customer, taking great pains to make it relaxing and inviting for
both sexes.
Here’s what Stevens recommends for decompressing on the high
seas: "It’s the senses that count: smell, temperature and texture of fabrics.
Why does a cashmere sweater feel so much better than an acrylic? The things your
body touches are important—like the linens. Are they all cotton or polyester?
Are the beds warm and dry? Carpets should be textured wool because you’re always
walking around barefoot, and the texture offsets the sleekness of teak."
 Oak and steel bent for the human form by Glyn Peter Machin. (Click image to enlarge)
Expensive decorator touches are important, but Stevens prefers to offer pride
of place to personal items—things that have been collected over time—such as artwork, souvenirs, pillows
and fine toiletries—all the things that make a space feel like home. Mario Buatta, arguably among the world’s most famous
decorators, was among the first to stand the traditional yacht interior scheme
on its head. "The stewardesses were upset in 1998 when they first saw
154-foot Roxana," Buatta recalls. "‘Where is the red, white and
blue?’ they demanded, ‘And the nautical themes?’" This was a boat that had
nothing red, white and blue about it.
 V3 Lounge Chair by Glyn Peter
Machin. (Click image to enlarge)
Buatta created a retreat for Roxana’s owners that took its design cues from high-end
British Colonial meets the Hamptons. "Everything was chintzes, soft fabrics,
velvets; patterns, geometrics and paisleys—everything but what you would expect
to find," he says. Roxana was like a
floating home—one that had developed over time and was not obsessed with
matching pairs of this and that. Roxana’s
master suite was in pink, a mauve glazed stria to be precise, and the ceiling
was a pale aqua done in panels of leather. There was a king-sized sleigh bed
covered with floral chintz, and a chair in pale yellow in the sitting area along
with a little blue love seat. Buatta took the themes of a fine country estate to
the highest degree by hiring painter Robert Jackson to wrap the dining room in a
mural depicting the four seasons.
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