This New Superyacht Bed Is a Throwback to 1930s Ocean Liners

Beds have largely been afterthoughts on yachts, even the most expensive superyachts. What started out as foam pads sewn into the shape of a mattress made sense 30 years ago, when even the largest yachts were much smaller and prone to the occasional wave over the side. But mattresses haven’t kept pace with the superyacht segment (and their ever-rising price tags) in the last 10 years. Even name-brand shipyards can skimp on size and, more importantly, the quality of the beds for yachts costing tens of millions.

That is changing. “Many business people who buy yachts don’t sleep a lot,” notes Vincenzo Poerio, CEO of Tankoa Yachts. “But they want to sleep in a very good bed. Some buy custom-made beds; others insist on quality mattresses with springs. Today, there is more attention than ever to the aesthetics of the bed, but comfort is the prime consideration.”

Winch Design, one of the big-name studios in the superyacht world, has seen a shift in demand from its clients, who are looking for better beds. “It seems like sleep has become super important to most people,” says Michael Noah, Furniture Designer and Associate at the London-based studio. “We’re noticing that the younger clients coming through are much more interested in health and wellbeing. It’s part of the trend you’re seeing towards bigger spas and gym.”

Winch has designed beds for both marine and residential. Noah was given the artistic license that most designers can only dream of. With no client looking over his shoulder with specific design parameters, Noah went to work on a new bed that would suit both superyachts and residential use. The bed he designed, appropriately called Tranquility, came from multiple sources of inspiration, the first being a formal bedroom on a yacht, where he has done much of his design work.

The second was a 1930s ocean liner. “I envisioned first-class travel back then, the grand dinners and ballrooms, and going to sleep in an elegant room with a big bed,” says Noah. The final inspiration that led to the specific design was personal, his grandmother’s sleigh bed. “I used to go around my granny’s house and that bed always struck me as large but beautiful,” he says. “I wanted to make a modern interpretation of it, with clean lines. I understand it’s a very personal piece of furniture, so it was designed to be somewhere you could lie down and dream.”

To create a custom version of the design, Winch turned to longtime partner Savoir, which has been making bespoke, hand-made beds since 1904, when it worked with London’s Savoy Hotel. Its beds were used by Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, and many other historical notables over the last 121 years. That original No. 2 bed is still being made, among the 1,000 the company makes each year. The firm has staked out a significant portion of its business in the superyacht world and has done specific projects with Heesen, Feadship, and Benetti. “Our beds are in seven of the world’s 10 largest superyachts,” says Alistair Hughes, managing director and co-owner of Savoir, which has workshops in London and Wales.

“Yachting has always been important to our company from the beginning,” he adds. “It’s partly the nature of what we do and what yachting requires—yachts have always been a little bit funny for beds.” Meaning, many yachts, from, say, 130 to 160 feet in length, might have odd-shaped tapered bedframes that require tapered or curved mattresses. “We’re able to create strange-shaped mattresses for that size of yacht,” says Hughes.

Design trends on larger superyachts from 200 to 300 feet are favoring more residential influences, with normal shaped beds. But even those can pose problems. Last year, for a 230-foot custom yacht in build, the client wanted bespoke mattresses measuring a gargantuan nine feet by nine feet. Completed mattresses would be impossible to fit through doors or hatches, so Savoir sent three of its craftspeople to build the mattress and topper inside the stateroom. “It’s that level of service and detail that you need at the top end of the market, especially considering the beautiful furniture, art, and design they are installing into the yacht,” says Hughes. “We need to make sure we create something perfect.”

Savoir’s two operations are more like old-world workshops than modern production facilities, with one craftsperson assigned to each bed, using carefully specced horsehair that provides the softness above aluminum springs made in house to the buyer’s specifications for firmness. The topper, incorporating wool and horsehair, allows the mattress to breathe, as opposed to foam mattresses. “Each mattress is signed by the person who makes them, and on the other side, the craftsman has the client’s name above his bench, so they know there’s a real person who will be sleeping on it,” Hughes says.

Beyond the bespoke mattress made for Winch, the Tranquility is upholstered in soft leather from Foglizzo, with saddle-stitch detailing, with an anegre timber trim. The bed frame includes Chelsom reading lights. The optional nightstand was designed, as Noah notes, to “evoke the sophistication of transatlantic voyages,” though it’s aimed as a “crossover” product for both boats and homes. All this quality doesn’t come cheap. A king-sized mattress with boxsprings and bed frame costs $68,605, and the nightstands are $21,885 each.