The “Boatel”

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Betsy came highly recommended. Instantly upon our initial meeting, she was able to identify all of the specific changes that needed to take place to bring our Boatel space into the 21st century. My wife & I are extremely detail oriented. We were amazed & impressed with the time, effort, & care Betsy took to explain why her choices of materials, colors, & fabrics were the right ones. One only has to view the photos to see that it is. Betsy succeeded in making our space sophisticated, warm, & inviting and we absolutely love it! It was a very successful collaboration in every way. A job well done. We have no hesitation and have already recommended Betsy to our friends.

~ KL

The Boatel Project Details 

What is a boatel? 

Strange as it sounds, it's a thing - a waterside motel with facilities for mooring boats. Found at marinas, you dock your boat for the evening and rather than sleeping on your boat, you rent or own a sleeping room located near the dock.

This project began at the client's request for a new window treatment and expanded to create calm, understated, elegant sleeping quarters. An artistic faux painter/finisher colleague of mine referred me as she was already working on the project - comprised of one bedroom, one bathroom, and one very small closet - all of which was a sea of teal from the walls to the bedding, headboard, chairs, and upholstery. Out-of-date decor for certain.

The Transformation

All of this was transformed. Custom bedding, custom duvet cover and bed pillows, custom sheets, upholstered headboard, reupholster and refinishing on the chairs. However, the most crucial element was the wall treatment. First it required an underlayment to even out all of the existing uneven wall surfaces. Next and prior to installing the panels, each individual panel was meticulously painted (two layers of semi-transparent silver glaze,) then sprayed with three layers of opalescent paints. To give a sense of depth, the reveals between the panels were hand painted a slightly darker shade of grey.

The countertops and built-in armoire also received multiple layers of custom colored oil based opalescent silver glaze. Rounding out the design, I used a combination of silky smooth, monochromatic fabrics and a duvet fabricated from a classically patterned tone-on-tone textured grey fabric. The mezzanine style window shade - where this project began - was selected for its dual shimmer and matte zinc color, with a dramatically wide horizontal banding.

In all, the finishes pulled it together to make a dreamboat of a room!