Sailing With Alliance

I’ve never been much of a decorator. I like the idea of it, but I’ve rarely put more than the barest effort into decorating. There were lots of reasons – in college and grad school I was moving very frequently, spending very little time at home, and didn’t have much money to put towards it. Ryan and I have lived in our house for about two years, but we started forming our cruising plan a few months after moving in so I wasn’t keen on spending a lot of money and effort into buying furniture, bedding and decorations only to have to get rid of it all in a couple of years. That’s not to say I don’t love our home and the way it looks – but it would probably look different if it was going to be a more permanent home.

I’ve been thinking about decorating since we bought the Alberg. Aesthetics may seem like a low priority compared to some of the more structural work we have to do, but it’s very important! This boat will be our home, and when we are on a passage, there will be days or weeks when we don’t leave it. Would you want to spend weeks inside a house that you felt “meh” about? I wouldn’t! 🙂

This is what the cushions and curtains of the Alberg look like now (photo from previous-previous owners):

They’re in pretty good condition, but while my costume designer heart can appreciate green moire taffeta, it’s not what I would have picked. So I got on Pinterest, looked at lots of pictures of sailboat cabins and tiny house interiors and started forming some ideas.

I asked Ryan if he had any input and he said that he liked white “leather” for the cushions, and I agree – it’ll help brighten up the cabin. I went to Sailrite’s website to look at their marine fabrics and ordered some swatches, and they came this week! Here’s what I got:Soft white vinyl for the cushions:Indigo curtains:Accent Pillows (on the one on the top left the design looks black – it’s really more of an indigo like the curtains):And last but not least, Sunbrella Marine Fabric!The cover of our roller-furling headsail is hunter green, so I got a swatch of this Sunbrella to see if it matches. I’ll make the bimini and dodger out of this.

The next step is to figure out how much of each of these I’m going to need! I’ve already measured for the curtains, so that will be the first project.