Sail with Us
Interior Renovation!
Hey all! I am so excited to announce that we revamped the interior of Anastasia, our 61′ sailing yacht. We went from camping on the water to GLAMPING on the water with only a few simple changes.
Check out our before and after pictures below along explanations of what we did!
Saloon - Before & After
As you can see, we got rid of the rug and opted for the wood floor (I’ll go over how we achieved this), replaced the curtains, and redecorated.
In the before picture, you’ll notice we had wall to wall carpeting throughout the entire boat. On top of the large carpet, there were smaller pieces layered on top in various areas. I was so over this rug! For one, I found it unattractive and old. Secondly, it would scrunch up and slide around with the smallest of movements. And thirdly, it had a few permanent stains (despite professional cleanings), and having it cleaned was expensive and time consuming.
So, getting rid of the rug was my number one priority. The only problem was that the rug was there to hide the floor underneath for good reason. The floor had a number of dents, scratches and stains that needed to be fixed.
We toyed with the idea of having the floors completely replaced professionally, but that would have been way out of our price range. We also thought about purchasing sheets of teak or cork to put on top of the floor. Also a pricey option. Then I suggested staining the wood that we already had to hide some of the imperfections. This was the most affordable, doable option. The only issue was that the interior floor is laminate. Therefore, typical stain would not work.
I did some research and came across gel stain. Gel stain is specifically made to work on laminate wood. I watched a few YouTube videos and figured it was worth a try.
I ordered Minwax gel stain in the Aged Oak color. They sell a wide variety of shades. We chose this color because it needed to be darker in order to cover up all the scratches and stains.
We started by testing the gel stain on a couple planks of wood from the skipper’s cabin (since it wouldn’t matter if they came out terribly). And they came out nicely.
Gel stain process that worked for us:
- Sand the surface well (I used a heavy grained sand paper).
- Clean all the sand and debris off the surface (I used acetone & a shirt-like cloth to wipe the wood down).
- mix the gel stain well then pick out a generous amount with a paint brush.
- splatter the gel stain on the wood thick and then spread it across or down in even swipes.
- Repeat this process section by section, do not try to splatter gel stain on the entire surface at once, because it dries fairly fast and it doesn’t spread out as nicely.
We went piece by piece and did each one precisely. I would sand, acetone and then stain each one. After they dried, Patrik would take heavy grained sand paper, fold it, so it would be very thin, and then sand in the lines with a ruler. This is how we achieved the look shown in the picture to the left.
Kitchen - Before & After
We didn’t do much to the kitchen area. The before picture is quite old, and that tv has been gone for years (since before I joined Vacation Yachting). Since I’ve been working on Anastasia, a place-mat had been glued in that space. I replaced that with a beachy sign I found at a boutique here in Syros.
We also changed the curtains throughout the entire boat. The old curtains, as you can see, were blue and had dolphins all over them. Personally, I thought they were old looking and a little bit tacky. Also, they were beginning to become moldy, so, of course, it was time to replace them. We decided on a simple sandy color, with a more fitting size, so that they did not look large and frumpy.
The rods that hold the curtains are bright gold and metallic. With the old curtains, this wasn’t noticeable since they were large and draped over. But with the new curtains you could see the rods clear as day. And, naturally, I hated that. So we had the idea to get a small rope, and wrap it around the areas of the rods that were showing. We tried this and tied little half hitches at the ends to keep the ropes in place. It actually looks really cute and nautical. Much better than the gold!
Beds - Before & After
I am so happy we changed the bed covers. Like the rug and the curtains, I was sick of these beds. They were old and ugly and needed to be replaced.
We chose a neutral colored fabric, that’s cigarette proof, drink proof, UV proof, and all sorts of proofs.
The Overall Look & Goal
I suggested to update the interior because I thought it needed modernizing.
Before, there were too many bold colors and patterns. The decoration had no uniformity. The fabrics were old and worn. The interior wasn’t terrible, but it simply did not look like it was from the present era.
We have a lot of competition here in Greece, and as a small business, we should be vigilant in keeping up with the times. And, in my opinion, aesthetics is an integral selling point.
Anastasia is an incredibly well built boat, made for the Greek seas, and she’s sturdy and reliable. However, not all clients are seasoned sailors who care about how heavy the yacht is or about the length of the keel. Many prospective guests may be sold or turned off based on looks alone. In fact, I know many friends and family with this mindset. Therefore, it’s important to appeal to both sailors as well as all other vacationers.
Overall, I wanted to simplify the design. It was important to maintain a nautical feel, while removing all the blatantly nautical decor. There was no need for so much Greek blue, as anyone taking a sailing charter in Greece knows where they are. There was no need for pictures of dolphins everywhere or place-mats with photographs of islands on them. You can decorate in a way that feels authentic to the setting without overdoing it.
I tried to achieve a nautical, beach-like feel with color and texture. A teak sign, a bowl with shells & rocks in it, sandy colors, and summery plants. As well as taking advantage of the wood and bringing it center stage. There is nothing that screams “boat” more than teak. And simplifying pattern and color allows the eye to focus more on the beautiful wood. In addition, choosing colors that play within the many shades of the teak help it pop much more.
I am a perfectionist in many ways, so the interior is not 100% the way I envisioned it, but it is so much better than before! I think we achieved a great transformation with creativity on a budget.
