If you’ve ever worked with a superyacht interior designer, you know that precision is a priority. To ensure you get the look and feel you want, the designer pulls together the best craftspeople across all disciplines. But, you never actually get to see that process. Rarely, if ever, do owners meet the furniture fabricators, the leather workers, or other specialists. Patrick Knowles introduces some of them with this behind-the-scenes look at how the complex refit of Alta came to pass.
The Alta refit followed a fast-tracked timetable, taking six months from start to finish. This swiftness is all the more notable when you realize the owner acquired her merely weeks prior. Alta is a 144-footer (44-meter) that originally launched from Palmer Johnson in 2004, as the well-known charter yacht Four Wishes.
Consider, too, that the owner wanted essentially every room transformed. As the head of Patrick Knowles Designs, Knowles had his team contribute renderings and technical drawings for the project. But he personally oversaw the creation of the chic beach house ambience.
In pulling back the curtain, Knowles reveals how initial sketches became stitched-leather wall panels. Additionally, he shares how espresso-finished paneling sets the scene in the guest staterooms, named for explorers. (The rich-stained wood replaces the original cherrywood, which dated Alta’s appearance.)
More than this, though, you see the craftspeople at work. Framework for the stitched-leather paneling sits in stacks in one scene, a hint at the dozens they made—which you see moments later aboard the finished yacht. Seamstresses and furniture makers hand-create pillows and plush seats. Perfect stitching stretches across leather tables, art niches, and more.
The next time you step aboard a yacht and admire the ambience, take a moment. Think about how many hands, literally, made that possible.
Patrick Knowles Designs patrickknowlesdesigns.com
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