O’Madeleine - Where the horizon meets a softer geometry

Stepping on board O’MADELEINE is to encounter a yacht that reveals itself in layers — not through spectacle but through proportion, light and material. Delivered in 2025 by Golden Yachts, the 60-metre vessel reflects the long-standing collaboration between Studio Vafiadis, who shaped the exterior architecture, and Massari Design, who directed the interiors. Their shared brief was to create a yacht that felt less like a showpiece and more like a composed private residence at sea — a place where calm prevails over excess.

Seen from the quay, O’MADELEINE presents a clean, almost architectural profile — a near-upright bow, long ribbon-like windows that stretch the line of the hull, and tiered aft terraces that appear to soften the transition between deck and water. These gestures lend her a forward-leaning elegance while maintaining poise at rest — a balance of motion and stillness that sets the tone for everything inside.

Crossing the threshold, the atmosphere shifts to a quieter rhythm of curve and colour. Massari Design worked closely with the owner to establish a residential language of softened corners, curved junctions and concealed light that slides across pale-oak joinery and honed-marble floors. While the foundation remains neutral and calm, pockets of warmth surface throughout: coral-tinged textiles and russet leathers in the guest cabins, a sun-baked terracotta hue in the circular lounge of the main saloon, and rose-beige weaves layered over textured wool-and-silk rugs. These accents lend depth to the mineral base, allowing each room to feel distinct yet part of a single, flowing narrative.

Texture carries equal weight in the design story. Straw-inlaid panels bring an earthy tactility to bulkheads; brushed-metal trims trace edges in a quiet gleam; sting-ray-leather pulls offer a subtle reward to the hand. In the dining area, a back-lit agate table acts as a luminous anchor — part sculpture, part gemstone — catching the shifting daylight that washes in from the sea.

The main saloon centres on a circular lounge composition where ivory-toned armchairs gather around a low terracotta ottoman on a pale silk-wool rug. Overhead, a continuous ribbon of concealed lighting sweeps the length of the ceiling in a soft, meandering arc, echoing the yacht’s external curves and lending the room a sense of quiet motion even at rest. The gesture is as much architectural as it is decorative — guiding the eye forward and drawing evening light across the pale-oak floor.

At the heart of the yacht, a sculpted staircase becomes a point of theatre. Enclosed in glass, the lift core glimmers like a vertical lantern, while the stairway itself — a floating ribbon of oak edged in layers of concealed warm lighting — winds upward with a quiet sense of ceremony. More than a means of circulation, it acts as a central spine, choreographing the journey through the decks and linking the calm of the private suites below with the social life of the upper lounges and terraces.

Seven guest suites — including a full-beam master on the main deck, a forward VIP above, and four additional guest cabins below — carry the same softened geometry and layered textures seen in the public rooms. Generous windows frame low, cinematic views so that the horizon becomes part of the interior composition. At the water’s edge, a beach-club opens directly to the sea; behind translucent onyx panels lies a hammam, glowing as if lit from within. The upper deck offers shaded dining and an outdoor cinema that encourages long summer evenings beneath the open sky.

One of the yacht’s quietest gestures of drama is found overhead: a circular skylight cut cleanly into the upper-deck ceiling draws a shaft of daylight down into the indoor–outdoor lounge and gym area. By night it frames the moon and stars, reinforcing the constant dialogue between interior space and the elements beyond.

Behind the surface calm lies the discipline of marine design. Every material was considered for weight as much as for beauty: marbles chosen for their veining and structural efficiency, timber laid as fine veneers over lightweight cores, lacquers deliberately reduced to let natural finishes breathe while softening reflections. Golden Yachts’ decision to minimise coatings also reduced chemical load and maintenance, a quiet but meaningful step toward sustainability.

In an era when super-yachts often vie for attention through spectacle, O’MADELEINE feels almost radical in her restraint. She is conceived as a serene retreat — a continuous dialogue between exterior line and interior curve, between horizon and material — proving that true luxury often lies not in excess but in the considered balance of space, light and touch.

Credits: O’MADELEINE was built by Golden Yachts, with exterior design by Studio Vafiadis and interior design by Massari Design. Delivered in 2025, the yacht was presented at the Monaco Yacht Show 2025 and is represented for charter by Fraser Yachts.