Saloon/Galley Renovation
By Robin Roberts
Saturday, April 10, 2004
Re-decorating and Upgrading the Saloon and Galley
In the Winter 2004, we decided to upgrade the saloon and galley. We ended up consulting with Annapolis Yacht Interiors (AYI) - which turned out to be a superb decision. We had never used a decorator before, but a boat is such a small space and a bad decision can really impact the overall effect.
Here are a few pictures of the OLD saloon and galley...
The plan was to get rid of the previous owner's overdone "island cutesy" - make the saloon feel more open and airy, and to upgrade the galley by replacing the propane stove/oven and extending the countertop. The boat came with a really neat tropical fish scene etched onto a mirror between the galley and saloon. Although we didn't want the finished result to be too cutesy, we liked the mirror - so the final choice had to work around that.
This is the original galley, BEFORE.
For the galley, we wanted to replace the original mini-tile countertop, and we wanted to extend it on the saloon side so it was even, all the way across. Underneath the extended overhang on the saloon side we wanted to put a flat-screen TV with DVD storage, protected by some type of frame.
Now here are the pictures of the demolition...
And now the reconstruction begins... First with new 5/8" plywood for the counter, fresh paint inside all the cabinetry, and the teak "frame" that will surround the new flat-screen TV.
We decided to use granite tile for the new countertop, which Jim installed. Granite tile is much cheaper than solid granite, and it was thin enough that we could re-install the fiddle (sea rail) from the original countertop around the new countertop. We replaced the old 3-burner propane stove/oven with a new unit - a Seaward Princess, and we replaced the sink with an American Standard reinforced fiberglass 9" deep sink with offset drain. The boat came with a garbage disposal in the sink, so we replaced that as well.
New Saloon carpet and furniture...
Christine from AYI suggested we start with choosing a fabric for the sofa as a starting point. No matter how many times we said "nothing nautical - it's already obviously a boat", we kept coming back to this beige seashell pattern. We both dreamed about that dumb pattern. Seashells - breaking all our rules. But the shells were pretty subtle and tasteful, and the coffee/beige coloring made the overall effect a bit more sophisticated. We played with a few alternative color schemes around the two variations available for that fabric pattern, but Christine suggested that we work with the beautiful teak walls rather than fight them.
The sofa was custom-made for the boat. We wanted the comfort of a sofa with the storage of a settee, and Christine told us about "boat sofas". You choose the fabric, cushion style, arm style, seat depth, height, etc. Perfect! The result was well worth the effort, and the cost was roughly comparable to a higher-end home sofa.
We chose the ubiquitous scandinavian style leather chairs from Scan for the rest of the saloon seating, and some 110v sconces that mount on a padded, fabric-covered board between the windows. The saloon still has the original overhead 12v fixtures (4), but we rarely use them because they draw 160 watts! Two 110v sconces with the low-voltage flourescent screw-in style bulbs put out the same amount of light and use 26 watts.
We also replaced the mini-blinds with Oceanair pleated shades. These are the kind of shades for boats and RVs that are anchored top and bottom on strings, and they stay wherever you put them. We opted for a 25% sheer pleated shade combined with a 75% cellular shade for each of the big windows for flexibility - privacy, warmth (the cellular shade does make a difference when outside temps are extreme), etc. Pricey, but gorgeous, easy to take care of, and very useful.
And a view of the final result...
With the spiffy new hi-low coffee table made by Arrigoni Designs in Connecticut - 20 x 46 (closed) / 40 x 46 (open)...
