A journal of yacht interior design edited by Alexandra Kraft. Maison Azure explores superyacht interiors, refits, and the craft of living at sea — from Dubai to the Mediterranean.https://www.maison-azure.com/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-case-for-fewer-better-things/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-case-for-fewer-better-things/A yacht interior, unlike most residential ones, gets specified once and then lived in for years without the natural churn that keeps a house evolving — no moving, no renovation triggered by a change in family size, often not even much visiting furniture from other rooms.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Crafthttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/marble-and-stone-at-sea/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/marble-and-stone-at-sea/Weight is the constraint everyone mentions when the subject of marble on a yacht comes up, and it's real — a standard 2x1 metre slab can weigh over 100 kilograms, a genuine liability on a vessel where every kilo affects fuel consumption, stability, and top speed.Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Crafthttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/monaco-from-a-gulf-owner-s-perspective/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/monaco-from-a-gulf-owner-s-perspective/Monaco and Dubai are often compared as rival playgrounds for the same clientele, but the comparison works better as a study in opposite strategies than as a competition. Monaco's entire value proposition is built on scarcity.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Scenehttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/fort-lauderdale-to-the-gulf/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/fort-lauderdale-to-the-gulf/The global superyacht fleet has run on a two-hub rhythm for decades: Mediterranean summers, Caribbean and Fort Lauderdale-based winters, with the fleet crossing the Atlantic each direction on a schedule almost as fixed as the seasons themselves.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Scenehttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/refitting-for-charter-vs-refitting-for-yourself/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/refitting-for-charter-vs-refitting-for-yourself/The question that changes almost everything about a refit — more than budget, more than yard choice — is one many owners aren't asked until well into planning: is this yacht going to earn its keep, or is it staying private. The two answers lead to genuinely different projects, not variations on the same one.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Refithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-galley-nobody-sees/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-galley-nobody-sees/Guests rarely think about the galley at all, which is precisely the point — and precisely why it's one of the hardest spaces on a yacht to design well. A galley that's working properly is invisible.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Interiorhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/lighting-a-yacht-interior/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/lighting-a-yacht-interior/Rule 06 in the studio's own published design philosophy states it plainly: lighting has evolved from a finishing layer into a primary spatial tool. Worth unpacking what that actually means in practice, because the phrase is easy to nod along with and easy to under-implement.Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Interiorhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-insurance-question-nobody-asks-until-it-s-too-late/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-insurance-question-nobody-asks-until-it-s-too-late/Most owners can state their yacht's insured value without hesitation. Far fewer can say, with any confidence, whether that policy pays out on agreed value or actual cash value — and the gap between those two words is often the single most expensive detail in the entire policy.Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Vesselhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-bay-counted/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-bay-counted/Between two and three billion dollars sat in the Bay of Cannes this week. I counted it. The number turned out to be the least interesting thing I found.Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Scenehttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/chartering-before-you-buy/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/chartering-before-you-buy/The instinct to buy first and learn later is understandable — the dream is specific, and a specific yacht usually comes attached to it.Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Vesselhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/off-the-shelf-furniture/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/off-the-shelf-furniture/A piece of furniture that would last thirty years in a living room can fail within a single season on a yacht — and the reason is rarely poor craftsmanship.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Crafthttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/teak-decking-in-the-gulf/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/teak-decking-in-the-gulf/Teak decking has a reputation built almost entirely on Mediterranean and Atlantic experience — and the Gulf tests it differently. The wood's natural oils and tight grain genuinely do resist rot, moisture, and everyday wear better than most alternatives; that reputation is earned.Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Crafthttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/shade-wind-and-salt/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/shade-wind-and-salt/Nothing on a yacht ages faster than what's left outside.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Kithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/how-to-choose-a-refit-yard-questions-owners-should-ask-first/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/how-to-choose-a-refit-yard-questions-owners-should-ask-first/Choosing a refit yard is often treated like booking a hotel — location, price, availability, done. It's worth treating more like hiring a contractor for a multi-million-dollar capital project, because that's what it actually is.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Refithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/inside-dibs-what-the-dubai-international-boat-show-tells-you-about-the-region/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/inside-dibs-what-the-dubai-international-boat-show-tells-you-about-the-region/A boat show's calendar slot is a more revealing detail than it first appears.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Scenehttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/interior-only-refits-when-you-don-t-need-to-touch-the-hull/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/interior-only-refits-when-you-don-t-need-to-touch-the-hull/The word "refit" tends to conjure the largest version of itself — a yacht stripped to bare structure, months in a yard, a budget that keeps finding new places to grow. That version exists, and it's sometimes necessary.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Refithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/palma-antibes-genoa-and-dubai-an-owner-s-guide-to-the-refit-ports/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/palma-antibes-genoa-and-dubai-an-owner-s-guide-to-the-refit-ports/For decades, the question "where should I refit" had an unspoken default answer: somewhere in the Mediterranean. That's no longer entirely true.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Scenehttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/prodital-leather-engineering-upholstery-for-a-marine-climate/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/prodital-leather-engineering-upholstery-for-a-marine-climate/Leather is one of the few materials where the difference between "looks the part" and "performs the part" is almost invisible until it fails. A poor marine leather and a good one can be indistinguishable in a showroom, under indoor lighting, on the day it's installed.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Kithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-beach-club-designing-the-yacht-s-new-social-heart/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-beach-club-designing-the-yacht-s-new-social-heart/For most of yachting history, the stern was where the work happened. Tenders were stowed there, lines were handled there, crew moved through it constantly — it was infrastructure, not experience.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Interiorhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/life-below-decks-what-owners-should-understand-about-crew-and-circulation/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/life-below-decks-what-owners-should-understand-about-crew-and-circulation/Most owners never think about circulation until it fails. A hallway that's a few centimetres too narrow, a service door that opens directly onto a lounge, a crew route that crosses the guest path at exactly the wrong moment — none of it registers as a design decision until it's already annoying someone.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Vesselhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-repeat-buyer/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-repeat-buyer/The first yacht is bought with imagination. The second is bought with memory.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Vesselhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/yacht-interior-design-styles-explained/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/yacht-interior-design-styles-explained/Owners are asked to describe what they want long before they have the vocabulary to do it. "Modern" and "classic" get used constantly in early briefing conversations, but they mean different things to almost everyone who says them.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Interiorhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-mediterranean-summer-circuit/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-mediterranean-summer-circuit/Every summer, a quiet migration unfolds across the Mediterranean.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Scenehttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/dubai-maritime-city-the-gulf-s-superyacht-hub/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/dubai-maritime-city-the-gulf-s-superyacht-hub/There is a stretch of waterfront between Port Rashid and the open Gulf that, a generation ago, was simply working sea. Today it has a name, a plan, and a gravitational pull.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Scenehttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/fendertex-the-fender-that-changed-how-superyachts-dock/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/fendertex-the-fender-that-changed-how-superyachts-dock/Docking is the moment a yacht is most exposed and least admired. Long before a guest steps aboard, the vessel has been eased against a quay, nudged between neighbours, held off a wall in a crosswind — and the humble fender has done the work of protecting a hull that may have taken months to fair and paint.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Kithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/how-we-specify-a-yacht-interior-the-maison-azure-process/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/how-we-specify-a-yacht-interior-the-maison-azure-process/I am often asked what we actually do — what happens between the first conversation and the moment an owner steps aboard a finished interior. The honest answer is that most of the work is invisible by design.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Interiorhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/keeping-your-yacht-in-the-gulf-summer/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/keeping-your-yacht-in-the-gulf-summer/The Gulf summer is not the Mediterranean summer with the dial turned up. It is a different environment, and a yacht kept here through it needs to be managed as such.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Crafthttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/owning-a-yacht-in-dubai-what-nobody-tells-you/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/owning-a-yacht-in-dubai-what-nobody-tells-you/The brochure version of owning a yacht in Dubai is easy to picture: warm water, year-round sun, a skyline best seen from the deck. The real version is more interesting, and a good deal more practical.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Vesselhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/designing-the-ultimate-owner-s-suite-at-sea/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/designing-the-ultimate-owner-s-suite-at-sea/Every yacht has a social heart — the salon where guests gather and life onboard unfolds. But tucked away from the bustle of the vessel lies a very different space: the owner’s suite.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Interiorhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/hidden-costs-in-yacht-interior-projects/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/hidden-costs-in-yacht-interior-projects/A yacht interior project can appear deceptively straightforward at the beginning. A new material palette, a reconfigured layout, updated lighting, perhaps a redesigned salon or owner’s suite — on paper, the transformation seems simple.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Refithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/how-long-does-a-proper-yacht-refit-really-take/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/how-long-does-a-proper-yacht-refit-really-take/From the outside, a yacht refit can look almost effortless. A vessel enters the shipyard looking slightly tired, scaffolding surrounds the hull, and months later it emerges transformed — refreshed interiors, upgraded systems, and spaces ready for a new chapter at sea.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Refithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/materials-that-actually-survive-at-sea/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/materials-that-actually-survive-at-sea/Designing a beautiful yacht interior is only the beginning. The real test comes once the vessel leaves the shipyard and enters its natural environment — one defined by salt air, humidity, vibration, ultraviolet exposure, and constant movement.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Kithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/refit-vs-new-build-how-owners-are-deciding/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/refit-vs-new-build-how-owners-are-deciding/In the world of superyachts, every major decision begins with the same question: build new, or transform what already exists?Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Refithttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-future-yacht-owner/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-future-yacht-owner/Spend time at Dubai Maritime City — or at the marina in any of the major Gulf ports — and the shift is visible. The image of the traditional yacht owner is evolving.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Vesselhttps://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-new-rules-of-yacht-interior-design/https://www.maison-azure.com/post/the-new-rules-of-yacht-interior-design/In the world of superyachts, design evolution rarely happens overnight. It shifts quietly — first in the expectations of owners, then in the priorities of shipyards, and finally in the spaces themselves.Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Refit