Interior Decorating Your Sailboat ?

[captainKJ]

A couple of ideas for the master cabin, main salon, and galley for you

[lunasea.ds]

Oops, posted twice.

[lunasea.ds]

I enjoyed choosing our vinyl wall decals from etsy.com. They have a huge range of styles and sizes (large focal point to small repeat patterns). They're removable, can be wiped clean and don't move like wall hangings while the boat is in motion.

Also, installing battery operated motion sensing photocell lights in the heads and dark pass throughs made it cozier than the overhead lights.

[VirtualVagabond]

I kinda like this look. Particularly the curtains. Obviously it all changes when the anchor comes up, but there should be a few ideas here.
And no, it's not my boat!!!

[zeehag]

LOVE the teak interior of my garden ketch. wouldn't trade it or modify it for anything in life.

[schoonerdog]

My quick tip is go for bold colors and fabrics from a real fabric store, not from Sunbrella or a marine store. Most boats look like a prep school headmaster's office - boring!

Also - lunasea.ds - where do you get the battery operated motion sensing photocell lights? That would be a life saver for my son who can't reach the lights and won't go to the bathroom without mom and dad turning on the lights in the middle of the night?

[SabreKai]

Originally Posted by Lowcountry

Secondly, you could maybe find a couple of nice plastic plants to put here or there

Glad to see I'm not the only one who likes plastic plants. I've got half a dozen aboard. I find them calming for some reason, never figured out why.

[lunasea.ds]

Originally Posted by schoonerdog

My quick tip is go for bold colors and fabrics from a real fabric store, not from Sunbrella or a marine store. Most boats look like a prep school headmaster's office - boring!

Also - lunasea.ds - where do you get the battery operated motion sensing photocell lights? That would be a life saver for my son who can't reach the lights and won't go to the bathroom without mom and dad turning on the lights in the middle of the night?

Hey schoonerdog! I ordered them from amazon, they are the Mr. Beams brand. Still going strong after 2 years. Batteries last a year and half with daily use. Items I use and recommend to cruisers are on cruiseabode.com.

[lunasea.ds]

Many commercial grade upholstery and drapery fabrics are beautiful and priced to compete with the home market. They are required to meet standards for light fastness (fade resistance), double rub (durability), flammability (lower burning characteristics). A few I've used often in the past are DesignTex and Maharam, and they have websites you can browse.

[janice142]

In my cabin I have round port-lights.. My privacy solution I chose are sun-catchers. At Hallmark stores they sell 6" (large?) sun-catchers that are pretty ($20) and plastic -- not glass. The round part (border) does not rust but they come with a cheap chain that I pitched. After about a year they do fade so I bought some acrylic paints (50 cent variety) and darkened 'em up.

I have used lace to cover smaller windows because it will let in light but provide a degree of privacy -- plus it's not too bright. Check for nautical patterns.

As for decorative items, just so long as it pleases you and cannot become a missile underway I see no reason why the "finer" things can't be aboard. Personalizing is fun and know wall jewelry is what makes your boat unique.

[SailorGirl7497]

My parents and I recently got a Mirage 5.5 and to be honest it doesn't have much, well colourfulness. So after pointing out the obvious to my mom, she has granted me permission to paint the ceiling of the cabin. I had the idea of doing a sky view where you could see some gulls from a worms eye view or the same point of view on a reef where you could see sharks and fish swim over you. What are your opinions? If you have another idea I'd love to hear it! And what kind of paint should I use?@.@

[janice142]

Hello SailorGirl7497. Flying rats on the ceiling? When many folks wear hats for two reasons: #1: sun, and #2: seagull poop! I can't see that myself but then again, it's your boat.

As for your sky view, planets too might be nice (I've done that in a house with a ceiling black and glow-in-the-dark star patterns plus painted ones) ... I tried similar on the boat (white overhead/with just planets) and it isn't very good. That was one of those ideas that seemed like a good idea at the time. (shrugs) HOWEVER I LOVE your idea of fish swimming. Instead of paint if your overhead is slick I might suggest cutting out magazine pictures of the fish and then using Elmer's glue to adhere... Paint brush the glue along the edges (smooth it out, don't worry about the middle of the fish) and then stick it up there. IF anything gets dirty or grimy you can wet the surface of the paper and it will come down. Removing the glue takes a bit more effort but instead of paint, I'd go with the glue method. I'd like to see the results of your fishy experiment too (if you go that way) as I've considered similar in the head along one bulkhead.

Addendum: I do have a few glow-in-the-dark planet stickers in my cabin and do like them. They are subtle and since you're looking for color, I'd chose an aquatic scene.

[JanetGroene]

Do you know about "wallies", a whole new type of clingy wall decorations? Made now by many companies including custom designs. They are easily applied, easily changed to suit your whim. Easier than paint and lots more fun.

[osirissail]

As Amgine stated (post#8) remember that everything in a sailboat is subject to being "thrown around" when underway. So pictures, nick-naks, everything need to be "bolted" or restrained from moving. Unlike a land home where gravity is the only problem, boats move up/down, back and forth, and rotate.

So pictures need to be screwed or bolted in place, plants (real or fake) need to be clamped down, books and stuff need to be behind doors or wooden restraints. It is not really difficult to do but needs some extra thought when putting something here or there.

One of the great joys of a boat is the small size restrictions, so your "accents" are limited in size and number or you end up with a "closet full of stuff" look.

[Ocean Girl]

Great ideas!
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