With expectations amongst increasingly design-aware clients at an all-time high, the role of the interior designer has never been so important or as challenging.

There’s no set style when it comes to interior yacht design. These days, taste is purely a matter of personal preference — and the choices are plenty. Although classically styled wooden interiors made from teak and mahogany are still very much in demand, many of the series and semi-custom boat producers now offer a more contemporary style below deck. Even the mass producers are coming out with a variety of interior styles to match the tastes of discerning customers.

Hanse Yachts is one example of a company that’s in tune with the changing demands of new and younger clients. We believe that the Hanse 531 was a trendsetter and we’re still very proud of the fact that its interior is often copied. The Hanse 631e, which was unveiled to the public at the Cannes boat show in September, continued this tradition.

This multitude of options when it comes to interior yacht design reflects a client’s tastes and purposes. These days, yachts can even be designed as floating apartments with all mod-cons. This is not only the case with one-off superyachts — one of our recent projects involved a design brief from a client who wanted his 115ft (35m) motoryacht customised to resemble a modern house — but with smaller yachts as well.

Times have never been better for today’s interior yacht designers, as boatbuilders are quickly catching on to the fact that good design leads to increased sales. But following old trends, imitating them, is not enough. Design and development are what’s driving the market, and it’s important not to become too complacent — even during times of relative prosperity.

Take Degussa, for example, a German multinational chemicals company that invented Plexiglas in 1933. This transparent, shatter-proof polymer can be bended and takes on a completely different appearance depending on surface treatment, colour and light. Today Plexiglass enjoys widespread use in a wide range of applications.

Another company of note is Austria-based Swarovski, which produces crystal. Aware of new market developments, the company updated its range and began looking for partners to strengthen its market position and finance interior design development. Swarovski recently teamed up with Berker to introduce a range of switches made from crystal.

We are also seeing interior designers from other fields entering the marine market. Etap, for example, recently called on Italian car specialist Stile Bertone for help with the development of its new flagship model, the 46 Etap. The cross-over is reciprocal. We, too, have been asked to give interior design advice to an aviation company.

All of this has been made possible through the transfer of know-how — something that should never be underestimated for any kind of transportation system, whether it is a car, airplane or yacht.

My own career started at German shipyard Lürssen 15 years ago and, during that time, I learned how a custom or semi-custom series yacht should be constructed. We started with hand-drawn elevation and later saw the full development of various CAD CAM technologies, which is the background of all modern shipbuilding and interior design activities.

We have been working with a very professional team at KaiserWerft shipyard on the Catwalk, who took our ideas and translated them to good quality so that the yacht could be delivered on time. Even for smaller shipyards, we recommend that a dedicated person or team is in charge of interior concerns. This guarantees that decisions are made when needed and that someone can take responsibility for them.

A professional approach to interior design is crucial for all parties involved — not just the design company itself, but the shipyard and its clients too. If a boatbuilder decides to develop its own design concept for a new range of furniture, they must first be able to provide the designer with a detailed method of execution. This ensures that the yacht is delivered on time. Client involvement also makes the job of the interior designer much easier.

Customer expectations have changed dramatically over the last 25 years. While some are content to accept the traditional no-frills approach to interior layout, others are looking for something different. Thanks to low-cost travel, more and more people are becoming better informed about new styles, materials and better versions of interior design than ever before. Modern communication such as TV and the Internet is also responsible for bringing new design concepts straight into our living rooms, leading to much higher customer demands.

Clients with the ability to buy yachts are also becoming much younger. It is clear to most interior designers that this new breed of boat owner expects more than the style and product offerings that were on show some 20 years ago. For this reason, shipyards must prepare themselves for a new generation of clients and their individual take on interior design. Semi-custom designs have already been implemented by several of the leading shipyards, and we believe this is a very good answer to the challenges ahead.

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