All aboard
There’s an innate romanticism and appeal about boats and messing about on the water: the sense of freedom, of escape and of being part of something much bigger and more elemental. A surprising number of people are now electing to live on boats and transform them into stylish and comfortable homes or even thriving businesses.
Clockwise from top left: The ‘Exbury Egg’, the temporary home and studio of artist Stephen Turner on the Beaulieu River. A houseboat in Prague, built in the 1980s and since extensively repaired and redesigned. The interior of a houseboat in New York, built in 1986 and later renovated and refurbished by six friends
Life aboard is magical, comforting and reassuring – it takes us back to the basics.
The colourful interior of the Yankee, a converted Ellis Island ferry now moored in Brooklyn, New York
For a long while the canal networks in many large cities, such as London, Amsterdam and Berlin, have been popular with boating aficionados, but they were often located, by default, in hard-living old industrial areas. They had their own distinctive aesthetic but were often neglected, their run-down towpaths separated from passing foot traffic. However, something interesting happened in London; the building of the facilities for the 2012 Olympic Games meant that many canal-boat homes were temporarily moved away from development sites and into smarter inner-city areas. With the increase in the number of boats and people, the canals became safer and inspired more folk to consider embracing a new life on the water. Now, it’s a blossoming community, with an exciting renewed energy, and there are funky shops, hip bars and cool homes that are all based on narrowboats.
Clockwise from top: The Watervilla de Omval, a Porsche-inspired houseboat on the Amstel river in Amsterdam. In another ultra-modern houseboat on the Amstel, the living room features a suspended fireplace. Inside the home of Sussexbased boat builder Hamish McKenzie, made from such diverse objects as an old coach and a washing machine
I’ve seen similar scenarios in my travels across Europe and the world with photographer Richard Maxted. In Amsterdam, for instance, the ultimate water city, boat life has spread beyond the central canals to other waterways, and their long shipbuilding history is alive and well, creating new homes on the water. Conventional city living is expensive and we all need a home – preferably one that will give us joy and be as beautiful as possible. Creating a home afloat is the new affordable way to achieve just that.
My Cool Houseboat, by Jane Field-Lewis, is published by Pavilion Books, priced £14.99.
Clockwise from top left: The ‘Exbury Egg’, the temporary home and studio of artist Stephen Turner on the Beaulieu River. A houseboat in Prague, built in the 1980s and since extensively repaired and redesigned. The interior of a houseboat in New York, built in 1986 and later renovated and refurbished by six friendsLife aboard is magical, comforting and reassuring – it takes us back to the basics.
The colourful interior of the Yankee, a converted Ellis Island ferry now moored in Brooklyn, New YorkFor a long while the canal networks in many large cities, such as London, Amsterdam and Berlin, have been popular with boating aficionados, but they were often located, by default, in hard-living old industrial areas. They had their own distinctive aesthetic but were often neglected, their run-down towpaths separated from passing foot traffic. However, something interesting happened in London; the building of the facilities for the 2012 Olympic Games meant that many canal-boat homes were temporarily moved away from development sites and into smarter inner-city areas. With the increase in the number of boats and people, the canals became safer and inspired more folk to consider embracing a new life on the water. Now, it’s a blossoming community, with an exciting renewed energy, and there are funky shops, hip bars and cool homes that are all based on narrowboats.
Clockwise from top: The Watervilla de Omval, a Porsche-inspired houseboat on the Amstel river in Amsterdam. In another ultra-modern houseboat on the Amstel, the living room features a suspended fireplace. Inside the home of Sussexbased boat builder Hamish McKenzie, made from such diverse objects as an old coach and a washing machineI’ve seen similar scenarios in my travels across Europe and the world with photographer Richard Maxted. In Amsterdam, for instance, the ultimate water city, boat life has spread beyond the central canals to other waterways, and their long shipbuilding history is alive and well, creating new homes on the water. Conventional city living is expensive and we all need a home – preferably one that will give us joy and be as beautiful as possible. Creating a home afloat is the new affordable way to achieve just that.
My Cool Houseboat, by Jane Field-Lewis, is published by Pavilion Books, priced £14.99.