Brushstrokes: Watercolor on the Waves
By Patti Restivo
Luxury homes, November/December, 1994
Photography by Fred Sons of Fred Dana Photography and Mark Wieland
Built in Belgium in 1929, this inland craft originally hauled coal on European waterways. She was purchased in the mid 1980s by a French company, who replated the hull and tailored a magnificent pleasure yacht after vessels used to tour the rivers along the wine country of France and canals of Holland. Aquarelle first appeared in the United States in 1985. Used most frequently in Southern Florida for exclusive parties and cruises (she was also filmed in two episodes of Miami Vice), Aquarelle was purchased by her present owners in the Summer of 1993. Remodeling began that Fall under the direction of international interior designer Kelly Gale Amen of Houston, Texas.
The newest member of a dock side Boat & Breakfast at Annapolis Landing Marina, the Aquarelle is a graceful addition to Paradise Bay. It’s hard to imagine her hauling coal or surviving the furies of Hurricane Andrew. Yet, this luxurious lady’s memoirs reveal an interesting history, including television appearances on Miami Vice. She was purchased by husband and wife team Bill Massey and Marie Simmons of Dallas, Texas, as the culmination of a dream that Bill has pursued for many years. Her restoration fell under the creative wing of hometown friend and international interior designer Kelly Gale Amen of KGA, Inc., in Houston.
Since no major structural changes were required, Kelly decided to improve and enhance Aquarelle’s existing architectural design. Although her white awning was preserved to avoid startling the neighbors, Kelly (who is famed for his “creative courage”) selected durable and vibrant materials to reflect an aquatic environment, discarding the traditional nautical blues for a brilliance of color and light in shades of green, turquoise, shell pink, coral, aubergine, and periwinkle. Flooring and walls were his main focus.
He chose hunter green chevron for the flooring on the upper deck. The spacious outdoor lounge, which elegantly accommodates fifty people, features an array of beautiful, multicolored, and exotically shaped KGA signature pillows, as well as a step-down to a wet bar and two intimate sitting areas.
Below deck is the Main Salon with custom hardwood flooring. A sand-cast KGA aluminum and glass table (Kelly is also well known for his KGA Metal) offers views of the hand-painted, aquarium-scene rug beneath. “The rug set the tone,” said Marie Simmons. “It’s a splash of brilliant water colors and it makes you feel like you’re walking on the bottom of the ocean.”
The entire area below deck, painted with a granite-like Zolatone paint to give the walls more depth, is brightened by numerous skylights and solid bronze portholes (framed by a hand-painted rope design as a focal point of the interior). The furnishings are a mixture – outdoor furniture such as aubergine Adirondack chairs and natural colored wicker blend zestfully with cowhide sling-back chairs. No amenity was spared in furnishing the blue and peach Honeymoon Suite with a designer four-poster bed, and its Master Bath includes a marble double sink and two-person Jaccuzzi tub with gold fixtures.
The authentic 1929 design with its original wood panels and parquet floors remains intact in the Captain’s Quarters. The elevated king-size bed, draped in plush antique bedding, is adjacent to a private European-style bath. A panoramic view of the Chesapeake Bay from a connected pilothouse at the stair top beckons to a foregone era.
“We wanted to use materials, artisans and craftspeople that would make it nautically correct, but keep it stimulating and interesting,” explains Amen. Kelly hired Texas artists for the project. Barbara Jones enveloped the walls and portholes with her unique brushstrokes, and Nancy Ruby hand-painted the aquarium-scene rug in the Main Salon. Accessories such as the large carved wooden fish by Corpus Christi artist Joe Pesca are sprinkled throughout. Accenting his work with touches of African pine and teak, specialty east coast marine carpenter Glenn Stites crafted a wine cabinet, cedar closet, cross-beamed ceilings and master cabinetry of oak and teak.
Note: The Aquarelle has a new name, Watercolour I, and is docked at Granville Island near Vancouver.
