A dark, sculptural loft

A Kempenaar with a loft-like interior

The Iron Lady is a Kempenaar that embraces the dark with total conviction. The photographs show the hold both during the build and finished, and together they tell the story: black walls, raw steel cladding left with its natural patina, a steel pipe crossing the full width of the ship, and long curved rooflights that draw daylight down the length of the hold.

Steel, fire and leather

At the centre of the living space hangs a suspended steel fireplace, surrounded by cognac leather sofas that bring warmth to the dark palette. Concrete floors keep the room grounded, while the light from above picks out every texture of the steel. It is an interior for those who find beauty in materials that are allowed to show their age.

One quiet, dark register

At one end an oak staircase climbs to a mezzanine with a steel railing, above a kitchen in dark timber. The bedroom has wide, weathered floorboards and simple built-in furniture. From the fireplace to the bedroom the whole ship stays in one consistent register: a loft on the water, built with the same steel as the hull it sits in.