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Superyacht design trends to look out for in 2025 and beyond

11 December 2024 • Written by Dea Jusufi

There's a new wave of design trends shaping the fleet this year. BOAT rounds up the industry's favourite features ahead of the Superyacht Design Festival (SDF), returning to Kitzbühel, Austria on 2-4 February. The benefits of nuclear power, the rise of the video room and how to apply Project Zero's revolutionary design to motor yachts will be some of the topics of discussion at this year's event.

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1. Old-school exteriors

Feadship's latest launch, the 75.8-metre One

Style is cyclical, and recently there has been an increased interest in exterior design with a yesteryear feel: think curved sterns, wooden details and round portholes. These features have rippled through builds both big and small and across shipyards in the Netherlands, Italy and Finland. 

Nautor Swan's first motor yacht, Solle One and the 23.9-metre Vero by Codecasa are more overtly "gentleman's style", while Project Thunderball and One share a bi-colour exterior that feels distinctly retro. Project Thunderball, in particular, was inspired by the 70.7-metre V2V (previously Carinthia V), designed by the renowned Jon Bannenberg and loosely based on a fast warship.

2. Droplet dining

A lounge area on board Renaissance

A "home away from home". It's a tired adage, but one that still rings true. The way people live on yachts has become more informal, and this is reflected in how owners prefer to dine on board. Formal dining spaces and banquet tables have become increasingly rarer, with new models and custom builds opting for looser, al fresco arrangements or clusters of coffee tables (like droplets), as seen in the owner's area on board the 43.6-metre Columbus build Frette and on Alia Yachts' 45-metre SAN.

Even in the case of the 111.9-metre Renaissance – which has a double-height banquet hall that rivals most restaurants – the owners also made a point to request smaller, personal spaces scattered across her six decks, where they could dine or have coffee in groups of four or six.

4. New-wave flooring

The growing controversy around teak has seen shipyards experimenting with alternative solutions. Some yachts stick with tried and tested materials, such as the recycled teak lamella on the INFYNITO 90 or Vitters' 69-metre Project Zero, which uses locally-sourced European wood. The sailing yacht is set to be a landmark in sustainability-focused yachting and the wood used in its construction has been taken from forests that are actively being replanted. 

A Monaco Yacht Show debutante, Numarine's 30.8-metre Minella has been designed with stone flooring for a contemporary, cool aesthetic (and an even cooler underfoot feel), while Yves Béhar's debut concept, in collaboration with Rossinavi, utilises cork-lined decking alongside other eco-friendly materials.

5. The return of bonus spaces

Okay, so bonus spaces aren't new. In fact, they are often found on some of the world's most expensive superyachts – the snow room on board the 96.6-metre Sophia springs to mind. But there has been a resurgence this year and crucially, these supplemental spaces are no longer restricted to big custom builds. The 49.9-metre Rilassata, for instance, has a full games room with an opening balcony, while the custom, 59.4-metre Akula comes with its own mud room. 

Kismet's Nemo Lounge

The underwater lounge has reasserted its popularity this year, too – seen first on the award-winning Savannah in 2015, both the recently delivered Kismet and the yet-to-be-delivered Nympheas benefit from these semi-submerged spaces.

Meanwhile, the bow continues to be utilised as a bonus space on both custom and semi custom superyachts. The first unit in Mengi Yay's new, sub-500GT series, Serenissima I, has a boxing ring complete with punchbags and gloves. The theme continues on board Feadship's 75.7-metre-metre Alvia, which has a sports zone that can be configured for pickleball, football, golf and basketball.

6. Playful interiors

'Neutral' has been synonymous with 'default' for a long time. But this year brought a burst of colour to the fleet, with a selection of interiors that felt particularly fun and playful. The 46.7-metre King Benji has a "joyful and uplifting" design that mimics the jungle – including an owner's cabin with bamboo detailing and shades of botanical green – while the 44.3-metre Maverick leaned into her namesake with an eclectic collection of Top Gun memorabilia. 

Another example is the 49.8-metre Anjelif, which debuted at this year's Monaco Yacht Show. There, visitors could admire her backlit, Taurini geode walls – in shades of green, yellow and blue – selected by the owner for their energetic and spiritual properties.

The master bathroom on board Anjelif

The sixth Baglietto DOM 133 model Jules is also worth mentioning, a semi-custom whose Leonardo Santi-styled interiors pay tribute to the major sportscar brands. The guest cabins are designed in shades of Lamborghini orange and Ferrari red, green and blue.

The Superyacht Design Festival will return to Kitzbühel, Austria on 2-4 February. The event will also be crowning the winners of the BOAT Design & Innovation Awards, Artistry & Craft Awards and the Young Designer of the Year Award.

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More about this yacht

CRN   70 m •  2026
Freire   111.85 m •  2023

For sale

Feadship   75.8 m •  12 guests •  POA

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Columbus Yachts   49.76 m •  11 guests Price from €330,000 p/w

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