Nesting

We're spending more time on the boat - and it's just not comfortable yet.  A few things are physical - the table is too big and in the way in the salon - but others are visual.  The Beneteau is a great blank slate.  Problem is, that canvas is still blank 7 weeks after we brought her home.  Well, it was still blank - until last night.  We headed over with super-Velcro in tow and I got to work adding some things from home while Mark was finally able to swap out the filter on the A/C water intake. 

Painting by Stephen Kasun 

I hung this on the fwd bulkhead in the salon.  I could actually get away with something larger in this space, but it's so bright and it makes me happy to see it when I first walk down the companionway.

You can see here that we've dropped the table to the level you're supposed to use for sleeping.  I'm thinking the 3"+  drop from the cushions to the table top might be a smidge uncomfortable.  I'm guessing that there was a cushion for this area at some point...  But for now we just lounge right on top of the dang thing.  It's become an ottoman of sorts.  We've got a plan brewing that involves completely removing the table and converting the bench (that's just out of sight in this photo) into an island with a fold down table and TV mount.  Good thing Mark is crafty.  And he loves my help - especially when it involves dropping the floor panel over the A/C seacock onto his head.  Oops.

Here's another painting I picked up from Stephen - this was a trade for some pottery I was selling at the art show where we met.  Local artists are often pretty cool.  This one is hanging in the galley - hopefully distracting visitors from the lovely EPIRB just above it...
















I also took over a small iron mermaid that I picked up in St. Augustine one day and gave her a new perch in a non-opening port in the salon and hung a small painting that my sister brought me from a local artist in Bulgaria.  Oh!  And a cool handmade mermaid tile that I picked up in Mexico in March.  I just don't have pics of these things yet.  There's at least one more small handmade tile from Spain that I plan to hang in the aft head, and maybe a few more items around here that I want to move onto the boat.  Only our favorite art pieces are going - and those are generally from local artists picked up on our travels.  I guess I need to pick out something from my own work to take onboard - but I'd really rather sell my work to fund the travels!

I've been ordering fabric samples like crazy.  I'm planning to change the fabric on the salon seating and brighten it up.  The cream pleather is great for cleaning - and certainly bright, but I want some color.  I'm leaning to blues and creams and browns.  Those are the colors I have in the condo and I think it will make the boat feel more like home - plus I can "recycle" items from the condo and same some cash.  Why not use the items I already have/love?  Less spending, less to get rid of when we leave the condo.

Oddly enough, I noticed other posts on interior decorating today. It's interesting how blog topics seem to go in waves. It's also very cool to see how other boaters have chosen to decorate and make their boats into their homes.