Other areas in which we can begin to consider employing green design include furniture and fabric selection. When asked the question, "What have you done lately to implement green principles into your work?" Washington, D.C.-based interior designer Paul Sherrill thought a moment and then responded: "Antiques. Using antiques is essentially recycling and one way designers and clients may not even realize they have done something green."

Creative use of antiques aboard yachts is one way of "recycling" that designers and owners may not even recognize as doing something green. Top Photograph by Alan Karchme. Middle photograph by Walter Smalling. (Click images to enlarge)

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Companies such as Q Collection, Kravet Green and Ralph Lauren Home every day are making it easier to design and decorate green without compromise. Based in New York, Q Collection was founded in 2002 with the mission to combine high-end, stylish design with the most environmentally friendly materials available. The next two years were spent developing a comprehensive line of furniture, textiles and accessories that are now available at the flagship store at 915 Broadway, a second New York location in the Decoration & Design Building and other showrooms around the country.

To remain at the forefront of sustainable design, Q Collection strives to eliminate toxic chemicals, carcinogens and other leading components of poor indoor air quality from its products. Its residential collection of fabrics offers high-end biodegradable textiles made from natural fibers including abaca, alpaca, bamboo, hemp, linen, organic cotton and wool that are custom-colored or printed with low-impact, heavy-metal-free dyes. All leathers use only vegetable dyes and no heavy metals in the tanning process. Both leathers and fabrics are free of any toxic finishes or treatments. Any wood employed in accessory or furniture manufacturing is "certified" sustainably harvested.

Of course, the most appealing facet of these forward-thinking pieces is their uncompromised styling. The Q Collection seating line is especially strong and could easily be employed wherever loose furnishings are needed on board. Why not bat for two and upholster them in one of many diverse and sophisticated patterns of residential fabric ranging from the nautical to the whimsical?

For more than 90 years, the American fabric house Kravet has provided the design community with innovative patterns and textures. Now with Kravet Green, the company is using its influence to set an example that puts sustainable living at the forefront of the decorative fabric and home furnishings industry. Its first collection includes the palettes of Fire, Earth and Ocean. The line uses all natural and sustainable yarns or recycled components, water-based products for finishing and environmentally approved dyes, providing customers with responsible choices in a field that is increasing in popularity: green interior design.

Filtering our focus to a tertiary level (after first examining green ships’ systems, building materials and furniture fabrication and upholstery), we can look at Ralph Lauren Home’s Lauren Spa line. Lauren Spa is a sustainable choice for chic bedclothes and linens including pillowcases, sheets, duvets, shams and towels in a range of colors to match any stateroom.

The magnificent vessels that comprise our community and provide us with unparalleled leisure are only as admirable as the environments in which they exist. As I finish this article on the unmatched Côte d’Azur, I can only think that to keep this beautiful coast blue, we must start by going green.

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