Studio Ahead Designs Suite on The World Yacht with Rebellious Interiors

San Francisco-based Studio Ahead has completed the interior design for a residence aboard The World, a 644-foot private residential yacht launched in 2002. The project was commissioned by a biotech client seeking a mobile home after years at a Tahoe lakeside property. Co-founders Homan Rajai and Elena Dendiberia deliberately avoided typical nautical or white-on-white themes, opting instead for a warm, down-to-earth summerhouse feel to accommodate the client's family gatherings. The design features soft colors, rich textiles, and dark walnut furniture, with rounded edges throughout the 3,000-square-foot suite for safety at sea. A custom bookshelf with a John Gnorski sliding panel conceals a television and bar. The all-green fibreglass kitchen, developed with Vavo Projects, hides appliances behind panels and uses multi-tonal Moroccan sea-green tiles. Furnishings include a fish-bone chair by Florence Provencher-Proulx from Bruises Gallery, a vintage Italian sofa, walnut chairs by Hagerman Studio around a Karl Springer goatskin dining table, and cushions commissioned from artist Llane Alexis, who collaborates with Oaxacan weavers. The primary bedroom contains Studio Ahead's Sheep bed and ottoman, made with JG Switzer, beside a large oceanscape painting from Mexico City. Installation was complex, completed in stages across Vienna, Cadiz, Montreal, Boston, and Cape Town due to the yacht's continuous global itinerary. Photography was handled by Inge Prins.