Wipe On, Wipe Off. The Story Of An Unusual Restoration

Our Sailboat the 'Au Revoir' last sail day in 2011 before Sandy

 A Story about a Sailboat and Interior Design
The photo above was taken on the last great sailing day of 2011. It was a most beautiful day and probably the best sailing day of the season. It was also the start of a boat renovation project that seemed to expand every day until it was finished. Like home projects, when you revitalize one room, the adjacent rooms cry for the same attention.

The same experience works on a sailboat. When you start to make the teak railings look beautiful, the stainless steel fittings look dingy in comparison. As I started to restore the teak floor, the paneled walls looked dry and dull.

While I work on our yearly sailboat Spring clean-up, I am reminded of the stress, the courage and the hope my clients experience, when they take on a home decorating project. You have to be brave to say yes to making a change. But, the prize is there and the project will be finished, as surely as the yearly maintenance of our boat will be complete.

So, again this season I will work on the railings till they sparkle and my husband Jim will compound the boat till it shines. With every wipe on wipe off I keep the vision of our first day of sail to keep me going. And on that day I know for sure, that all the work was so worthwhile.


M. A. Smith, Ltd., Interior Design
Allied Member ASID
732 690-2030
E-mail: masmith@masmithinteriordesign.com
Website: masmithinteriordesign.com
Blog: bestdesigncoach.com