Rodney Black's Art Deco Vision For Lady Christine IV Interiors

Owners Lord and Lady Laidlaw commissioned Feadship companies Royal Van Lent Shipyards and DeVoogt Navel Architects to design and build their new superyacht 'Lady Christine IV'.

Lady Christine IV

Rodney Black Design Studio's first superyacht commission

Lord and Lady Laidlaw commissioned British designer Rodney Black, principal of the renowned architecture, interior design and landscaping firm Rodney Black Design Studios, to lead the interior design team. Rodney Black worked very closely with the owners, Irvine and Christine Laidlaw and Royal Van Lent to assemble a formidable team of crafts-based specialists. These included: Van Der Loo (Feadship's joinery company); Struik and Hamerslag (yacht cabinetry); Bill Cleyndert and Company Ltd (joinery and bespoke furniture); and ARYMA (marquetry design and fabrication).

Extraordinary levels of fine detailing and finish throughout

[Main panels with Mother-of-Pearl, framed in cherrywood with ebony mouldings and amboyna panels, 
criss-cross ebony inlay columns topped off with a Deco shell capital in gold leaf]

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Monaco Yacht Show

I spoke with Rodney Black at his studio in England a couple of days before he joined Lord and Lady Laidlaw at the Monaco Yacht Show, where they showcased 'Lady Christine IV' to an invite only audience. He sent me these high-resolution images along with some images from his site. I am also referencing the press release at the Feadship site and my earlier post on this project from the perspective of Howard Sansome and ARYMA.

"Our starting point for the interior design was an early rarefied form of Art Deco based on the the 1925 "Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes" in Paris and to a lesser extent, the French luxury liner 'Normandie', whose maiden voyage was in 1935" explains Rodney Black. "This pure modernist expression featured a paired down form of classicism using the most beautiful materials and shapes imaginable at the time."

Art Deco interior with marquetry and inlay as the keynote

Rodney Black went on to explain that the owners' brief was for an Art Deco themed interior with marquetry and inlay as the keynote. They also envisioned four major marquetry art panels: a triptych that portrays the natural and architectural wonders of the world; as well as a piece that celebrates the modes of travel that have enabled them to experience these places together.

Bespoke Art Deco Sofa
[Curved joinery and curvilinear inlay of sleigh design sofa]

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A cohesive vision

Rodney Black received this brief and created a cohesive vision for his clients' aspirations. He and his team produced hundreds of drawings, including the initial free-hand sketches for the marquetry art panels. The Laidlaws worked with them, signing-off on each plan. Rodney Black's vision was for the early Deco period's pure modernist expression to serve as a foundation for the Lady Christine's style, clearly referencing the brilliant artwork of designers such as Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, René Lalique and Edgar Brandt; however, nothing is copied, it's all uniquely designed.

The early Art Deco aesthetic
[Initial inspiration for marquetry motif on door came from Art Deco designer Edgar Brandt's 1925 fire screen]

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In the spirit of early Art Deco

Emile-Jacques Ruhlman was the period's brightest interior and furniture design star who, although not a cabinetmaker, was a superb designer. His furniture suites were built by master craftsmen and he surrounded them with furnishings and art pieces of exceptional quality.

In this spirit Rodney Black worked closely with his own studio and Royal Van Lent's excellent team. He commissioned original Art Deco furniture pieces and interior architectural elements from Bill Cleyndert and Company Ltd. Rodney told me that both he and Royal Van Lent separately approached Howard Sansome, principal of the specialized Welsh company ARYMA, to do the interpretation of the drawings and fabrication of the marquetry art panels.

"Looking at these panels, it is hard to realize that such skillfully made inlaid woodwork is possible today - but it is and it rivals the quality of marquetry from any age," asserts Black

  

Central wall panel of marquetry triptych
[Depicts the Taj Mahal - one of the iconic architectural structures - and the Lady Christine with carefully selected and treated hardwood veneers]

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• To learn more about the ARYMA marquetry art panels see the post Marquetry Superyacht Installation Depicts Iconic Architecture

• To see more photos of the Lady Christine interiors follow this link to the Lady Christine gallery on the Rodney Black Design Studios website

• To view the rest of this post, click on the link below

More images of the Lady Christine's interior decor

I've selected more images featuring the marquetry and inlay arts; organizing them according to location [My plan is to add a slide show function soon].



Stateroom

Stateroom sofa and sideboard units
[Intricate joinery and inlay in sleigh design sofa and two curved sideboard units]

Deco sideboard unit
[Curved marquetry facing with Art Deco motif inspired by Edgar Brandt]

Another view of two sideboard units and sleigh design sofa

[Surfaces and components are curved in plan and remarkably difficult to make]

Master stateroom bed
[A sophisticated furnished zone: on the headboard of the bed is a fan-shaped padded silk panel,
set into the inlay of the wall paneling; the bed head has the same door motif,
this time in ebony for contrast with the maple on the doors]

Salon

Salon Furnishings

Sofa table detail

Dining Room

Dining Room

Sideboard Niche

Sideboard Detail

Chair details

His Study

His study with desk

Table detail

Her Study

Her study

Bar

Bar

Observation Room

Observation Room detail

Observation room