"With a yacht’s interior, it’s primarily about how the spaces are experienced. For the design, the shape of the yacht is a constant factor. Within that framework we aim to create the overall layout and the interiors in keeping with the clients’ requirements.You base the design on their brief.You evaluate their lifestyle - it is, after all, their ship. We visit the principles; take a look at how they live and what they like.That gives an idea of what would appeal to them and it doesn’t take us long to figure out how we think the yacht’s interior should be.”
The designs created by Art-Line’s owners, Marilyn Bos-de Vaal and Frank Pieterse, suggest simplicity, though reality is far more complex. The interiors of superyachts entail far more than in a house.To start with, there is the nautical element,with all the concomitant technical services.Then there are specific factors relating to seamanship - if only to prevent all the furniture moving around in time with the swell as soon as there’s a breath of wind. Frank:“The more complicated things are, the more your creativity is challenged.And the more fun it is for us. In view of the budgets involved, expectations are usually extremely high. In fact, it’s our job not only to come up to expectations, but to exceed them: to make the interior appear larger than it is. It takes experience, but if you’ve made a name for yourself in the yachting world, you’re given ever-more leeway.” Marilyn:“When we did our first ship,we were still rather naïve.Didn’t really know how things were in the yachting world.That’s why the first yacht was so different from what people originally expected. It was really special. Everyone was impressed. From then on, things evolved fast.
We had proved that we could make an attractive interior within the technical complexity of a ship.You discover how to break away from the apparent restrictions of shipbuilding. If you adhere strictly to all input coming at you from all sides, you risk ending up with something rather boring.We’re always on the look-out for different solutions.After all, designing is about figuring out something new every time.” They met at theArtAcademy in the Dutch city of Utrecht,where they studied architectural design - and now have been working together for over twenty-five years as Art-Line Interiors. Frank Pieterse claims that in kindergarten he already knew he wanted to design boats.After he graduated, the first ship was soon on the cards.After that it was full speed ahead, in the world of shipbuilding, particularly after in 1990 they won their first award, in the United States. Frank:“In the early days, we largely concentrated on the client’s demands, but we gradually began to develop our own style: a style for which clients seek us out these days.”
