# Re-Decorating/Cushion Covers?



## svHyLyte (Nov 13, 2008)

This is posted in "herSailNet" as our boat is really my wife's but that is another story and anyone is invited to chime in.

"Our" boat is finished with lots of brass fixtures and wine red crushed velvet cushion covers, somewhat resembling (in my view) a late 1890's bordello. (See snap below) Never-the-less, my (much) better half loves the look. Unfortunately, however, since she can't curb her tendency to put her feet on the furniture, at one point she managed to punch a small (say 1/4") hole in a prominent location on one cushion in the settee with the spiked heel of her shoe (while we were in our slip of course).

My thought was to take the cover off and have a little Star or something similar embroidered over the "wound" with color matching thread. She, however, wants to re-cover the settee cushions, only, with a similar colored crushed velvet but with a gold "leaf" pattern woven in. (The material is actually pretty nice in a kind of 1890's bordello sense.) As the cost of doing the entire salon in this fabric is "material" (and she's paying for it considering the circumstances of the needed replacement!) her idea is to re-cover the settee seat and back rest cushions, only, with this fabric. She argues that the fabric is complementary to the existing cushion covers and that there is no need for "all" the cushions in the salon to match, just as the fabric covers of the furniture in the living and other rooms of our house are not a match but are complimentary. I'm not sure how to respond or how others might react when the day comes that we have to pass the yacht on to the next "custodian" (as one never really "owns" a yacht, but merely has temporary custody).

Any thoughts? Agreement? Demurs?


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## bblument (Oct 22, 2012)

svHyLyte said:


> I'm not sure how to respond or how others might react when the day comes that we have to pass the yacht on to the next "custodian" (as one never really "owns" a yacht, but merely has temporary custody).
> 
> Any thoughts? Agreement? Demurs?


Just a general comment. I'm slightly color blind--not enough to influence my ability to pass basic color recognition tests for aviation medical exams, but enough so my wife thinks I'm crazy when it comes to articulating subtle shade differences or picking out clothes that match --- so I'm not going to comment on whether or not the 1890's bordello look is a good or bad idea... what do I know! Decorating decisions I leave up to my wife... except that I have veto power over pinks and floral patterns in areas where I have to spend time. I'm an earth tone, cave-dweller kind of guy when it comes to decorating, and everyone else hates that... so I bend.

Whenever we make changes in our house, we've come to the realization that there's no point in worrying about what the next owner will like. WE live here, and WE want to enjoy it the way WE'D like to see it. If the next prospective owner is too lazy to paint and decorate it the way they want it ... the heck with'em. Sure, if we're crazy nutso with off the wall colors and textures, we might loose a couple grand on resale... but we will have lived for years in totally OUR house. Small price to pay in my opinion. I don't see why a boat should be any different. Choose the colors and fabrics that you and your wife like... end of story.

Barry


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

I agree with Barry if it's what she wants and she's in charge of boat finances and the boat then really you just need to retreat and be happy your wife wears stiletto heels in the bordello that is the salon.


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## Sublime (Sep 11, 2010)

Her style choice isn't really my cup of tea. 
But, she's paying for it and it's her boat, dude. And who cares what future owners might think? If they don't like it, they can change it. Fabric choice isn't going to be a deal breaker.


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## ehlsail (Dec 17, 2012)

I'm still early on in my search for my next boat and I have seen some truly questionable interiors. From the pic you have I'd say it's not that bad. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I could live with it if it made my wife happy.


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## Yofy (Aug 15, 2007)

I'm still trying to get over the fact that she was wearing spike heeled shoes on a boat... and INSIDE the boat 

As for recovering the salon cushions with different, albeit colour coridinated fabric.... I'd think that if all the cushions in the main cabin are the same fabric then you should be OK. Hopefully the gold leaf design is muted... I don't like "busy" fabric designs on cabin interiors. But that's just my personal taste.

Robyn


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## svHyLyte (Nov 13, 2008)

Yofy--

My wife is "height challenged" and so wears high heels whenever possible because, she claims, they make her "look taller". After all these years, I'm not going to argue the matter unless it is likely to damage the deck, sole, or in this case furniture. We were having "company" and she wanted to "look nice" (and taller!).

The fabric she likes is something like this:










The picture makes it appear a bit darker than it is in real life which is more akin to what we have now and the pattern is quite small, relatively speaking. Thus far we're still debating the matter which has been delayed in favor of other more important repairs.

FWIW...

PS: Good for you on your passage from Eilat to Larnaca.  Hopefully all remains safe/secure.


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## Seaduction (Oct 24, 2011)

Just consider it an "investment."


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## Pendragon35 (Jun 26, 2014)

What Yofy said...umm...a wife who wears heels on the boat...in the boat. Hm... y best advice about wives is...just say yes.


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## Bob142 (May 27, 2012)

There is only one question where "Yes Dear" is not the correct answer...


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Your current look isn't all that bad. Pattern fabric has pros and cons. I do not think all fabrics need to match as long as they truly are complimentary.

Patterns hide blemishes better than solids, which can be helpful. 

However, patterns never look like the small swatch after you build an full cushion out of them. I too have let the misses deal with a custom pattern on a brand new couch at home. The finished product was exactly what you describe. It looked like it belonged in a brothel. We agonized over whether to pay to have it recovered, which would have been half the cost of the couch again. After a couple of years, we sold it for a song, just to get it out of the house.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Wheres the mirror on the ceiling?


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## Multihullgirl (Dec 2, 2010)

I would keep to a neutral, actually fairly light, solid for the cushions and use patterns, especially busy ones, for pillows.

Patterns in a small area make it appear smaller. Use them sparingly.

I don't know why, but people seem to think you can't wash boat cushion covers. You can. Just wash them gently and don't put them in a dryer. In fact, it's best to wash covers, as the dirt etc does more to deteriorate them otherwise, never mind the smells they retain.

edit: this is my salon. Sorry for the mess. Those pillow covers are totally tropical, but if I'd covered the whole settee with that, oh holy cats, eew.


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## svHyLyte (Nov 13, 2008)

Multihullgirl--I do not disagree. However, my (much) better half would describe that as a "Symphony in Beige", with the attendant excitement while her working reference on classic yacht interiors is Bobrow and Jinkins' "In The Spirit of Tradition".


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## svHyLyte (Nov 13, 2008)

Going through my old posts earlier today looking for something I had commented on some while ago, I rediscovered this thread and realized I had never followed up with what we finally decided to do vis-a-vis a repair or replacement of our damaged salon cushion.

For those that don't care to go through the entire thread, our problem was a hole punched in a cushion cover in the salon. We debated various fixes including possibly having new covers made for at least the settee side, my wife's preferred fix (until she got the cost estimate!).

In the end, the fix proved to be having a small Scallop Shell embroidered over the hole in a complimentary color.

Following are snaps of the port side of our salon, the damage to the cushion that although quite small was also quite obvious and finally, the fix. Several people having seen this in "real time" have commented on how well it works and, at $12 USD was a heck of a lot less expensive than re-covering

FWIW...

PS: Mark--The mirror you asked about is right there on the bulkhead, eh?


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## SailRedemption (Jun 29, 2013)

Excellent idea, if you had a boat logo you could do that too and add that special touch. Very neat, I'll remember that if we ever get a hole! 

See more @ redemptiverepair.com


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## k7el (Jan 5, 2013)

Present color doesn't seem that bad to me. I've been looking at a lot of boats and seen much worse. 

Happy wife = happy life.


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## punahougirl84 (May 6, 2015)

I like the scallop shell - it's like a little treasure, an "Easter egg" hidden in the salon if you will. 

With the money she saved on not recovering cushions, she can buy high heeled shoes that aren't spikey!

In our search, though I'm all about hull condition and gear and how recent are the sails and tell me about the running and standing rigging etc., I did find myself turned off by various interiors. Yours wouldn't be a turn off LOL!


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

svHyLyte said:


> In the end, the fix proved to be having a small Scallop Shell embroidered over the hole in a complimentary color.
> at $12 USD


That goodness inteligence reigned suprime.

To replace the fabric of a whole boat where it could be fixed for $12 is crazy.

Nice fix, we done. Thanks for following up


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## WinterRiver (Oct 20, 2006)

Very nice. Belongs in the low bucks projects thread!


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Smart lady...keep her
And encourage her to wear the heels whenever she wants😍😍😍😍


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