Orange lacquer under a white sky

A long, white hold with one bold gesture

Martin Luther King started as an empty steel hold: long, narrow and dark, with nothing but the curve of the hull to work with. The brief was a home that feels open from end to end, and the answer was to keep almost everything white. A panelled ceiling runs the full length of the ship, skylights and round portholes bring in daylight from above and from both flanks, and wide oak floorboards carry warmth underfoot from the kitchen to the bedroom.

The kitchen as the heart of the ship

Against that calm backdrop sits the one statement of the interior: a kitchen in high-gloss orange lacquer. A freestanding island with a grey worktop anchors the living space, tall units hide the appliances, and a hidden strip of light under the cabinets makes the colour glow in the evening. Brass wall lights pick up the warm tone along the length of the hold, so the orange never feels like a stranger.

Quiet rooms, made to measure

Beyond the kitchen the ship turns quieter. An oak staircase climbs to the wheelhouse, built-in cupboards follow the line of the hull, and a wood stove keeps the living room warm through the winter. The bathroom is pure ship: a freestanding bath and a black floor-standing tap beneath a porthole, a sage-green vanity with an oak handle, and white walls that follow the curve of the hull. Every piece was drawn and built for this hull, which is why nothing in it feels added later.